(Aurora, Colo.) -- A total of 565 vehicles have been towed since Jan. 1 under a new Aurora tow law adopted in September 2024, according to Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain. He offered the statistic Thursday during the safety committee meeting of the Aurora City Council.
The law, sponsored by council member Stephanie Hancock, also is being considered at the state level. It allows for an immediate tow if a driver has no license, no plates, and no insurance. All three violations must be present for a tow to be ordered.
Council member Danielle Jurinsky asked during the public safety committee meeting Thursday how Aurorans can buy cars that aren’t claimed from the tow yard and go to auction. Jurinsky said she believes most people won’t bother to claim their cars. City manager Jason Batchelor said the cars go to auction and the city receives 25% of sales. Jurinsky said the city may want to consider owning its own tow lot so it can receive all of the revenue and offset other costs. She wants the city to advertise the auctions, for examaple, so Aurorans on a budget can buy an inexpensive vehicle. Batchelor agreed staff could provide information to the council on the city owning a tow lot and advertising the auctions.
Vehicles without plates proliferate
“Since the pandemic, the number of motor vehicles on Aurora’s roads with expired license plates or expired temporary registration tags has increased exponentially,” according to the ordinance. “More often than not, when a vehicle is stopped by a police officer for not having valid registration, the officer finds that the operator also does not have a valid driver’s license or insurance covering the operation of the motor vehicle as required by law.”
Without these essentials, the ordinance maintains, it is not safe to operate a vehicle on Aurora’s roads. “Members of the police department are authorized, at their discretion, to remove or have removed at their direction a vehicle from a street or any public way or place to the nearest garage or other place of safety or to a garage or other impound facility….”