The car was taken to the impound lot: the amount of the fine, return conditions

In what cases is a car taken to the impound lot?

Towing a car is one of the types of punishment for violating driving rules. Only traffic police officers have the right to carry out such a procedure. According to statistics, the most common reason is improper parking. This can also happen for a number of other reasons (Article 27.13 of the Administrative Code):

The car is faulty (for example, problems with the brake system or steering);
The owner is deprived of the right to drive a car, or he does not have a driver’s license at all;
The vehicle is impounded;
The driver is drunk (this also includes drinking alcohol after the arrest and before the examination);
The driver refuses to undergo a medical examination;
Violation of the rules for transporting large or dangerous cargo;
Illegal transit transportation;
The car is parked in the wrong place.

In all these cases, a protocol is drawn up, and then the car is sent to the impound lot.

It is important! If the driver eliminated the violation before his car was taken away, he must return the car directly to the same place from where it was taken!

The protocol is drawn up by a traffic police officer in the presence of an attesting witness and the driver. It contains the following data:

Date and place of registration;
Who is the owner of the car, make, year of manufacture, model;
If the driver is not the owner, his data is also recorded;
For what reason are they detained?
Place of service, rank and position of the police officer drawing up the protocol;
Where is the car being taken?

The traffic police representative puts his signature on the document, then this is done by the witness and the owner of the car being picked up.

The most common reason for towing a vehicle is stopping in the area covered by a “no stopping” sign.

If the car owner has serious reasons to believe that the detention is illegal (for example, there are no signs prohibiting parking, but the inspector still insists on a violation, or the protocol itself was drawn up with violations), nothing can be signed. Even if the representative of the law hurries you, assuring you that there will be a chance in court to explain your position, but for now you need to sign so as not to complicate your life. The policeman does not want to complicate life, first of all, for himself - the fact of signing the protocol means that the alleged culprit admits everything that is stated there!

Is it possible to evacuate a car from the yard at night?

Placing a four-wheeled friend near the windows of your home is a difficult task. If you do not have a garage and you do not want to park your vehicle in the parking lot, then you should carefully read the rules for parking in the yard.

First of all, please note that parking a car is prohibited on the territory:

lawn;
children's playground;
sports ground;
garbage containers;
Blocking the sidewalk and roadway is not allowed.

If the car owner violates these actions, then the neighbors have the right to call a towing service. A protocol drawn up on an administrative violation will allow the abandoned car to be moved to the impound lot.

Violation of traffic rules is regulated by paragraph 15 “Stopping and Parking”. The car cannot be parked near garbage containers at a distance of 5 meters.

What do you need to pick up your car from the impound lot?

As practice shows, a car can be towed even if the driver shows up and is ready to eliminate the violation, and it is not recommended to confront a traffic police officer. You should read the protocol, then collect the necessary documents and pick up the car from “penal captivity.”

Required documents

In order to return the car, you must prepare the following documents:

General civil identity card;
Technical passport (STS);
OSAGO;
Driver's license;
Car purchase agreement (in some cases);
Keys.

Only if you have all the documents will you be able to take the car back.

Cost of impound lot

Evacuation is carried out not directly by the police, but by an evacuation service with which the traffic police has an agreement. The services of both a tow truck and the presence of a car on the territory are paid. In addition, you will have to pay a fine.

Transportation of category A and B cars costs 3 thousand rubles. B (with a power of 80-250 horsepower) - two thousand more. Evacuation of more powerful cars of category B costs 7 thousand rubles, and trucks and cars of category D will cost 27 thousand rubles.

If you did not manage to pick up your car on the first day, you will have to pay from 500 to 3000 rubles for every day the car is idle

Tariffs for security services, depending on the weight of the car, range from 500 to 3,000 rubles per day. This issue is regulated by regional legislation. For example, on the territory of Moscow, the norms enshrined in Order No. 35-R of September 9, 2013 apply.

Why can a car be towed?

If your car is parked in an official parking lot, near your house or near a stop sign, then no one has the right to take your car to the impound lot. But this does not always happen; most often the vehicle is towed for violations committed by the driver:

For parking or parking that does not comply with traffic regulations;
Missing documents for the right to drive a specific car;
Malfunctions of the brake system or car control;
Transportation of particularly dangerous cargo without permits and mandatory marking with red tape

There may be other grounds for towing a vehicle to an impound lot, provided for by the Administrative Code on Offences.

But one way or another, your car is not there, and now you are faced with the question of how to pick up your car from the impound lot with minimal financial losses? Your actions must be consistent, and you need to start with a meeting with the traffic inspector who could issue an evacuation order. But you must have a complete package of all necessary documentation with you - a driving license, a vehicle passport and compulsory MTPL insurance. Only in this case can you start a conversation with the inspector. Illegal parking is also a violation, and a corresponding protocol will be drawn up in your name; you will need to read it and sign it, if you fully agree with the inspector’s arguments.

After clarifying all the circumstances and whether the vehicle belongs to you, the inspector issues a certificate in your name, according to which you can pick up your car. Ask the inspector about the telephone number of the special parking lot; you will definitely need it for preliminary negotiations. If he is unknown to him, then you can call 02 and ask the same question, you can be immediately connected to the help desk for the region.

Now let's look at how the payment for the impound lot will be calculated based on the length of stay of the car and the engine power indicator:

There is no charge for the first day of your stay;
For the next 2 and 3 days you will have to pay 40 rubles per hour, after this period the amount will increase to 80 rubles.

For towing to a storage location, the fee is charged differentially based on the category of the vehicle:

For motorcycles and passenger cars with engine power not exceeding 80 l/s - 3 thousand;
For power indicators from 80 to 250 - 5 thousand each;
Passenger vehicles will be towed for a price of 7 thousand;
Minibuses and light trucks are towed for 27 thousand;
Oversized vehicles will cost 47 thousand for transportation.

And in order to return your favorite car, you must have an idea of how much it costs to pick up the car from the impound lot, that is, you pay for the work of the tow truck + the tariff rate for each day of downtime, and the longer you don’t pick it up, the more the amount will only grow every day. And in the end, you will have to pay quite a lot, so in order to save, you need to pick it up as quickly as possible.

Procedure

So, to get your “iron horse” back, you need to:

Find out where the car is;
Get the protocol;
Pay the fine (or do it later);
Collect a list of documents;
Pick up the car.

Where to look for a car

It often happens that a citizen returns to where he parked his vehicle, but the tow truck has already disappeared. Finding where he went is not difficult if you call one of the following numbers:

02 or 112. The operational duty officer of the emergency services, having heard what happened, is obliged to transfer the call to the traffic police duty station serving the area where the incident occurred;
To the number of the traffic police duty station (if these numbers are known);
Evacuation services operating in the city.

You can open the city’s website, which also contains information about detained cars. In the capital of the Russian Federation it is PARKING.MOS.RU. It’s even better to sign up for a mobile subscription on the website - the system will notify you about such cases automatically.

Unlawful detention

If the car was towed illegally, you will have to send a complaint to the traffic police or prove your case in court. At the same time, as already mentioned, it is better not to enter into an argument with traffic inspectors, but to film the evacuation process on the camera of a smartphone, recorder or any other gadget where this option is present. This will come in handy later in the trial.

Until the signing of the protocol with the act of transferring the car, there is a chance to pick up the car on the spot without additional expenses.

If the fact of illegal towing is confirmed, the driver will be compensated for the money spent on the fine, the work of the tow truck and storing the car in the parking lot. Moreover, there is a chance to receive payment for moral damages. In addition, the traffic inspector himself faces a fine of 25 thousand rubles (Article 12.35 of the Administrative Code).

How to prove illegality

The illegality of the evacuation of the “iron horse” will have to be proven. To do this, you need to pick up the car from the parking lot as soon as possible, paying all the required fees, and then seek qualified legal assistance. The defense attorney will help collect evidence for the court (witness testimony, video and audio materials, photographs, etc.).

If the towing service refuses compensation for damage to the vehicle, then you must go to court for compensation for material damage

After this, you need to file a complaint with one of the following government agencies:

traffic police;
Investigative committee;
The prosecutor's office.

It is imperative to indicate the details of the inspector who carried out the arrest and a link to the protocol.

Regulatory acts

The following laws and regulations govern evacuation:

Art. 27.12 Code of Administrative Offenses;
order of the Moscow Department of Economic Policy No. 35-R;
Moscow PP No. 216;
No. 42, No. 205-FZ.

Why can they be evacuated?

The rules for towing a car for illegal parking and other cases are recorded in Article 27.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:

driving a car without a vehicle registration certificate or a driver’s license;
faulty car systems: brake system, steering, clutch and others;
the driver is intoxicated;
the motorist violated the rules of parking or stopping;
violated the rules for transporting large-sized dangerous goods;
refused to be tested for alcohol intoxication;
drank alcohol after the accident, but before the arrival of the traffic police.

You cannot park:

in places for disabled people;
at a pedestrian crossing (and closer than meters from it);
closer than 15 meters from the bus stop;
on tram tracks;
further than the row from the edge of the roadway;
in the tunnel;
in places where you obstruct the movement of other vehicles.

How to pick up a car from an impound lot in various situations

Without owner

Until relatively recently, it was not possible to pick up a seized car, except by presenting documents on ownership of it, or a power of attorney. In 2021, every person included in the MTPL policy can do this. If it is not there, but the citizen knows for sure that his name is there (for example, the car is in the parking lot, and the folder with documents is in the cabin), he will have to work hard to get them, after which the car is sealed again and the issue of the possibility of extradition is decided.

Without payment

If the detention was carried out under legal circumstances, then it will not be possible to return the vehicle without payment. Or rather, according to current regulations, the car will be given back anyway, the main thing is that the applicant has supporting documents that he has the right to drive this particular car. But then all this has to be paid for. A receipt is required for each payment. The payment period is sixty days.

If for some reason the payment paper is not given, then this is a serious reason for going to court and the tax office. The phenomenon of money laundering through impound lots has not yet sunk into oblivion. The tax office will definitely be interested in this circumstance.

You should absolutely never, under any circumstances, try to “remove” a car from the parking lot on your own! Among not very literate citizens, there is a widespread opinion that, they say, the storage service is imposed, and therefore no one is obliged to pay for it. This has nothing to do with reality! Firstly, the very fact of entering the impound lot is illegal (Part 2 of Article 20.17 of the Administrative Code). In addition, there is also the prospect of criminal liability (Article 215.4 of the Criminal Code). An additional fine and possibly arrest will follow.

Without insurance

The MTPL policy is included in the set of mandatory documents, without which it is impossible to obtain a car. This also includes delays. If the policy is invalid, you need to issue a new one or renew the existing one. According to the rules of 2021: if the MTPL policy is expired, but by less than a month, you can get the car with it.

It’s a completely different matter if the precious form remained in the interior of the detained car. You will have to make a number of efforts to get it back. First, you need to find out exactly where the tow truck went, then collect the necessary papers, then the car will be opened in front of the owner by parking lot employees. After receiving the documents, the car will be sealed again. With a complete set of documents, you need to go to the traffic police duty station for permission, confirming that the citizen can receive the vehicle in his hands. Now you must present the documents to the parking lot staff, and only now will you be able to get the car.

If the documents are left in the car, you must go to the impound lot, where, in your presence, the parking lot employee will draw up a protocol for opening the car and removing the required papers from it.

It is best to avoid situations where the possibility of handing over a car from the impound lot becomes jeopardized due to the MTPL policy. Practice shows that although this paper is not paramount, like, for example, a technical passport, it is also included in the set of mandatory documents and without it they will not even talk to the car owner. Never skimp on insurance and extend its duration!

Without a power of attorney

A power of attorney is not required to return a car “stolen” by a tow truck. It is enough to present the compulsory motor liability insurance policy, where the applicant’s name is listed. If the policy is valid and issued in accordance with all the rules, then the car will be returned.

After drinking

The procedure for receiving a car in your hands is the same if the incident did not entail consequences associated with the criminal code of the Russian Federation. If the owner was drunk, then you first need to sober up, and only then go to the traffic police department. The driver's license will remain for ten days. If this is impossible, and the citizen himself cannot get behind the wheel, then you need to issue a power of attorney for another person, or contact towing services.

It is important! A driver's license can only be confiscated by a court decision! No inspector is authorized to do this, so you cannot give your driving license to a traffic police officer. If the driver is so illiterate that he succumbed to the assurances of self-government, he should contact a lawyer and only then “rescue” his documents.

Evacuation procedure

The detention of the car will stop if a person appears at the place of detention who is able to drive this car without violating the Traffic Rules.

Also, evacuation does not occur if the reason for the detention of the vehicle was eliminated before the vehicle began moving, which is intended to move the detained car to the impound lot.

The decision to detain a car or to stop it is made by an official who is authorized to draw up protocols on such administrative offenses.

It can be:

traffic police inspector;
inspector of the Moscow Administrative Road Inspectorate.

The decision to detain vehicles of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, engineering and technical, road construction military formations under federal executive authorities, rescue military formations is made by an official of the military automobile inspection.

The inspector identifies a car that was left in violation of traffic rules, makes a decision to detain it, and calls a tow truck with employees of the organization “Administrator of the Moscow Parking Space.” Begins drawing up a protocol.

Next, the inspector remains at the place of detention and waits until the vehicle that is moving the offending vehicle to the impound lot starts moving.

Rules for drawing up a protocol

The arrest report contains the following information:

date of;
time;
place;
grounds for vehicle detention;
position, full name of the inspector who compiled the protocol;
information about the car and its owner;
position, full name of the person executing the decision to detain the vehicle.

The protocol is signed by the person who compiled it and the person against whom a case of administrative offense was opened. If the driver refuses to detain his vehicle or does not sign the protocol, a corresponding entry is made in the document.

A copy of the protocol is given to the driver and the person executing the decision to detain the vehicle. If the driver of the detained car is absent, the document is drawn up in the presence of two witnesses, and a video recording can also be made.

The costs of moving a detained car and storing it are reimbursed by the driver who committed an administrative offense due to which the car was towed. At the same time, he must also pay a fine for illegal parking.

The inspector must also make an inventory of personal and valuable substances in the car, problems and damage. All access points to the car are sealed.

The cost of transporting and storing a car in a parking lot is regulated differently by different regions of the Russian Federation, and therefore differs from the cost in other regions. Study the regulations of the region in which you are located.

The period of detention is calculated from the moment the protocol is drawn up.

The tow truck started moving

It will be much better if you have time to return to the moment of evacuation.

In 2015, a law was passed prohibiting evacuation in the presence of the car owner. Then you will be able to eliminate the reason for the detention, but you will have to pay a fine for violating traffic rules.

Things are worse if the tow truck has already loaded the car and started moving. Then the car will have to be picked up from the special parking lot according to all the rules. Ask the inspector how to pick up your car. He is obliged to advise you.

If the tow truck has loaded the car and has already started moving, it is strictly prohibited:

try to impede the movement of the tow truck;
break the seals on a detained car and try to get inside.

Administrative penalties imposed on a car owner who violates these rules:

1000 rubles for obstructing the movement of a tow truck;
1000 rubles for disobedience to the legal requirement of the inspector;
administrative arrest for 15 days.

If you are confused and forgot to find out the information necessary to return the car, let’s figure it out. Let's find out what the rules are for releasing a car from the impound lot.

We pick up the car

First, you need to contact the organization that was involved in the detention of your car. This is the traffic police or MADI.

Take the following documents with you:

driver's license;
vehicle registration certificate;
OSAGO insurance policy.

If the documents are left in the evacuated car, you should go to the impound lot, write an application for access to the car and the car dealership, pick up the documents, go to the traffic police or MADI duty station, receive a report on the detention of the car with a mark that allows you to get the vehicle back.

If you are a representative of the car owner, you need to take the following documents:

confirming the right to own a car;
identification document;
power of attorney for the right to receive a detained vehicle from the impound lot;
permission to return the car.

Penalty parking is open 24 hours a day. When you provide all the documents at the impound lot, you will receive a receipt for payment and you can pick up the car. Make sure that there is no new damage to the car and that all valuables are in place in the cabin.

Video: Car evacuation, impound lot. How to pick up a car from an impound lot

How to pay for evacuation?

At the special parking lot you will receive a receipt for payment for the evacuation and storage of the detained vehicle.

The rules for paying for a towed vehicle allow you to pay for the detention of a vehicle:

with a 25% discount before receiving the car (there are terminals in the special parking lot);
within 60 days at any bank you pay the full cost of transportation and storage services.

The cost of evacuation is:

categories A, B (up to 80 hp) - 3,000 rubles;
B (80-250 hp), cargo vehicles are excluded - 5,000;
B (more than 250 hp) - 7,000;
D (freight, oversized are excluded) - 27,000;
oversized - 29,000.

Cost of storage in a parking lot per day:

A - 500 rubles;
B, D (weight no more than 3.5 tons) - 1,000;
D (more than 3.5 tons), C, E - 2,000;
oversized - 2,000.

Payment is charged for a full day. There is no need to pay for the first day of storage.

Information about impound lots, costs, and new rules may change. Monitor the latest information on the official website of the Moscow Parking https://parking.mos.ru/.

At the link https://parking.mos.ru/about/182/ you will find the addresses where permits are issued to return the car after evacuation.

A useful reminder for drivers on parking and moving a car to an impound lot can be found at the link: https://parking.mos.ru/upload/New%20Folder/pamyatka_sp_st.pdf. The addresses of Moscow penalty parking lots are also located there.

If the car is damaged while moving

The organization “Administrator of the Moscow Parking Space” must bear full responsibility for the safety of the transported vehicle from the moment the movement begins until the minute it is returned.

Damage caused to the vehicle is compensated by this institution.

Is it possible not to pick up the car?

The longer the car is parked, the higher the amount for its stay becomes. Therefore, it is necessary to pick up the vehicle as soon as possible. In some cases, tow trucks are forced to go to court to recover the necessary amount from the negligent owner.

Sometimes it happens like this: the car is already in such a condition that it becomes impossible to drive it, and the owner decides to leave it to the owners of the parking lot as compensation for expenses. However, this is not always possible; a car, even in reasonable condition, will most likely not be valued at one hundred percent of its value.

Other rules

Since 2015, rules regarding the following actions have been in force:

During evacuation, the traffic police/MADI inspector is required to remain in place until the tow truck starts moving with the loaded car. If before this moment the driver returns to the parking lot, the car must be unloaded, and the car owner will only get off with a fine.
Evacuation is possible only where there is a special sign indicating that a tow truck is operating in this area. Information about the work of tow trucks can also be found on the website of the authorities that control this section of the road.
It is illegal to evacuate if the driver does not have his license with him. The inspector must check their presence in his database and impose a fine. But if the driver does not have a license at all (they were confiscated by a court decision), the car is taken to a impound lot.
It also provides for a fine for having a sign on a car that says “disabled” (even though the driver is not one) and an additional administrative penalty for parking in a space for disabled people.

Recommendations

If you go away for a while and return and don’t find your car, don’t panic:

Eliminate the possibility of theft by calling number 02 (112 for mobile phones) . You can also call 3210 (or +7 495 539-54-54).
Connect an SMS notification about evacuation by sending an SMS with the license plate number of your car to number 7737 (EV_P_Plate number).
You can avoid evacuation and pick up the car from a tow truck if you have not yet signed the car acceptance certificate. If the document has already been signed, you will have to go through the entire procedure to return the vehicle from the impound lot.
It is prohibited to evacuate a car if there are people inside . But if you lock yourself in the car and refuse to get out, an additional protocol will be issued for disobedience to traffic police officers.
If you left your car under a prohibitory sign and the car is faulty, leave a corresponding note and the time when you can remove the car, as well as contact information.
Install a special anti-tow app on your mobile phone . It monitors the car and warns about an attempt to evacuate it with a call or SMS message. You will need two phones. Leave one in the cabin, take the other with you. Such applications monitor vehicle vibrations.

If there were no violations in your actions, but the car was towed illegally, go to court. Collect proof of your innocence: before leaving the parking spot, take photographs confirming that it is legal to park there.

If you have the necessary evidence of the legality of your actions or the malfunction of the car, write a statement of claim.

If the court rules in your favor, the funds paid for the evacuation and storage of the car in the impound lot will be returned to you.

You can also demand compensation payments for moral damage caused to the car owner. This is a long and rather painful process for the nervous system, but sometimes the victory is worth such experiences.

Do not violate the traffic rules, do not obstruct the movement of other vehicles, and you will not be afraid of evacuation. If the car was towed illegally, now you know how to deal with it.

In what cases can they refuse to issue a car?

The “iron horse” will be refused in the following cases:

Absence of at least one of the required documents;
The driver is drunk;
There was no permission from the traffic police.

In other cases, the retention is illegal.

There is no need to be afraid of evacuation services - this is life, and anything can happen in it. The main thing in such situations is to know your rights and obligations, then the return of the car will take place without any special financial or emotional costs.

Author: Andrey
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Towing a car: when can you stop it?

Can a car be towed if the driver approaches? The answer to this question depends on a large number of circumstances characterizing the evacuation procedure. In the most general case, it includes the following main steps:

Discovery by the traffic police inspector of a violation of traffic rules, which requires the evacuation of the car.

A common scenario is a parking violation. For example, parking at a pedestrian crossing, at a bus stop, second row.

The traffic police inspector, based on the circumstances of the identified traffic violation, makes a decision to detain the vehicle, and then calls a tow truck, which is provided by a specialized public or private organization.
Registration by the traffic police inspector in the prescribed manner of traffic violations, drawing up protocols provided for by law on the detention of the car and on the commission of an administrative violation by its owner.
Inspecting the vehicle before loading, documenting, if necessary, external defects of the body (scratches, damage), sealing the vehicle.
Loading the car onto an arriving tow truck and then moving it to the nearest impound lot.

If the owner of the car approached it before the start of the procedure under point 5, then the car must be given back immediately and unconditionally - provided that the owner promptly eliminates the reason for its detention. That is, if we are talking about incorrect parking, he will move the car to the correct place or simply drive away with it.

In this case, of course, the driver will be given fine documents in the prescribed manner - according to which he will have to pay a fine for the offense committed. The fact that the car owner manages to “intercept” the car before its towing does not relieve him of responsibility for the actions taken that served as the reason for calling a tow truck.

If the car owner comes to the place where he left the car at the time of completing the procedure described under paragraph 5, then he has the right to stop the evacuation process only in one case - if he clearly lets the evacuation service workers know about his appearance before the moment when the tow truck will move.

That is, the car must be given back if, for example:

the structural elements of the manipulator began to be attached to it;
it is already “hanging in the air” - before being placed directly in the tow truck;
she is already in the tow truck - which is still standing still.

If a tow truck with a loaded car moves even a few centimeters, it is no longer possible to demand the return of the car.

Thus, the evacuation of a car in the presence of the owner will be stopped if he notifies of his presence before the tow truck starts moving. At the same time, it doesn’t matter how far he managed to drive away: it is quite possible that he is performing some kind of local maneuver (for example, turning around), standing at the nearest traffic light, or, having barely driven away from the place where the car was loaded, got into a traffic jam and has been standing there for several minutes (or even hours). In such cases, the car will not be given back. You'll have to go pick her up to the impound lot.

The driver should be aware of certain rules for interacting with evacuation service employees. There are certain things that are unacceptable to do during such interaction.