Could someone give me a definitive answer as to whether or not you can impound a vehicle for the offense of no drivers license alone? There is a bit of disagreement among the chiefs and indians. Also.. Wouldn't allowing an unlicensed driver to drive off create liability for the officer and department that are allowing the person to continue violating the law even though the officer could have taken proactive measures to prevent the violation from continuing to occur? For instance, what if the unlicensed driver caused a fatal or major crash ten minutes further down the road and the no dl and speeding ticket is laying on the seat next to the violator?

Since driving without a valid DL is a criminal offense, the violator may be arrested since it is not one of the cite-only offenses. As to impounding the vehicle, I think that is an agency to agency decision. There is one case, Maricle v. Bickerstaff, 10 F. Supp. 2d 705, in which the US District Court ruled that impounding the plaintiff's vehicle after he had operated it without meeting the financial resonsibility requirements was lawful because the statutes specifically provide that a person may not operate a vehicle on a public road in Texas without meeting the requirements of Chapter 601, Transportation Code. The same caveat applies to operating a motor vehicle. However, I know that many agencies only cite, particularly if the person had a DL that expired or has suspended DL.

Janette A

I don't think liability need be a concern. I believe sovereign immunity would be an insurmountable hurdle for a plaintiff, and then there is the element of causation.

our officers either let them arrange for a ride or arrest them... sorry--total side bar that doesn't address the real question at all...