Ask the Mayor: Why Aren’t Abandoned Car Owners Arrested?

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

Submit your own questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa at AskTheMayor@mauicounty.gov, (808) 270-7855 or mail them to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793.

Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor” column.

Dear Mayor Alan Arakawa,

Q: Why aren’t the owners of abandoned cars tracked down by the VIN or plate number and arrested?

A: The county identifies registered owners of abandoned vehicles by VIN and sends them letters of notification, demand for payment and then accounts are sent to a collection agency if all the expenses incurred are not paid.

Unfortunately, this sort of thing is happening more often as metal recycling prices go down, and international import restrictions affect U.S. metal and scrapyards from shipping out their inventory.