Officer Plaza states on the video when stopping a vehicle that has been legally picked up and is on the road from the impound. “I should have known that it was not in the impound!” Yes it is dumb to stop a vehicle on suspicion that it may have been towed 2 months ago. Duh!!!! It is on the road! Statement released by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles in this case.. [A copy of the following is attached as a PDF. The conversion process I used changed the fonts in that document, but it is copied directly from this email.]
Mr. Rutledge,
You have asked several questions regarding the reporting of vehicles that are “no longer abandoned” to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and for information regarding a particular vehicle. First, DMV Legal Services does not have access to customer records and cannot respond to the request for information on a particular vehicle. You will need to contact the DMV DIRECT customer service line at (804) 497-7100, make an online record request through our website here:http://www.dmv.virginia.gov/onlineServices/ (in the Vehicle Services menu down the left side of the page – there is an $8 fee for this), or visit one of our customer service outlets for answers.
Regarding your other questions:
1. “I was wondering if their is documentation that shows protocols for police in Virginia to manually update whether a car is no longer abandon in the Virginia DMV system.”
The only documentation we have regarding the removal of abandoned motor vehicle records is on our website, here:https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/apps/AVP/intropage.aspx. This is the introductory page to DMV’s automated Abandoned Vehicle Process (AVP), which was established in 2009 under Virginia Code § 46.2-1202 (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-1202). The AVP is required to be used by localities, government agencies, businesses, and individuals, unless another provision of state or local law requires another process to be used. If the police used the AVP to report the abandoned vehicle, then they can use the record removal tool on the page above to remove the abandoned vehicle record; however, there is no requirement in the Code of Virginia that they remove the record. If the police did not use the AVP, then DMV is unlikely to have a record that the vehicle was abandoned.
2. “Also is there any documentation that states an abandon vehicle which has been impounded by a municipality in Virginia; that the owner must go to the Virginia DMV to have it cleared as not being abandon as a requirement. or any rules and regulations”
There is no such requirement in state law, regulation, or DMV policy. We cannot speak for the localities and what their ordinances may require. What we can say, though, is that if the municipality used the AVP process, then it can remove the abandoned vehicle record when the owner reclaims the vehicle. The owner would only be able to remove the record if the municipality provides the AVP receipt number. If the municipality did not use the AVP to report the vehicle to DMV as abandoned, then DMV is unlikely to have an abandoned vehicle record for the owner or the municipality to clear.
To put these answers into some context, here is additional information about the AVP: The AVP is used to obtain abandoned vehicle owner information, if any, from DMV, notify those owners, and post notices of intent to sell the vehicles at auction. It is separate from DMV’s vehicle records database. DMV does not track whether a vehicle has been abandoned on its individual vehicle record. Instead, the agency maintains a central database of vehicles reported as abandoned through the AVP. That database is searchable by VIN and is listed in the links on the AVP intro page provided above. Ideally, when a vehicle reported through the AVP is reclaimed, the AVP user should remove the abandoned vehicle record from the database, as described in the answers; however, nothing in law or policy requires this or ensures that it occurs. The link above includes links to additional information about abandoned vehicles, generally, and Frequently Asked Questions.
If you have any additional questions, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Matt Martin
Matthew D. Martin
Virginia DMV | Legal Services Analyst | (804) 367-1875 | Matthew.Martin@dmv.virginia.gov | www.dmvNOW.com
Confidentiality Statement
http://youtu.be/oLScr4chI0I