1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, whenever any law enforcement officer finds a vehicle standing upon a highway in violation of any of the provisions of chapters 484A to 484E, inclusive, of NRS, the officer may move the vehicle, or require the driver or person in charge of the vehicle to move it, to a position off the paved, improved or main-traveled part of the highway.

2. Whenever any law enforcement officer finds a vehicle, the cargo of a vehicle or other property unattended, disabled or spilled upon any highway, bridge or causeway, or in any tunnel, where the vehicle, cargo or property constitutes an obstruction to traffic, interferes with the normal flow of traffic or otherwise endangers public safety, the officer or the law enforcement agency employing the officer, in coordination with unified command, if applicable, may provide for the immediate removal of the vehicle, cargo or property to a position where the vehicle, cargo or property no longer constitutes an obstruction to traffic, interferes with the normal flow of traffic or otherwise endangers public safety.

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, any law enforcement officer may, subject to the requirements of subsection 4, remove any vehicle or part of a vehicle found on the highway, or cause it to be removed, to a garage or other place of safekeeping if:

(a) The vehicle has been involved in a crash and is so disabled that its normal operation is impossible or impractical and the person or persons in charge of the vehicle are incapacitated by reason of physical injury or other reason to such an extent as to be unable to provide for its removal or custody, or are not in the immediate vicinity of the disabled vehicle;

(b) The person driving or in actual physical control of the vehicle is arrested for any alleged offense for which the officer is required by law to take the person arrested before a proper magistrate without unnecessary delay; or

(c) The person in charge of the vehicle is unable to provide for its custody or removal within:

(1) Twenty-four hours after abandoning the vehicle on any freeway, United States highway or other primary arterial highway.

(2) Seventy-two hours after abandoning the vehicle on any other highway.

4. Unless a different course of action is necessary to preserve evidence of a criminal offense, a law enforcement officer who wishes to have a vehicle or part of a vehicle removed from a highway pursuant to subsection 3 shall, in accordance with any applicable protocol such as a rotational schedule regarding the selection and use of towing services, cause the vehicle or part of a vehicle to be removed by a tow car operator. The tow car operator shall, to the extent practicable and using the shortest and most direct route, remove the vehicle or part of a vehicle to the garage of the tow car operator unless directed otherwise by the officer. The tow car operator is liable for any loss of or damage to the vehicle or its contents that occurs while the vehicle is in the possession or control of the tow car operator.

5. A person or entity, including a law enforcement officer, the law enforcement agency employing the law enforcement officer, unified command or a tow car operator who provides for the removal of a vehicle, the cargo of a vehicle or other property pursuant to subsection 2:

(a) Is not liable for any loss of or damage to the vehicle, the contents of the vehicle, the cargo or the property that is removed; and

(b) Must make a reasonable attempt, as soon as practicable, to notify the owner of the vehicle, cargo or property as to the location of the vehicle, cargo or property if the owner of the vehicle or property is not present at the time of removal and the owner of the vehicle, cargo or property is ascertainable by the officer.

6. All costs incurred under the provisions of subsection 2 must be borne by the owner of the vehicle, cargo or property.

7. As used in this section:

(a) “Traffic incident” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 484B.607.

(b) “Unified command” means a group of law enforcement officers or other persons organized to provide a coordinated response to a traffic incident which requires two or more responding entities within a jurisdiction or which requires responding entities from two or more jurisdictions. The responding entities may include, without limitation, police, fire or emergency medical personnel, a tow car operator, or a state or local governmental entity responsible for roadway or other infrastructure repair or maintenance.

(Added to NRS by 1969, 1503; A 1975, 775; 1983, 849; 1997, 2798; 2003, 1962; 2015, 1636; 2017, 1294) — (Substituted in revision for NRS 484.397)