For the purposes of this article and Article 39:

(a) "Officer" means any state, county, or municipal law enforcement officer, including county and municipal code enforcement and sanitation officers.

(b) "Abandoned vehicle" means a vehicle required to be registered in this State if operated on a public highway in this State that is left unattended on a highway for more than forty-eight hours, or a vehicle that has remained on private or other public property for a period of more than seven days without the consent of the owner or person in control of the property.

(c) "Derelict vehicle" means a vehicle required to be registered in this State if operated on a public highway in this State:

(1) whose certificate of registration has expired and the registered owner no longer resides at the address listed on the last certificate of registration on record with the Department of Motor Vehicles; or

(2) whose motor or other major parts have been removed so as either to render the vehicle inoperable or the operation of which would violate Section 56-5-4410; or

(3) whose manufacturer's serial plates, motor vehicle identification numbers, license number plates, and any other means of identification have been removed so as to nullify efforts to locate or identify the registered owner; or

(4) whose registered owner of record disclaims ownership or releases his rights thereto; or

(5) which is more than eight years old and does not bear a current registration.

(d) "Demolisher" means any person, firm, or corporation whose business is to convert a vehicle into processed scrap or scrap metal or otherwise to wreck or dismantle such a vehicle.

(e) "Colored tag" means any type of notice affixed to an abandoned or derelict vehicle advising the owner or the person in possession that it has been declared an abandoned or derelict vehicle and will be treated as such. The tag shall be of sufficient size to be easily discernable and shall contain such information as the Department of Public Safety deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this article.

(f) "Demolisher" means any person whose business is to convert a vehicle into processed scrap or scrap metal for recycling purposes or otherwise to wreck or dismantle vehicles.

(g) "Salvage yard" means a business or a person who holds a license issued by the State required of all retailers, possesses ten or more derelict vehicles, and regularly engages in buying or selling used vehicle parts.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-490.22; 1974 (58) 2103; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1462; 1996 Act No. 459, Section 200; 2008 Act No. 308, Section 1, eff upon approval (became law without the Governor's signature on June 12, 2008).