Kauai County, HI Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Abandonment threshold
- 24 hours unattended on a highway
- Enforcing agency
- Kaua'i Police Department, Chief of Police
- Disposal authority
- HRS Chapter 290 procedures
- Auction notice
- Mailed at least 10 days before sale
- Auction timing
- Not earlier than 60 days after impound
- Owner liability
- All removal and storage expenses
Summary
On Kaua'i (Kaua'i County), leaving a vehicle unattended on a public highway for more than 24 hours makes it legally abandoned. The Chief of Police can remove it, and the registered owner is liable for every dollar of removal, storage and disposal cost under the Traffic Code.
No person shall abandon any vehicle or disabled vehicle on the public highway. The Chief of Police may remove or cause to be removed any abandoned vehicle from the highway, dispose of the vehicle in accordance with Chapter 290, H.R.S., and the registered owner of the vehicle shall be liable for all reasonable expenses incurred by the removal. Leaving a vehicle unattended for more than twenty-four (24) hours shall constitute abandonment within the meaning of this Section. When a notice of abandonment is posted on a vehicle, if the vehicle is not removed within twenty-four (24) hours of said posting from the location where the notice was posted and from all highways and parks located within a one (1) mile radius of said location, failure to remove the vehicle shall constitute a continuation of the original abandonment.
Full Breakdown
Kaua'i County Code § 16-9.6 sets the 24-hour clock: any vehicle, disabled or not, left unattended on a public highway past that point is abandoned, and the Kaua'i Police Department may pull it off the road and dispose of it under Hawai'i Revised Statutes Chapter 290. Posting an abandonment notice restarts nothing in the owner's favor; if the vehicle is not moved within 24 hours of the posting, and not moved out of every highway and park within a one-mile radius, the clock is treated as a continuation of the original abandonment, not a fresh violation.
Once impounded under the companion authority in § 16-9.7, the vehicle goes to a garage or storage yard, and § 16-9.8 lets the Chief of Police auction it at least 60 days after impound, with written notice mailed to the owner's last known address at least 10 days ahead of the sale. Anyone can reclaim the vehicle before the gavel by paying all towing and storage costs. If no bid is received, the County first offers the vehicle to the Department of Public Works for use or salvage, and only disposes of it at a County refuse dump if Public Works declines.
Auction proceeds cover the sale's own costs first, and any balance lands in the General Fund. Under § 16-9.5, the license plate on the vehicle is treated in any proceeding as prima facie evidence that the registered owner is the person who abandoned it there.
Violations & Fines
The registered owner bears every reasonable expense of removal, storage, disposal and auction, and § 16-9.6 carries no separate fine, so the general penalty in § 1-2.4 (a fine of not more than $100 per offense) applies to the abandonment itself. A vehicle that keeps getting re-abandoned within the same one-mile radius after a posted notice does not reset the violation; enforcement treats it as one continuing offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a car sit before Kaua'i County calls it abandoned?
What happens after my car is towed as abandoned on Kaua'i?
Who pays for towing an abandoned vehicle in Kaua'i County?
What if nobody bids on my abandoned vehicle at auction?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kauai County
Compare Kauai County to another location·View the Hawaii parking rules overview
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