Ask the Mayor: What Does it Take to Get an Abandoned Vehicle Towed?

Debra Lordan photo.

Mayor Alan Arakawa answers some of the questions submitted to his office staff.

Submit your own questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa via email atAskTheMayor@mauicounty.gov, call 270-7855 or send them by mail to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor” column.

Aloha Mayor Arakawa,

Q: There is a problem over the past year with the police not towing abandoned cars. It used to be you could call the police, they would sticker the abandoned car and within a few days it would be gone.

Something changed and apparently the police are no longer allowed to have the tow trucks come.

There is a car on the road across from my home in Kīhei that has been stickered for a month and is just sitting there—but the police are not towing it. Do you know what policy it was that changed? At this point, I would recommend they change it back so police can get the cars towed.

A: The policy has not changed, and police cannot tow a vehicle if it has moved, because it is then not considered an abandoned vehicle. At the location you specified, our abandoned vehicle coordinator reports that the police report was received on March 28, and the vehicle was towed on March 30.

The tow vendors that have contracts with the county have 48 hours to complete the tow once they receive the notice. Even if the orange sticker is removed, the police report will indicate that the sticker was placed on the vehicle.

To check whether the vehicle has moved, its location is verified by checking the address, tire marks and odometer readings.

To report an abandoned vehicle, call Maui Police Department’s non-emergency line at 244-6400, ext. 0.

For information online, visit www.mauicounty.gov/solidwaste and click on “Metals and Abandoned Vehicles” on the left menu.