Dodge City News Action on Vehicle Problems

[Made in the USA]

City to tow/impound unlicensed vehicles! See story in todays Globe.

It's about time somebody decided to take some action!

[Firedog]

Will have to check it out.

[bgrill]

[hoarsewhisperer]

Originally Posted by Made in the USA

City to tow/impound unlicensed vehicles! See story in todays Globe.

It's about time somebody decided to take some action!

[TexKan]

I thought they always did this - it comes to my mind that I had a 73 Mach I inside my fence that hadn't been tagged and I got a letter that told me if it was in the city limits, inside my fence, it better be tagged or there would be fines to pay. Course that was in the late 70's -

[Made in the USA]

Police officers given power to impound illegally tagged vehicles
By Mark Vierthaler
Dodge City Daily Globe

In a move pushed through by city prosecutor Terry Malone, the Dodge City Commission granted local police the power to impound illegally tagged vehicles in city limits.

According to the previous ordinance, police officers could only impound cars if the vehicle was subject to removal under Kansas law or was being held to use as evidence in a criminal trial.

Now, any vehicle operated or parked along a roadway under the jurisdiction of the Dodge City Police Department that isn't registered, has expired registration, or hasn't been issued a title can be towed.

City Clerk Nannette Pogue, who prepared the ordinance's revision, said in almost every case of illegally tagged vehicles, there was no insurance. By impounding the vehicles, she said it would decrease the likelihood of uninsured drivers on the roads.

However, the ordinance does not give police permission to enter private property and seize a car that's illegally tagged. Pogue said the police will only have the right to impound the car if it's on the roadway.

Commissioner Terry Lee said he was pleased to see the ordinance be revised in such a way that it might deal a blow to the large number of unlicensed drivers within the city.

"I think this is a pretty good ordinance for a litany of reasons," Lee said. "I've received a lot of calls and e-mails about unlicensed drivers. If this gets a lot of these cars off the road, that's great."

Malone said he was pleased that the city commission had revised the ordinance.

"Many times those driving these cars are non-owners," he said. "Many times they're not insured. It's a recipe for disaster to have them on the street."

There are some safeguards in place that would prevent people who may have simply forgotten to re-register his or her car.

Malone said police cannot impound a car that is driven by the owner and the tag has been expired for less than 90 days. Even then, he said it was a matter of discretion. If the owner had a legitimate reason for not renewing the tag, such as family death, it would then be left up to the officer.

"This is to address the issues of non-owners and the uninsured," Malone said.

Reach Mark Vierthaler at (620) 408-9932 or e-mail him at mark.vierthaler@dodgeglobe.com.



GOOD JOB TO EVERYBODY THAT CONTACTED THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE!!

[Detector]

See! they can make a good decision when they want. j/k

Good job

[Bubba]

Originally Posted by TexKan

I thought they always did this - it comes to my mind that I had a 73 Mach I inside my fence that hadn't been tagged and I got a letter that told me if it was in the city limits, inside my fence, it better be tagged or there would be fines to pay. Course that was in the late 70's -

They have always done this. I had a car I didn't drive parked in my driveway on my property, not on city property(i.e.-the street), and I got the same letter around 1-2 years ago that said I had to tag it or move it or it would be towed. I don't really know what is supposed to be new about this policy...

[Army_of_One]

Right....as long as it's not in the street it won't be an issue. Like most laws people will know how to get around it..they will just push, drag, tow the car up into their yard or drive.

[Bubba]

They made me move or tag mine when it was in my driveway.