Finding a vehicle that appears to have been abandoned can leave you wondering who is responsible for removing it. The answer depends on where the vehicle is and the circumstances in which it was left.
A vehicle that has been left because of a breakdown is not necessarily an abandoned vehicle. On the other hand, a vehicle that is creating a hazard or interfering with traffic may be dealt with immediately rather than waiting for a particular period of time to pass.
If you find a vehicle that appears to have been abandoned, note its location, licence plate or vehicle identification number (VIN), and how long it has been there. Report suspicious vehicles to the police. If the vehicle presents an immediate danger, report it promptly.
Who should you contact?
The appropriate contact depends on where the vehicle is located and what problem it is causing.
- Provincial highway: report the vehicle to the police or the ministry's highway maintenance authority.
- Municipal street: contact the police or the municipality responsible for the road, depending on the circumstances.
- Private property: the owner or occupier of the property should follow the process provided by section 192 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
- Immediate danger or obstruction: contact the police or appropriate road authority promptly rather than waiting for the vehicle to remain there for a specified period.
Tell police about a suspicious vehicle
An unattended vehicle may have been abandoned, but it may also have been stolen or left by someone who was unable to return to it.
If a vehicle appears suspicious, report it to the police. Provide the licence plate number or, if that is not available, the vehicle identification number, its location and how long it has been there. Other useful information, such as the make, model, colour and condition of the vehicle, can also help.
You can also use the CPIC stolen-vehicle search to check a vehicle's VIN yourself. A positive result should be verified with the police.
Vehicles abandoned on a provincial highway
Section 68 of the Transportation Act deals specifically with vehicles abandoned on provincial public highways.
If the minister believes that a vehicle has been abandoned on a provincial public highway, the minister may give the owner or another person responsible for abandoning it notice requiring its removal by a specified time or date. If the notice is not complied with, the minister may arrange for removal at the expense of the person to whom the notice was given.
The minister may also seize a vehicle that is believed to have been abandoned on a provincial public highway for more than 72 hours. A vehicle may be seized sooner if it interferes with the normal flow of traffic or highway maintenance, or if it is causing or might cause danger or inconvenience to people using the highway.
This means that 72 hours is not a general waiting period before an abandoned vehicle can be removed. The circumstances may justify removal sooner.
A vehicle that is blocking traffic or creating a hazard
An abandoned vehicle does not have to remain in place simply because 72 hours have not passed.
The Motor Vehicle Act allows a peace officer to take an unattended vehicle into custody when it is apparently abandoned on or near a highway. A peace officer may also move or take custody of a vehicle when its position interferes with the normal flow of traffic, snow removal, firefighting or certain highway construction and maintenance activities.
Section 68 of the Transportation Act separately permits a vehicle on a provincial public highway to be seized when it interferes with traffic or highway maintenance, or creates or might create danger or inconvenience to people using the highway.
If a vehicle is creating an immediate traffic or safety problem, report the problem rather than waiting to see whether it remains there for 72 hours.
A vehicle left because of a breakdown
A vehicle that has been left temporarily because of a mechanical problem is not automatically an abandoned vehicle.
Section 187(3) of the Motor Vehicle Act provides an exception when a vehicle is so disabled that it is not practicable to avoid stopping and temporarily leaving it on a highway.
A disabled vehicle should be removed as soon as practicable, particularly if it creates a hazard or interferes with traffic.
The fact that a vehicle is unattended does not, by itself, establish that it has been abandoned.
Who pays when a vehicle is removed from a provincial highway?
The Transportation Act provides for the expenses of seizing, removing, impounding and disposing of a vehicle to be recovered from the person who abandoned or left it, or authorized its abandonment or leaving.
For a vehicle seized because it has been abandoned for more than 72 hours, or because it interferes with traffic or highway operations or creates a danger or inconvenience, the last registered owner is deemed to have abandoned or left the vehicle, in the absence of proof to the contrary.
This is one reason it is important to properly document the sale or transfer of a vehicle. Registration records can otherwise leave the former owner dealing with a vehicle that they no longer possess. See Fail to Transfer Ownership of a Vehicle for more information.
Vehicles left on private property
Different rules apply when a vehicle is left on private property.
Section 192 of the Motor Vehicle Act deals with vehicles left without the consent of the owner or occupier of private property. In a municipality, treaty lands or Nisg̱a'a Lands, the provision applies when the vehicle is left without the occupier's consent. On private property outside those areas, it applies when the vehicle has been left for more than 72 hours.
In these circumstances, the vehicle owner is deemed to have authorized and empowered the occupier to act as the owner's agent for the purpose of towing the vehicle to a place of storage and storing it.
The occupier, acting as the owner's agent, has a lien against the vehicle for reasonable advances made or charges incurred in connection with towing and storing it.
This is different from a vehicle abandoned on a provincial public highway, which is dealt with under the Transportation Act.
When RAPP may be appropriate
The Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) program provides a way to report suspected violations of fisheries, wildlife or environmental protection laws.
RAPP may be appropriate when an abandoned vehicle is associated with suspected illegal dumping, environmental damage or another natural-resource violation, particularly when it has been dumped on Crown land or in a location where it creates an environmental concern. RAPP is not a general replacement for reporting an abandoned vehicle to police or the authority responsible for the road.
The ministry's procedure for abandoned vehicles
The Ministry of Transportation and Transit has published a guideline describing the process used to deal with abandoned vehicles on provincial highways. It identifies the respective responsibilities of the ministry, police and highway maintenance contractors.
The guideline refers to the former Highway Scenic Improvement Act, which was repealed in 2004. That reference is historical. The document is a ministry guideline describing the process for dealing with abandoned vehicles; it is not the source of the legal authority to seize a vehicle.
Don't assume that an unattended vehicle has been abandoned
There can be many reasons why a vehicle is left unattended. It may have broken down, the driver may have been unable to return immediately, or the vehicle may have been stolen and left by someone else.
You don't have to determine whether a vehicle is legally abandoned before reporting it. Provide the location, licence plate or VIN and other useful information and let the authority responsible determine what action is appropriate.
The bottom line
There is no single rule that says an apparently abandoned vehicle must sit undisturbed for 72 hours. The applicable rules depend on where the vehicle is, why it was left and what effect it is having.
If an unattended vehicle is creating a traffic or safety problem, report it promptly. If it is simply parked and appears to have been left for an extended period, provide its location and identifying information to the authority responsible for the road or property.
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