What is the reason for so many abandoned cars on I-40 in Raleigh NC?

Question

Every day i drive I-40 East and Westbound from Raleigh to Durham North Carolina, and it astonishes me how many broken down or abandoned cars I see with White trash bags hanging out of the drivers window? What's the reason for this? My best guess is that many of these cars simply run out of gas. Does anyone else have an idea? The number seems to be a bit high for people to just run out of gas!

Answer 1

Economics. The people who own the cars can't afford to fix them or even have them towed. So they leave them where they lie. The state will eventually tow them away and sieze them if the owner doesn't claim them and pay for the impound fee (which they don't). They end up at auction, or sold for scrap.

Answer 2

A lot of people are arrested on out of state felony warrants along that stretch of I-40 and are extradited back to their native state, leaving the car behind?