Ticketed for Jeep on jacks stands?

[lilnapsak]

My jeep is currently unregistered and uninsured. It's sitting on my property in my driveway on jack stands, with no front axle/tires on it. Local cop told me to fix it or be ticketed for abandoned vehicle. Well I sold the axle to go pick up another but that deal fell through and a stock axle won't bolt up to my jeep anymore.. So I covered the vehicle with a car cover like state law says. Cop came back and told me that's not good enough I have 3 days to fix it or I'll be ticked every day until I do.

Am I breaking any laws here? I don't think he can ticket me for vehicle that's tarped, no matter the condition. But I dont want to sound like I know more than I actually do and make the situation any harder than it has to be.

 

[xcalibur223]

I had the same problem... As far as I'm aware, as long as you own the property you should be fine as far as state law is concerned. Town laws are a whole different game though.

 

[partsxj]

Your town has some harsh rules. Here is the ordinance. Maybe you can get the exemption, or just register and insure it. Then it would not be abandoned.

http://ecode360.com/7634703

 

[xcalibur223]

Your town has some harsh rules. Here is the ordinance. Maybe you can get the exemption, or just register and insure it. Then it would not be abandoned.

http://ecode360.com/7634703

If I'm reading that right if he registers and insures it than it would still be abandoned. He has no front axle which means it is mechanically inoperable plus missing tires.

Your best bet is probably trying to explain the situation to the police department.

 

[XJLI]

wow that sucks. piss off any neighbors recently? that seems like the only reason this would come up.

 

[chedisme]

is there any way you can get it in the back yard in a spot where its not visible from the road? then he cant do anything about it. hed be braking the law to check on it without a warent.

and this is why you always keep a plate on stuff. he probably wouldn't have noticed it if it had one. I know a guy on here, wont say who, but he just bolts plates to the front of all his projects, whether or not they go with that rig.

 

[Jeepman401]

Build a quick fence out of pallets, and tell them to go **** themselves

 

[ktm racer 419]

i have some friends who have legit junkyards at their house around here.

the town ordinance/law says there can be one unregistered vehicle at a property at a time, but i have never seen it enforced.

good luck to you.

 

[WB9YZU]

A lot of cities and towns have anti-junkyard ordinances. it's generally a zoning ordinance not a "police enforcement issue" per se. Check the local codes.
Ours around here is simple: registered with current tags.
Someone called the Police on a neighbor 4 houses down, and I was informed my race car was out of compliance also ( no plates ).
I found an old set of plates in the garage - end of issue

 

[bulrid8]

Yes, most things like that are covered by zoning enforcement. Police have no jurisdiction over that. The vehicle is not on public property. Unless he is the code enforcement officer for the town.

 

[billyjp2]

This isn't Russia. Is this Russia?

 

[chedisme]

This isn't Russia. Is this Russia?

in Russia they give you tickets for having working cars.

 

[billyjp2]

Even cars on jackstands have dash cams in russia

 

[xcm]

Move out of commiefornia.... i mean, new commie?

Say what you will about california's smog issues, but what you mention is straight up bullshit.

 

[xcm]

Wrong chapter, sorry, but lol none the less...

 

[lilnapsak]

Your town has some harsh rules. Here is the ordinance. Maybe you can get the exemption, or just register and insure it. Then it would not be abandoned.

http://ecode360.com/7634703

Thank you for the link!

this is my next concern, in section D.

§ 563-2 Regulations.
A. Abandonment prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to abandon or suffer or permit the abandoning of any motor vehicle, junk automobile, or junk automobile body out of doors upon any public or private lands in the Township of Burlington, or on any public street, or between the right-of-way side lines of any public right-of-way therein.
B. Storage prohibition. No person shall place, keep or store any junk automobile or junk automobile body, as heretofore defined in this chapter, on any public or private property within the Township of Burlington.
C. Presumption. If any motor vehicle, junk automobile or junk automobile body shall be abandoned on private lands for five working days or more, it shall be presumed that the owner or tenant in possession of said land has abandoned it there or permitted or suffered it to be abandoned there.
D. Exclusions.[Amended 9-23-2008 by Ord. No. 08-OR-025; 8-25-2009 by Ord. No. 09-OR-018]

(1) Nothing herein contained shall prohibit the placing, keeping or storage of any motor vehicle, junk automobile or junk automobile body in an enclosed garage, barn or other building.
(2) Any motor vehicle or automobile stored in a driveway or outdoors on a property must be covered with a fitted automobile cover.
(3) Only one motor vehicle or automobile is allowed to be stored in a driveway or on the property at any given time.

now it states in (2) and (3) im allowed to store at least 1 vehicle at any given time as long as its fitted with a fitted auto cover (witch it is). so im exempt from the whole issue I would believe? even though the jeep technically fits A, D, and E of the "abandoned" section

ABANDONEDIncludes any motor vehicle, omnibus, road tractor, trailer, truck, truck-trailer or other vehicle which:A. Is parked without the current year's registration or identification markers as required by law;
B. Has been parked in any public street or on any public land for a period of five days;
C. Is so disabled as to constitute an obstruction of traffic and the driver or person owning or in charge thereof neglects or refuses to move the same to a place where it shall not obstruct traffic;
D. Is found to be mechanically inoperative and is allowed to remain inoperative for a period of five days (said period of time may be extended, for good cause, by the Police Department); or
E. Is found without one or more tires

the cop didn't seem to care that it was unregistered/uninsured, but more so that its sitting on jack stands and is a "safety issue/violation", witch I guess is understandable with kids playing in the neighborhood (though any kid who decides to go under a truck on jack stands at a strangers house deserves to have it fall on them IMO).

the jeep has NJ tags in my name on it by the way. A friend of mine told me to slap some PA tags on it and they cant do a damn thing, not sure if that's a smart idea though?

 

[sardo_67]

Put it on the ground and roll tires up under the wheel wells. Slap a for sale sign on it?

Do you have a pic of the house and jeep in question? Also is this a really nice neighborhood?

If the cop comes by again then ask him to point out what law you are breaking, be polite and don't give him a reason to be a dick. Have the above laws with you if he starts to say something that is obviously wrong.

 

[pajeepman]

I've dealt with this type of BS at my house. My local ordiance states that any vehicle in any major state of disrepair or dismantling is prohibited. Any vehicle not inspected, and registered (which means it must be insured), is considered abandoned after 60 days. Inve gone to court over it to lower the $100 fine I got........yeah i wanna move. This is why my CJ-6 and my CJ-8 are not kept at my house
Local townships adopt their own ordiances....sucks!

 

[chedisme]

Put it on the ground and roll tires up under the wheel wells. Slap a for sale sign on it?

Do you have a pic of the house and jeep in question? Also is this a really nice neighborhood?

If the cop comes by again then ask him to point out what law you are breaking, be polite and don't give him a reason to be a dick. Have the above laws with you if he starts to say something that is obviously wrong.

this is probably the best advice.

 

[5-90]

My jeep is currently unregistered and uninsured. It's sitting on my property in my driveway on jack stands, with no front axle/tires on it. Local cop told me to fix it or be ticketed for abandoned vehicle. Well I sold the axle to go pick up another but that deal fell through and a stock axle won't bolt up to my jeep anymore.. So I covered the vehicle with a car cover like state law says. Cop came back and told me that's not good enough I have 3 days to fix it or I'll be ticked every day until I do.

Am I breaking any laws here? I don't think he can ticket me for vehicle that's tarped, no matter the condition. But I dont want to sound like I know more than I actually do and make the situation any harder than it has to be.

Check the municipal codes for your city - they're a real pain in the arse sometimes.

I've not heard of a cop actually enforcing muni codes, tho. Usually, there's a "code enforcement division" that seems to be staffed with people who were bullied as kids, but couldn't make the cut to become actual cops. Little tin gods, you might say. Can't stand the bastids, I say.

Muni codes make sense when they govern things like building safety - when they get into "urban beautification" or governing safety for people who can't be bothered to look after themselves (it's common sense - if a hedgerow is too high to see OVER, you slow down until you can look AROUND it, right?)

The fact that most of these divisions are "complaint-driven" and that complaints are allowed to be anonymous makes it even worse. The hedgerow down the North street-side property line used to be eight feet high - I liked it that way. Some halfwit called the City (after it had been that high for 34 years, per my neighbour) and we got cited and told to cut it to 34" or less within ten days, or be find $2,500 per day thereafter!

Who thought something like that was anything other than outlandish and stupid? Crap like this is the genesis of my dislike for muni codes and code enforcement "officers." (They're not POST-certified, and I'm not sure they're even sworn, so I hesitate to call them "officers" or "agents" - it's just that any other word I can come up with is going to me massively insulting, and will likely not pass the censor.)