Abandoned car? (Monroe: inspection, live in, legal)

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Scott2187

Why does everyone automatically assume the worst with things like this?

A car that hasn't been moved in a month or so 15 times more likely to contain a dead guy than a car that has been.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

A car that hasn't been moved in a month or so 15 times more likely to contain a dead guy than a car that has been.

LOL Perfect.

[EveKendall]

Originally Posted by Scott2187

When in college, I used to park my car on the street. If I didn't need to drive, the car sometimes sat for a month or so.

Why does everyone automatically assume the worst with things like this?

In my case, I know my neighbors within a large radius and this isn't any of their cars (in fact, two people on the street have stopped me to ask if the car belonged to a visitor of mine. I have lived here three years and have never seen a car parked for a long time. The car is about 20 years old and has nothing visible inside except for about 10 air fresheners. So it is weird.
I hope it does just belong to a student or someone on a nearby street, but it is also possible it was stolen, the owner is dead, or it has been abandoned for some reason.
Or maybe I have just lived in too many big cities and/or watch too many crime shows.
It has a current inspection but no registration sticker on the back. I called 311 and they don't care, FYI, as long as it isn't blocking a driveway (which it isn't). So look for me on the evening news in the near future ("I had no idea there were 12 kilos of cocaine in the trunk but I thought it seemed suspicious!")

[cheezit34141988]

Originally Posted by EveKendall

In my case, I know my neighbors within a large radius and this isn't any of their cars (in fact, two people on the street have stopped me to ask if the car belonged to a visitor of mine. I have lived here three years and have never seen a car parked for a long time. The car is about 20 years old and has nothing visible inside except for about 10 air fresheners. So it is weird.
I hope it does just belong to a student or someone on a nearby street, but it is also possible it was stolen, the owner is dead, or it has been abandoned for some reason.
Or maybe I have just lived in too many big cities and/or watch too many crime shows.
It has a current inspection but no registration sticker on the back. I called 311 and they don't care, FYI, as long as it isn't blocking a driveway (which it isn't). So look for me on the evening news in the near future ("I had no idea there were 12 kilos of cocaine in the trunk but I thought it seemed suspicious!")

Are you in a permit area? If so, does it have the permit? If you call for that they'll come. If thats not the case....

If you really want it at least looked into by the authorities, call in anonymously and say you've seen suspicious activity around it. They'll have to show up and at least run the plate.

[Pghuser]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

I was told that if the plates and tags are good and the car is legally parked, the city won't do anything. I know what you're worried about, so just go stand by the trunk and take a deep breath. You should be able to tell if there is a corpse in the trunk.

As long as either the inspection or registration stickers are good then the city can't do anything.

[greg42]

I think the 10 air fresheners is suspicious.

I'm not sure if having no sticker on the tag marks it as out of date. If it had only an expired sticker there that is one thing. If it has NONE, it might actually just be a new tag. I've seen my share of these on the road. (They don't give them out with the T stickers on anymore, although I think there's supposed to be a paper thing in the window.) Inspection tells you not much because anyone can buy a car with several months left on that.

I don't think it's quite been long enough. 2 weeks is about when students would have come back and such so it's certainly possible that it belongs to one. It's also possible that it's abandoned, but I don't think you'll know that yet. Heck even if they run the plate they might not get anything of particular interest so far.

Just keep an eye on it I guess, but I think it would be overkill to push it too much yet. Dunno. That's me.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by EveKendall

One of the things that is freaking me out (I admit to having an active imagination) is that there are about ten of those scented little tree air 'fresheners' hanging from the rear view mirror. Even if there isn't a dead body in there the car is going to stink to high heaven, especially after a few 90 degree days this week.

If the windows are open, close them if you can. If you can't close the windows, you can at least reach in and toss those nasty things.

[EveKendall]

There is nothing illegal going on except for maybe a lapsed registration. It is a public street with no permit required. I have done due diligence in explaining the situation to the city. Hopefully I will come home some morning and it will just be gone.
And hopefully I won't have anything new to add to the 'scary murders' thread...

[ctkalino]

Originally Posted by EveKendall

How does the city define an abandoned car? I have lived in cities where there are 72 hour or one week limits. A car has been parked in front of my house for more than two weeks without moving. I live on a residential street and no one knows who this car belongs to. We do not have residential permits and I do not have a problem with it being there, but I am worried that it was stolen and dumped or something. When I lived in Philly a car was parked on our street for a month. A neighbor called the police and when they came they told us the owner had died and the family had no idea where he left his car.

If a car is truly abandoned, you are supposed to call the mayor's office to report it. See http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/pol...tow_pound.html

However, you should know that if the registration is current, they will not consider it abandoned no matter how long it is parked there. You could still try calling and say you would like to check if it was reported stolen and see how far you get. But unfortunately they will not tow it unless the tags are expired or it is parked illegally.

[Hopes]

Have someone with a truck push it to block your driveway. Problem solved.