Nevada § 484B.443 - Law enforcement officer authorized to remove certain vehicles and property; protocol for selection and use of towing services; duties and liability of person removing vehicle or property; responsibility for cost of removal

§ 484B.443. Law enforcement officer authorized to remove certain vehicles and property; protocol for selection and use of towing services; duties and liability of person removing vehicle or property; responsibility for cost of removal

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, whenever any law enforcement officer

finds a vehicle standing upon a highway in violation of any of the provisions of chapters

484A to 484E, inclusive, of NRS, the officer may move the vehicle, or require the

driver or person in charge of the vehicle to move it, to a position off the paved,

improved or main-traveled part of the highway. 2. Whenever any law enforcement officer finds a vehicle, the cargo of a vehicle or

other property unattended, disabled or spilled upon any highway, bridge or causeway,

or in any tunnel, where the vehicle, cargo or property constitutes an obstruction

to traffic, interferes with the normal flow of traffic or otherwise endangers public

safety, the officer or the law enforcement agency employing the officer, in coordination

with unified command, if applicable, may provide for the immediate removal of the

vehicle, cargo or property to a position where the vehicle, cargo or property no longer

constitutes an obstruction to traffic, interferes with the normal flow of traffic

or otherwise endangers public safety. 3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, any law enforcement officer may,

subject to the requirements of subsection 4, remove any vehicle or part of a vehicle

found on the highway, or cause it to be removed, to a garage or other place of safekeeping

if: (a) The vehicle has been involved in a crash and is so disabled that its normal operation

is impossible or impractical and the person or persons in charge of the vehicle are

incapacitated by reason of physical injury or other reason to such an extent as to

be unable to provide for its removal or custody, or are not in the immediate vicinity

of the disabled vehicle; (b) The person driving or in actual physical control of the vehicle is arrested for

any alleged offense for which the officer is required by law to take the person arrested

before a proper magistrate without unnecessary delay; (c) The person driving or in actual physical control of the vehicle has been issued

a citation for reckless driving pursuant to NRS 484B.653 ; or (d) The person in charge of the vehicle is unable to provide for its custody or removal

within: (1) Twenty-four hours after abandoning the vehicle on any freeway, United States highway

or other primary arterial highway. (2) Seventy-two hours after abandoning the vehicle on any other highway. 4. Unless a different course of action is necessary to preserve evidence of a criminal

offense, a law enforcement officer who wishes to have a vehicle or part of a vehicle

removed from a highway pursuant to subsection 3 shall, in accordance with any applicable

protocol such as a rotational schedule regarding the selection and use of towing services,

cause the vehicle or part of a vehicle to be removed by a tow car operator. The tow car operator shall, to the extent practicable and using the shortest and

most direct route, remove the vehicle or part of a vehicle to the garage of the tow

car operator unless directed otherwise by the officer. The tow car operator is liable for any loss of or damage to the vehicle or its contents

that occurs while the vehicle is in the possession or control of the tow car operator. 5. A person or entity, including a law enforcement officer, the law enforcement agency

employing the law enforcement officer, unified command or a tow car operator who provides

for the removal of a vehicle, the cargo of a vehicle or other property pursuant to

subsection 2: (a) Is not liable for any loss of or damage to the vehicle, the contents of the vehicle,

the cargo or the property that is removed; and (b) Must make a reasonable attempt, as soon as practicable, to notify the owner of

the vehicle, cargo or property as to the location of the vehicle, cargo or property

if the owner of the vehicle or property is not present at the time of removal and

the owner of the vehicle, cargo or property is ascertainable by the officer. 6. All costs incurred under the provisions of subsection 2 must be borne by the owner

of the vehicle, cargo or property. 7. As used in this section: (a) “ Traffic incident ” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 484B.607 . (b) “ Unified command ” means a group of law enforcement officers or other persons organized to provide

a coordinated response to a traffic incident which requires two or more responding

entities within a jurisdiction or which requires responding entities from two or more

jurisdictions. The responding entities may include, without limitation, police, fire or emergency

medical personnel, a tow car operator, or a state or local governmental entity responsible

for roadway or other infrastructure repair or maintenance.