Almost everything in this thread following the OP is nonsense, but the OP raises a very good question. I’m a lawyer, and I don’t know whether a vehicle may be impounded if there is someone present (or on their way) who is not under arrest to drive it away.
I expect that it would depend on the situation but unless the vehicle needs to impounded for evidence for whatever reason.
I believe that in most cases, that it could be driven away by another driver to avoid the impound.
However I am not a lawyer, just using some common sense
The police are entitled to check the license of the proposed driver to ensure he’s validly licensed. If they have articulable concerns about his sobriety they are entitled to field test him. But other than that, I know of no bar to turning the vehicle over to another driver, assuming the driver being arrested is the owner (or the new driver is the owner).
I can only speak for Virginia, as it’s where I live, but as I understand, we don’t HAVE to pull over on the side of the road, we are allowed to find a nearby safe area to pull over, provided we indicate to the officer our intentions to pull over. So, for instance, if I’m caught speeding on I-95, I could take the next exit and pull into a restaurant or gas station parking lot.
At that point, if one is arrested for an offense, the officer very well may have probably cause to search the passenger compartment, but as the car is legally parked, there’s no need for the car to be impounded, so they don’t have reason to inventory the vehicle.
With that said, you still want to verify that that’s true where you are and, even if it is, I’d still suggest only doing so if you feel unsafe for whatever reason, like you’re on what might be a treacherous stretch of road, you’re not sure that it’s actually a cop pulling you over. I suppose you could do that if you’re carrying something illegal in your trunk too, but even then, if you’re being arrested and the cop, I wouldn’t be shocked if they decided to get a K-9 to test for drugs, if they don’t have sufficient cause for a full search, etc. So, I think, ultimately, it would more just save you from having to pay impounding fees, assuming a friend could pick it up before the private business has it towed.
Thanks, Bricker.
“Common sense” very rarely gets you to the correct answer in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. The whole idea of the inventory search the OP is trying to avoid is largely contrary to common sense.
Bolding mine.
Once you’re willing to assume the particular cop you’re dealing with on this particular day will cheat, then all further bets are off. It doesn’t matter what the law or precedent says, nor how you try to arrange where you park or who you call to rescue your car; the cop will invent a reason to claim a reason to get his search in.
To be sure, if the cop is waaay out of line the results of the search may be quashed later. Heavy emphasis on may, not will.
For the more common case where your cop *du jour *is playing by the rules of his/her jurisdiction, well, … I’ll let the experts handle it since apparently it’s not as simple as us cops-on-TV-watching layfolks would like to believe it is.
I’ve always seen this advice and it seems sensible, but on the flip side I have seen some dashcam vids of cops flipping out that someone didn’t immediately pull over but drove into a parking lot slowly to make clear they weren’t fleeing. No idea if they were charged with fleeing or something.
I can only answer for New Jersey. Things tend to be much more strict than in most other states. We can only tow for certain specific reasons. No insurance (mandatory tow), DWI (mandatory tow with a few exceptions), unregistered vehicle on public property, for evidence with probable cause and if it is left in an unsafe or illegal spot. If it is just an arrest for a minor traffic warrant I would give the person a chance to park it legally or I would ask if they would allow me to do it for them. Same for those who are driving while suspended. Here we do not arrest for traffic violations except for DWI. In most cases if it is legally parked it is left where it is.
We also don’t do inventories as a matter of course. The state case law is murky on it and we don’t have our own impound lot. Towed vehicles are kept at private yards unless they are part of a criminal investigation and waiting for a search warrant.
Yes, this routinely happens to black people. Want cites?
I had a situation like this once, in Connecticut. I bought a used car privately, and foolishly tried to drive it eight miles to my house. The car was completely illegal: no insurance, no registration, no emissions etc… Of course, I got pulled over.
So, after getting ticketed and cited for multiple violations (I could have been arrested but the officer felt I had been sufficiently cornholed), the cop called for a tow truck. It wasn’t until the car was hooked up that I had the presence of mind to ask if it could be towed to my house. The cop said ok, but I don’t think he was inclined to volunteer that information.
That car couldn’t have been driven away by a friend, but towing to private property is another option. Anything is better than the impound with the storage fees and other attendant hassles.