City of Diboll offering junked vehicle amnesty

DIBOLL, Texas (KTRE) - Car owners in Diboll will have a chance to get junked vehicles in compliance without penalties.

“It’s not any worse than any other city in the area, but it’s enough of a problem that we’ve had some citizens point it out,” said City Manager Jason Arnold.

Over the last several years, vehicle ordinances have not been heavily enforced due to manpower and the sense that “people really have not probably even been educated on it in a long time,” said Arnold.

In an effort to clean up the city, the Diboll City Council agreed to move forward with an amnesty period for junked vehicles.

“We didn’t feel it would be very fair to our citizens to all of a sudden wake up one morning and start throwing the book at people,” said Arnold.

What it takes to be in compliance will depend on the car owner, and Arnold said it can be as simple as registering vehicles or moving them into an enclosed garage.

If a car owner is unable to meet the requirements, they can face fines of $200 a day.

The city’s “junked vehicles” definition includes the following:

- Invalid license plates

- Expired registration stickers

- Wrecked/damaged

- Inoperable for 30 days or more

Junkyards and licensed vehicle dealers are excluded from the vehicle ordinances.

“We’re going to do everything we can to help people get there,” said Arnold.

The amnesty period ends on Nov. 1.

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