SALT LAKE CITY -- Finding impounded vehicles just got easier for drivers across Utah. An online searchable database for impounded cars, trucks and motorcycles is now available through the state's award-winning Web site.

The online database is designed to help people search for impounded vehicles and obtain vehicle release requirements. Most citizens are unaware of whom to contact when their vehicles are towed and often must call more than one law enforcement agency to locate their impounded vehicles.

With the new online service, law enforcement and dispatch centers can now provide immediate access to impounded vehicle information. The system allows towing companies to quickly report on each impounded vehicle as required by law by providing storage location, release costs and other information that can be accessed over the Internet.

Constituents can conduct online searches by vehicle identification number, license plate, or state impound number. The new service is a collaboration of the Utah Tax Commission, Departments of Public Safety and Transportation, the governor's office and tow companies across the state. This new service was built and is managed by Utah Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the e-government firm NIC.

"This is one more example of making interaction with government easier for people," said Gov. Mike Leavitt, who has made providing services online a priority. "The collaboration among agencies through this service will allow people to find and retrieve their vehicles faster."

More than 50 percent of the state's tow companies are currently using the impounded vehicle search system. By the end of December, all companies handling nonconsent tows will be required to use the online service. An enhanced service that allows constituents to pay vehicle release costs online is also in development.