More than 1800 wrecked and abandoned vehicles – the equivalent of five a day – were removed from roadsides in the Sunshine Coast region last year.
Sunshine Coast Council removed 1800 vehicles, the Department of Transport and Main Roads removed 43 and police may have removed others for investigative purposes.
All up, the total equals more than 35 vehicles a week removed at government – and ultimately taxpayer – expense, unless their owners lay claim to them.
Responsibility for the removal of wrecked and abandoned cars depends on the circumstances, the road and the vehicle’s status.
A Queensland Police Service spokesperson said officers could seize a vehicle if further investigation was needed following a traffic incident, and the QPS would arrange and pay for the vehicle to be towed.
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If no ongoing investigation was required, it was up to the owner to arrange and pay for their vehicle to be towed.
“If police locate an abandoned vehicle that does not require further investigation and contact cannot be made with the registered owner, it will be deemed an abandoned vehicle and the local council or Department of Transport and Main Roads will be notified to arrange removal,” the police spokesperson said.
They said a damaged or abandoned vehicle should be reported unless it already had a ‘Police aware’ sticker on it.
They should provide a description of the vehicle, its registration, location and any further information they might have, including how long it has been there, the spokesperson said.
A council spokesperson said the organisation was authorised to remove vehicles that posed a public safety hazard or were abandoned on public land other than main roads.
They said the council could check the condition of the vehicle and any goods, the location, potential ownership and registration.
“For vehicles that do not pose an immediate hazard, council will try to find the vehicle owner and have them remove it from council land,” the spokesperson said.
“If we can’t locate the owner, a notice will be placed on the vehicle advising that it will be removed by a certain date.
“If the vehicle is not removed within the specified timeframe, council will proceed with removal.”
Owners have up to 28 days to claim removed vehicles before they are offered for sale at public auction, with the proceeds used to cover the cost of their removal and storage.
The spokesperson said the council could dispose of vehicles without taking them to auction if they had no value due to damage, missing parts or being unroadworthy.
TMR checks with police before removing a vehicle from a state-controlled road.
A TMR spokesperson said vehicles that required immediate removal for safety reasons were towed at TMR’s expense and owners had to cover the costs if they wanted to reclaim their vehicles.
The spokesperson said a notice to remove was sent to the owner of any stolen vehicle and attempts made to contact the owner or last known owner of other vehicles.
Local councils could exercise their local laws, which included removing vehicles, on state-controlled roads if the vehicles were not a hazard, the spokesperson said.
