I drove away before the tow truck came! What does the law say?
November 22, 2014 1:36 PM Subscribe
I ran a few luggage bags into the airport terminal for my aging grandmother and ran back out to the curb. Must have been 2 minutes. Airport security waved me away from my car and told me my car was being towed. I just stepped in my car and drove away while security insisted my car was being towed. What does the law say? Will I get a ticket if they've pulled my plates? Am I legally obligated to wait for a tow truck? Am I a fugitive of airport security?
If you get a ticket in the mail, pay it. If you don't, don't. The airport police won't look any more favorably on you if you go back and say, "Hey, I was the person who drove away from one of your troopers the other day."
posted by Etrigan at 1:45 PM on November 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 1:45 PM on November 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
ha ha ha I love that you did this.
I am a lawyer but have no idea what the law "would say" on this.
However, since the officers made no move to detain or even stop you (waving you away from your car is not even a stop in the constitutional sense) and I cannot imagine a law that gives officers a possessory or confiscatory interest or right in your car when you are present and able (as you did) to drive it away... I would say you are in the clear and simply foiled their effort to extract a heavy towing fee from you. Good job.
posted by jayder at 2:20 PM on November 22, 2014 [41 favorites]
I am a lawyer but have no idea what the law "would say" on this.
However, since the officers made no move to detain or even stop you (waving you away from your car is not even a stop in the constitutional sense) and I cannot imagine a law that gives officers a possessory or confiscatory interest or right in your car when you are present and able (as you did) to drive it away... I would say you are in the clear and simply foiled their effort to extract a heavy towing fee from you. Good job.
posted by jayder at 2:20 PM on November 22, 2014 [41 favorites]
Pay whatever fine may come your way, and breathe a sigh of relief that they didn't haul your person away while the bomb squad checked over your vehicle. Next time, keep in mind this is an airport, where the security people have a lot of legitimate concerns about unattended things.
posted by beagle at 3:03 PM on November 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by beagle at 3:03 PM on November 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
Jayder nails it.
Even more so if these were security officers and not police.
posted by Unsomnambulist at 3:13 PM on November 22, 2014
Even more so if these were security officers and not police.
posted by Unsomnambulist at 3:13 PM on November 22, 2014
Because you say 'security,' and because they didn't point guns at you, I assume they weren't actual policemen. If that's the case, I'd bet you're OK. If they were cops, you'll probably hear some more about it.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:17 PM on November 22, 2014
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:17 PM on November 22, 2014
You won't have to pay towing storage fees, or be inconvenienced to go get your car. Even if they send you a ticket you already are ahead. If a ticket shows up (which I doubt). Then you can ask about its legitimacy.
posted by TheAdamist at 4:29 PM on November 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by TheAdamist at 4:29 PM on November 22, 2014 [2 favorites]
A law requiring you to wait for your car to be towed would be kind of weird. I mean, usually cars are towed to get them out the way of something (parking spot, traffic lane, etc). You moved your car instead of the tow company-- I actually think should be OK. As to whether you'll get a ticket, you'll have to wait and see. But I'm doubtful you will...
posted by zennie at 6:21 PM on November 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by zennie at 6:21 PM on November 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'm going to guess it was security guys who were trying to carry a bit more authority than they actually possessed. I'm sure they have authority to tow your car, but probably not to actually confiscate you or your property in the meantime.
The reason I'm guessing it's security guys is because at my local airport, the local sheriff's department handles curbside security measures. And if they ever tell you to do something based on a security concern, there's no way that isn't happening
posted by SpacemanStix at 9:02 PM on November 22, 2014
The reason I'm guessing it's security guys is because at my local airport, the local sheriff's department handles curbside security measures. And if they ever tell you to do something based on a security concern, there's no way that isn't happening
posted by SpacemanStix at 9:02 PM on November 22, 2014
Am I legally obligated to wait for a tow truck?
Hahahahhaa no, no matter what any stupid swinging-dick private security guard tells you. You can even get them in trouble sometimes for blocking your path if you try and leave.
I have a policy, after many bad experiences, of just never believing anything a security guard says to me about what i "must" do, or "can't" do if it involves just leaving, unless the police are literally right there standing behind them. It has never, ever let me down.
The only exception to this i can think of is theft, where they can legally detain you until the cops show up.
It's one thing if like many airports this sort of thing is managed by real police, but if it's just security guards? tack on an "eventually", or even a "soon" to anything like this they say.
Any how dare you toned command like this you get? just say "ok", then keep doing whatever you were doing. Especially if that thing was just leaving.
Also, as mentioned above, this is a pretty badass move. You'll at worst get a $40-80 parking or impeding the flow ticket, and not ~$500 of tow and impound and other garbage including them not notifying you what lot it ended up at for days and tacking that on, etc.
posted by emptythought at 3:03 PM on November 23, 2014
Hahahahhaa no, no matter what any stupid swinging-dick private security guard tells you. You can even get them in trouble sometimes for blocking your path if you try and leave.
I have a policy, after many bad experiences, of just never believing anything a security guard says to me about what i "must" do, or "can't" do if it involves just leaving, unless the police are literally right there standing behind them. It has never, ever let me down.
The only exception to this i can think of is theft, where they can legally detain you until the cops show up.
It's one thing if like many airports this sort of thing is managed by real police, but if it's just security guards? tack on an "eventually", or even a "soon" to anything like this they say.
Any how dare you toned command like this you get? just say "ok", then keep doing whatever you were doing. Especially if that thing was just leaving.
Also, as mentioned above, this is a pretty badass move. You'll at worst get a $40-80 parking or impeding the flow ticket, and not ~$500 of tow and impound and other garbage including them not notifying you what lot it ended up at for days and tacking that on, etc.
posted by emptythought at 3:03 PM on November 23, 2014
The only exception to this i can think of is theft, where they can legally detain you until the cops show up.
And they have to be really sure, too, or they can get into a whole lot of trouble. Most stores have a policy that in order to stop you, they have to see you take an item, conceal it, and have an unbroken line of observation between seeing you in person or on the camera and leaving the store before confronting you. The reason being, unlawful detainment is a sue-the-store guarantee and a lot of potential negative publicity. You can't do it simply because theft seems statistically possible or probable.
Any how dare you toned command like this you get? just say "ok", then keep doing whatever you were doing. Especially if that thing was just leaving.
For me, the most practical application of this is I pretty much turn down any store that says that I have to show them my receipt on the way out as some theft prevention measure. I respond very nicely, but no, you can detain me if you know I took something (I never have), but you can't stop me and search my private property because you can't be arsed to observe better (and the difficulty in doing this effectively, to which I am sympathetic, does not have necessary implications on my person or property). The transaction is complete, the item belongs to me, including the receipt you are asking for.
Yes, this issue gets under my skin a bit. Guiding this back to the original question, security guards often overstep their bounds, and sometimes it's because they were encouraged by upper management to do so.
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:36 PM on November 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
And they have to be really sure, too, or they can get into a whole lot of trouble. Most stores have a policy that in order to stop you, they have to see you take an item, conceal it, and have an unbroken line of observation between seeing you in person or on the camera and leaving the store before confronting you. The reason being, unlawful detainment is a sue-the-store guarantee and a lot of potential negative publicity. You can't do it simply because theft seems statistically possible or probable.
Any how dare you toned command like this you get? just say "ok", then keep doing whatever you were doing. Especially if that thing was just leaving.
For me, the most practical application of this is I pretty much turn down any store that says that I have to show them my receipt on the way out as some theft prevention measure. I respond very nicely, but no, you can detain me if you know I took something (I never have), but you can't stop me and search my private property because you can't be arsed to observe better (and the difficulty in doing this effectively, to which I am sympathetic, does not have necessary implications on my person or property). The transaction is complete, the item belongs to me, including the receipt you are asking for.
Yes, this issue gets under my skin a bit. Guiding this back to the original question, security guards often overstep their bounds, and sometimes it's because they were encouraged by upper management to do so.
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:36 PM on November 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Seeking Direction at 1:37 PM on November 22, 2014