Hawaii County, HI Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Section 20-07-01(a) makes it unlawful for anyone to leave, abandon, or place a wrecked or nonoperational automobile or construction equipment, or any part of one, or scrap iron or similar material, on a public highway, public property, or the private property of another. The Department of Environmental Management takes custody of and disposes of abandoned or derelict vehicles under chapter 290, Hawai'i Revised Statutes, and Section 20-01-03 separately defines an "abandoned vehicle" as one unlawfully parked and left unattended for more than twenty-four continuous hours on a public highway, public property, or the private roads of an open, ungated subdivision.

Removal itself is limited: the department will only tow a vehicle located on or within ten feet of the edge of a public or private road, and will not remove one from any area the director judges unsafe for a tow truck (Section 20-07-01(c)(1)-(2)). Before towing, the department affixes a notice requiring the vehicle be moved beyond a one-mile radius within twenty-four hours; if it hasn't moved by then, it is classified abandoned and subject to removal, and every decision to tow rests in the director's discretion (Section 20-07-01(c)(3)-(5)).

The department must also run a public outreach program teaching residents, community associations, road corporations, and tow companies how to report an abandoned vehicle, and must adopt its own rules for disposition consistent with chapter 290, HRS (Section 20-07-01(d)-(e)). Separately, Section 20-07-21 lets a property owner or registered vehicle owner apply to the department's vehicle disposal assistance program to have an unwanted vehicle removed, contingent on funding in the County's vehicle disposal fund and the director's discretion, provided the owner keeps the vehicle accessible for towing.