Washington Administrative Code › Title 308 - Licensing, Department of (See also Titles 36, 98 and 196) › Chapter 308-61 - Unauthorized and abandoned vehicles › Section 308-61-158 - Storage of vehicles

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
How must the registered tow truck operator handle stored
				vehicles?
(1) Handling and returning
			 vehicles in substantially the same condition means that vehicles are to be
			 handled with care so that their value is not diminished. The operator must not
			 remove parts or equipment which are affixed to the vehicle.
(2) A vehicle being held for storage by
			 agreement or being held under police authority, other than a suspended license
			 impound, or pursuant to a writ or court order shall not be considered
			 abandoned, nor shall it be processed as such. Any storage fees accrued while
			 under agreement or under police hold, other than a suspended license impound,
			 or pursuant to a writ or court order, shall not be included in the abandoned
			 vehicle lien. Upon the expiration of a storage agreement, the lifting of a
			 police hold other than a suspended license impound, or when the writ or court
			 order is no longer in effect, the operator must begin the unauthorized
			 abandoned vehicle processing, including the notification to vehicle owners by
			 first class mail within twenty-four hours.
(3) When vehicles are stored pursuant to a
			 writ or court order, the operator must keep evidence of the inception and
			 termination dates of the writ or court order in the vehicle transaction
			 file.
(4) When a vehicle is being
			 held pursuant to a suspended license impound, and the vehicle is not redeemed
			 even after the payment of a security deposit, and upon expiration of the hold,
			 the operator must send the notice provided in
			 RCW
			 46.55.110(2) and schedule
			 its auction accordingly.
(5)
			 Vehicles in the custody of an operator must be kept entirely within a secure
			 area owned or operated under that registration.
(6) An operator must not charge for
			 relocating vehicles between separate secure storage areas which he/she owns or
			 operates.
(7) A vehicle's owner or
			 agent may request that the operator store personal belongings from their
			 vehicle for a period of thirty days from the date of signing a personal
			 belongings storage request form. The personal belongings storage request form
			 shall contain the requestor's vehicle identification number, license plate
			 number, make, model, and year. The form shall also contain the RTTO company's
			 name, street address, city, state and zip code where the personal belongings
			 will be stored, the requestor's name and signature, and the date the request
			 form was signed.
Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  46.55.190. 02-20-035, § 308-61-158,
				  filed 9/24/02, effective 10/25/02; 00-01-058, § 308-61-158, filed
				  12/10/99, effective 1/10/00. Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  46.55.190,
				  46.80.140 and
				  46.79.080. 88-06-025 (Order DLR
				  164), § 308-61-158, filed 2/25/88. Statutory Authority:
				  Chapter
				  46.55 RCW. 86-03-011
				  (Order DLR-088), § 308-61-158, filed
				  1/6/86.