Tag Your Vehicles Now!

The red-tagging efforts of the Department of Vehicle Licensing have been ongoing since mid-November with about 3,000 derelict vehicles ‘labelled’ to date. The storage site for these vehicles has long reached its capacity with over 2,500 vehicles currently waiting there. Almost half of these are ready to be shipped off island and will be removed once shipping methods have been confirmed by MC Restoration.

In the meantime, government officials are pleading with the public to terminate their derelict vehicles while the opportunity for free pick up and disposal is still available.

“The process is simple; come into the department and terminate your vehicle, then call 925-6183 or 925-6184 to arrange for it to be red-tagged and picked up,” says Director of Vehicle Licensing David Dixon: “With proper termination and tagging procedures taken care of, collection is FREE to the individual. However, since time is limited, everyone should take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts.”

On average, approximately 25 vehicles are collected daily and taken to the storage site behind CUC, where a property adjacent to the original lot has been acquired to facilitate additional vehicles. This land will also be the site for further processing as the crusher for compacting vehicles should be on island within the next two weeks.

Despite the ongoing efforts of the department to reduce the number of derelict vehicles in the public domain and to warn the public that these nevertheless remain private property even after being red tagged, a theft problem is still occurring: “Back in January we recognized that people thought tagged vehicles and their parts were free for the taking,” says Mr. Dixon. “Since then, there have been a number of arrests because, as we have explained, it is against the law to damage, take parts from, or illegally move tagged vehicles; they are still the property of the owner.” Mr. Dixon explained that once a car has been red tagged by the department, the owner has 14 days to make a decision about the vehicle, adding: “Until then, it remains private property and should remain unmolested.”

Another issue of concern to the department is that when a tagged vehicle is seen in a particular location, people begin dropping off their derelict vehicles there without proper termination, expecting them to be collected. It is imperative that people go through the proper procedure because vehicles without red tags are not being collected.

All those persons who wish to terminate their vehicles should go to the department or send a representative to go through the proper procedure. If you have already terminated your vehicle, contact 925-6183 or 925-6184 to arrange for free pick up.