When can a car be impounded by the police?
To my understanding, if a car is abandoned, involved in a crime (Seized as evidence), illegally parked, or the driver is too intoxicated to drive, the car will be impounded.
If a person is arrested during a traffic stop, is it common to allow the suspect to make arrangements for another party to obtain the car and transport it? For example, if a person is arrested for possession of marijuana after their vehicle is stopped, will the car be towed or impounded automatically? What if the driver has a companion who will not be arrested? Could that person drive the vehicle if the driver gives consent to his passenger?
Another example is if the stop is made on the highway. If a car is illegally parked, the car is normally fined, then towed within a few days. Would leaving that car ever be allowed to remain for the driver or a 3rd party to remove it, or is it automatically towed or impounded?
If the person driving is arrested they can impound the car, there might be times where they allow someone else to drive it away or make arrangements, but that is just the cops being nice (and avoiding paperwork)
They don’t have to do it.
If your stopped and have Marijuana in your car, your car will be confiscated and impounded. If you have a Passenger , in your car the Law will not let him/her drive your car. It will still be impounded. They could also charge your Passenger for drugs. It is a State Law that anyone leaving their Vehicle parked on an Interstate Highway, it will be impounded. You are not suppose to leave your Vehicle on a Highway. Yes, it will be automatically Impounded. You have to act quick and not leave your car . The State Highway Patrol cruses many times a day. They notice things like this.
Towing policy will be determined more by local policy than it will state law, so your answer will vary quite a bit depending on where the violation occurs. My department policy allows me to tow a vehicle under the following conditions
1. when it is a traffic hazard
2. when it is needed for evidence of a crime
3. if the driver is arrested and there is not a passenger capable of driving
4. if the vehicle is operating illegally such as no insurance or no plates, or something else where allowing it to continue would be illegal.
5. if it is deemed unsafe (no brakes or damage from an accident, for example)
Our policy does not require I wait for someone to arrive to remove the vehicle, that is a waste of time. The other driver must be present to be considered.
POLICE Officers can do whatever they want, at any time. (Corporate Law, welcome to it, CITIZEN)
Officers of the PEACE, however, will do what is required by the situation, and the common law.
If it is involved in a crime at common law, then the answer is- Yes. They will grab it, and impound it.
If it is NOT involved in a crime at COMMON LAW, then the answer is- NO.
No crime….means NO CRIME. Therefore…not hard.
The overall answer is- It depends on what jurisdiction you are playing in. In the first one, YOU work for the Police Officer. In the other….the Peace Officer works for YOU.