Piscataway, NJ Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Chapter 3's abandoned motor vehicle rules, § 3-5, cover both public streets and private lots. Section 3-5.2 makes it unlawful to abandon a vehicle or to leave one anywhere in the Township long enough, and under such circumstances, that it appears abandoned. Section 3-5.3 goes further for streets and highways: no partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked or junked vehicle may be left there at all, and trailers, including landscapers', boat and recreational trailers, may not sit in a street unless attached to a towing vehicle. Section 3-5.4 governs private property: an owner, tenant, occupant or lessee cannot allow a partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle to remain longer than 14 days.

The 14-day rule carries three exceptions: a vehicle inside an enclosed building, a vehicle on a lawfully operated business's premises when needed for that business, and a vehicle in a storage place or depository the Township itself lawfully maintains. Under § 3-5.5, the Chief of Police or a designated officer may remove and impound any vehicle that reasonably appears to violate this section, or that is lost, stolen or unclaimed, and must notify the registered and legal owner by personal service or certified mail of the removal, the reason and the vehicle's location. The vehicle stays impounded until the owner pays the towing and removal cost plus the garage charge set under § 4-12.