ORLANDO, Fla. – You’ve seen them and probably wondered the purpose is for those red stickers placed on abandoned vehicles along the side of the road.
Road Rangers, the Florida Highway Patrol, and other law enforcement agencies place the red tags on vehicles, informing the owner their vehicle has a limited time to be removed from the interstate, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Recommended Videos
According to the FHP, when troopers place them on an abandoned vehicle, they add the time they were placed on the vehicle to let the owner know they have a set number of hours for removal.
By Florida law, a vehicle must be removed from a limited access highway within six hours – on other roadways, the time requirement is 12 hours.
[TRENDING: Become a News 6 Insider]
FDOT said the red tag serves several purposes, but the most important one is it advises motorists that a Road Ranger or trooper stopped by their vehicle while they were away. The red tag also encourages the owner to call *347, so we can dispatch either a Road Ranger or trooper to assist the driver when they return.
According to the FDOT, one of the main dangers that abandoned vehicles on a limited access highway can cause is the slowdown of emergency vehicles responding to an incident. A vehicle parked in a dangerous location or in a travel lane can be towed immediately.
If a driver’s vehicle is towed, they should call *347 to find out where their vehicle was taken.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: