Abandoned vehicles get the boot

By Holly DeCarlo-White
USAG Stuttgart Public Affairs

Community Question: Why are booted vehicles not towed faster on-post?

Personnel continue to PCS-out and abandon vehicles, even though it is a requirement to out-process with the garrison vehicle registration office.

Vehicles that community members may see sitting on-post, parked in housing, the Exchange lot or other area parking lots are either without registration or the vehicle has been abandoned. Sometimes the community members are here, but have allowed their registrations to expire.

If a vehicle has no license plate, it means that the individual’s plates were confiscated and a law enforcement report (LER)  was generated for failure to re-register by Military Police. A traffic citation is also issued and a copy of the report, including the ticket, is sent to the owner’s command for action.

Stuttgart MP’s track all traffic citations and violations. The traffic section is responsible for tracking and processing abandoned vehicles.

“We cannot legally just tow a vehicle,” said Master Sgt. Ronnie Ransbottom, Provost Sergeant, U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart Directorate of Emergency Services. “There is a process that starts with identifying the vehicle as being abandoned. The most common way is through the vehicle not having current registration on it, at which time the MP patrol confiscates the plates and completes a LER.

“The vehicles have a boot placed on it to prevent the owner from driving it without registration.  An abandoned vehicle tag is also placed on the vehicle to inform the owner that if the vehicle is not moved, it will be towed at their expense,” Ransbottom said.

Once vehicles can be towed to the impound lot on the airfield, a long six-month process to locate the owner of the vehicle begins before the garrison can dispose of the vehicle.

Fore more details on the process, consequences and donation or sale options for vehicles, click here.

Sell your vehicle in the Lemon Lot on Panzer Kaserne, details here.