Towing a car to a parking lot for illegal parking: rules

For what traffic violations will a car be taken to a parking lot?

Every driver is interested in the question: what offenses can cause his car to be towed away?

This list is very wide for 2021:

1. first of all, you cannot park your car in a space allocated for parking a vehicle belonging to a disabled person;
2. Parking on tram tracks is strictly prohibited;
3. being in a state of intoxication, both alcoholic and narcotic (toxic), but only in the absence of signs of a criminal offense in this offense;
4. when the driver refuses to be tested for intoxication, again if this violation does not contain signs of an act provided for by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation;
5. the driver does not have vehicle registration documents;
6. a known malfunction of the steering device or braking system (an exception to this list of malfunctions is the parking brake);
7. the driver does not have the right to drive a vehicle or is deprived of such a right;
8. when the driver does not comply with the rules of road markings and road signs that directly prohibit stopping and parking a car in a given place. For the same violation, but only within Moscow and St. Petersburg as cities of federal significance, increased liability has been established;
9. parking at the pedestrian crossing and in the five-meter zone in front of it. The exception is force majeure circumstances that provoke a forced stop. But the driver will have to prove this need himself, so he may have to turn to experts and qualified auto lawyers, which will entail additional costs. For Moscow and St. Petersburg, responsibility for these violations has also increased;
10. illegal parking on the sidewalk. As in the previous case, the fine is higher for the two specified localities;
11. when the dimensions and axle load of the vehicle are exceeded for large and heavy vehicles;
12. if after the accident the driver at fault, despite the order of the policeman, continues to drink alcohol or take illegal drugs in the interval between stopping the car and the medical test for intoxication;
13. if, when using a car for advertising purposes, a change in its design occurs that threatens road safety (for example, if the body of a vehicle is given the shape of the advertised product, which may interfere with the normal visibility of both the driver and other road users).

IMPORTANT !!! This list of grounds for detaining a car is exhaustive, Art. 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation does not allow its expanded interpretation and the unauthorized addition of new circumstances to it.

Actions to take when towing a car to an impound lot

Regarding the current law, which was adopted back in 2015, to evacuate a car you need one of the following grounds:

• If the driver failed to confirm the right to drive the vehicle he was driving;
• If the vehicle was driven by a person who does not have a license, or they were previously confiscated for any violation;
• If the driver refuses to be examined due to obvious signs of alcohol intoxication;
• If the driver used alcohol or drugs after the traffic accident, but before the medical examination;
• If the driver is under the influence of alcohol;
• If the driver violated parking rules;
• If the driver was driving a vehicle in which the brake system was faulty;
• If the driver violated the rules for large-sized or heavy cargo transportation;
• If the driver did not comply with the standards established for the transportation of dangerous goods;
• If the driver parked the vehicle in a place where it is prohibited by the relevant road sign;
• If the vehicle was placed in the second or further row (two-wheeled vehicles without a trailer are an exception);
• If the driver left the vehicle on the tracks and interferes with the passage of regular transport;
• If the driver stopped the vehicle in a tunnel;
• If the driver stopped at a pedestrian crossing or at a distance of up to 5 m from the pedestrian crossing;
• If the driver is parking at a vehicle stop or closer than 15 meters to this stop. It should be noted that they should be highlighted with markup 1.17. But if there is no such marking, the 15 m count must be taken from the stop indicator (i.e. sign);
• If the driver has parked a car that is blocking the movement of other vehicles.

If the evacuation of the car occurred for other reasons that are not described in the list, then such an action is considered to be illegal. The driver can appeal this evacuation of the car in court.

Towing a car to a parking lot: rules

Each owner will benefit from knowledge about how a vehicle is towed and on what grounds this decision can be reversed:

• A traffic police officer is required to draw up a protocol before towing a car in the presence of at least two witnesses. These documents must be signed by the offender and the traffic police officer;
• All access points to the vehicle must be sealed;
• The evacuation protocol must include the following information: the place, time and date when the document was drawn up, information about the owner and the vehicle itself, information about the authority that is evacuating the car. If the owner of the vehicle is present, he may demand to include in the document an inventory of all damage to the car that was committed at the time of evacuation, to include in the puncture the name and quantity of personal and valuable items, and to conduct video and photographic recording of body defects.

It is worth noting a rather important innovation that can affect the entire evacuation process: if the driver, before the start of this process, managed to provide the traffic police officers with a driving license and documents for the car, then everything is canceled and becomes illegal.

During the evacuation, as at the beginning, the presence of a traffic police officer is necessary. The owner of the car can clarify all issues related to this point, and also request a copy of the protocol on the detention and placement of the car in the impound lot.

What should you do if your car is towed?

You need to imagine a situation where you go out and cannot find your vehicle in a parking spot. First of all, you need to call 02 or 112 and tell the operator on duty in detail about the situation that happened.

It is necessary to dictate to the operator the place and time of the incident, as well as the number and make of the car. It is advisable to have a notepad with a pen somewhere nearby, as the operator must dictate to you the number of the evacuation service.

After this, you need to contact the towing service and clarify which impound lot the car was taken to. Also, the owner can personally come and make sure that everything is normal with the car.

After which you should go to the special department of the traffic police in order to fill out all the necessary documents and receive a receipt for paying the fine.

It is also worth considering the fact that the car owner cannot obtain all the information about the location of the car until all the necessary documentation is completed. This may take some time if the tow truck takes the vehicle not to the nearest impound lot, but, for example, to another part of the city.

But once everything is determined and formalized, the owner can find all the necessary information on the website parking.mos.ru.

When you get to the traffic police or MADI duty station, you must have your registration document, identification card and driver’s license with you.

For his part, the traffic police inspector is obliged to issue a protocol and a resolution on the administrative offense. The driver must repay the administrative debt and pay the fine within the next 30 days. The countdown starts from the moment all documents are received.

Pay special attention to the time the car is in the impound lot. For example, if the driver picks up his vehicle after 24 hours of being there, he must also pay for each additional hour he is there.

How to get money back for illegal towing of a car? What to do if your car is damaged during evacuation, read here.

Find out what happens if you don’t pay a fine for towing a car by following the link:

If it has been there for more than 6 months, then the car owner will be able to return it only after a court decision. Also, after the car has been in the impound lot for more than 6 months, the meter stops.

If new damage appears on the car while it is in the impound lot, the driver must immediately conduct an independent examination on this matter.

But it is worth considering the fact that he will have to pay for it himself. However, an independent examination is provided in order to establish the nature and duration of the damage, as well as the method of its receipt. The amount of damage received is also established.

You can receive compensation for an independent examination, as well as for damage to the car, through legal proceedings. If the carrier is proven to be at fault, then the service that provided the tow truck will pay compensation. If the damage occurred directly at the impound lot itself, then compensation will be demanded from the owner of this parking lot.

Determining the time of damage is also influenced by the presence of a protocol on the detention of the car. It is worth remembering that the traffic police inspector prepares it before sending the car to the impound lot.

In what cases is evacuation obviously illegal?

Firstly, it is strictly prohibited to evacuate a vehicle with people inside. And also animals. After all, they may get hurt when moving the car to a tow truck. In this case, they must call the police and wait for the owner. Although there have been cases of evacuating a car with dogs inside, so owners should think carefully before risking the health and life of their pet.

The information on the signs must be supplemented by a sign indicating that a tow truck is operating within the coverage area of ​​the markings and signs. If there is no such sign, evacuation will directly violate the requirements of regulatory legal acts. In this case, only administrative punishment is possible for the driver (fine or other sanctions provided for by the Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offences).

“Chaining” the car with various chains or cables to a fence or tree will also prevent evacuation, but only until the driver or police officer with the right to remove this cable or chain appears.

Tall SUVs with any property attached to the roof, most often a bicycle, will not be able to evacuate.

There is also a myth among drivers that twisted wheels are a sure cure for a forklift. But this is not so; tow trucks are increasingly appearing, where a car can be placed with any wheel position.

IMPORTANT !!! In all cases, the driver must eliminate the circumstances that served as the reason for the detention of his vehicle, if it is possible to do this immediately, for example, move the car to an authorized location.

What is the procedure for sending a car to the impound lot?

In most cities of our homeland, the decision to detain a vehicle for violations of its owner will be made by an inspector of the State Road Safety Inspectorate. In the capital of the Russian Federation there is a slightly different unit responsible for road safety, this is the Moscow Administrative Road Inspectorate.

An identified offense will entail the drawing up of two important documents: protocols on the violation itself and on the movement of the detained car to the impound area.

Currently, to draw up a protocol in the absence of an offending driver, video recording is increasingly being used. But drawing up a protocol with the participation of two witnesses also continues to be used if the technical equipment does not allow video recording.

An act will also be drawn up with the tow truck driver, stating that the car will be transferred to him to move to a special parking lot. The report, in addition to standard information about the vehicle, lists visible damage. If any damage was not recorded in the report, then the driver has the right to demand compensation for damage. But this is a rather long and labor-intensive procedure, since it is only possible by filing a lawsuit in court.

If, nevertheless, the driver managed to do so before the tow truck began to drive away with his car on board, then the car cannot continue to be taken away. The vehicle must be moved from the side of the tow truck onto the road.

Procedure for evacuation

There are quite strict rules for towing a car for violating traffic regulations, including illegal parking. First of all, moving a vehicle can only be done with the participation of a traffic police officer. Moreover, if the driver is on site, then the inspector must give him the opportunity to eliminate the offense without seizing the car (repair the car, move it to the proper place). As a result, the driver only pays the fine for incorrect parking, since there is no need for a tow truck or storage of the vehicle.

Important! If the car has already been loaded onto a tow truck and it has begun to move, then the owner is already prohibited from interfering with the movement of the vehicle.

If the owner of the car is absent, then the traffic police officer must draw up a report in the presence of eyewitnesses, including video recording. The protocol indicates the time/date of seizure of the vehicle, the circumstances of the violation and the reasons for the evacuation, data about the vehicle, information about the employee and the unit seizing the vehicle.

If the driver is there, then an inventory of the things in the car is made, after which the doors and trunk are sealed - then the car begins to be loaded.

Important! No one has the right to forcibly evacuate an illegally parked car if there is a person or animal in it. You cannot confiscate a car for not having a driver’s license (they can be found in databases) or for parking under a sign that is not equipped with a “Tow Truck Operating” sign.

How much money will it cost the driver to move his car to the impound lot?

It is impossible to give a single answer for all cities in our state. This is not fixed in any way at the level of federal legislation. It is not established at the level of constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Each city will have its own tariff for this amount, because it is regulated by municipal regulations.

Here are some examples in large millionaire cities, valid for 2021, for standard passenger cars (with engine power not exceeding 250 hp).

1. For Moscow, the first day of a car’s stay in the impound lot costs 5,000 rubles. All subsequent ones – 1000 rubles each (no more than 60 days).
2. In St. Petersburg, moving and the first day will cost from 1,500 to 7,000 rubles, then payment is charged hourly - 40 rubles for each hour the car is detained.
3. In Novosibirsk, evacuation will “ruin” the owner by 1,750 rubles for the first day and 44.8 rubles for each subsequent hour.
4. The Yekaterinburg authorities are more loyal than the Novosibirsk ones, so the tariffs are lower: 1649 for moving and 33 rubles/hour for storage.
5. In Nizhny Novgorod, the price of evacuation is fixed at 1,890 rubles, 12.5 rubles per hour of storage time at the impound area. Moreover, unlike the above cities, this price is for all categories of vehicles.

What is the fine for towing a car?

What does it consist of? A fine is issued for a violation, for example, parking on the sidewalk. If the law provides for evacuation, then the car owner will also have to pay for it, as well as for storing the car. This is no longer a fine, but the owner of the car is obliged to pay.

How much will you have to pay? The cost of transportation and storage is determined by each region itself. Here, for example, are the tariffs from the Mosparking website:

How to avoid evacuation

If the driver happens to be there when his car is being towed, they cannot pick up the car. Even if it has already been loaded onto the platform, but the tow truck itself has not yet moved, the driver has the right to return the car. The car will be put back, and if the car owner eliminates the reason for evacuation, it will not be taken to a special parking lot.

How to find where a towed car was taken?

Often the first thought of a car owner who has lost his vehicle due to its evacuation to a impound lot is: “Who should I call?” The situation can be complicated by the fact that in a large city there may be several places where seized vehicles are stored.

Therefore, it would be more advisable to dial the police number (102), where they will tell you the phone number of the impound lot and the procedure for returning the seized car. Most often, they will be redirected to the duty station of the relevant traffic police unit for a given locality.

Websites of car enthusiasts of a given city can immediately tell you the telephone number of a parking lot for evacuated cars; fortunately, they are available in almost all major cities of Russia.

How to return a vehicle that has been impounded?

For such a return, permission is required from the inspector of the traffic police unit (MADI) who recorded the offense committed in his protocol. The registration certificate, driver's license and compulsory motor third party liability insurance policy make up the list of documents necessary to return the car to the owner.

Depending on the jurisdiction of which body brings administrative liability, the driver will be issued either a protocol on the offense committed (if judicial review is necessary, for example, when depriving the driver of the right to drive), or a resolution to impose a fine.

The inspector will also make a note in the arrest report indicating that the vehicle has been released to the owner.

With these documents and after paying for the storage time and evacuation itself, the car owner has the right to get his property back. Refunds are made without any delay. If the reason for the detention has been eliminated, then payment for evacuation is not made. This is a legal requirement that is not always observed by those in charge of the penalty area.