A bit of a bar-room discussion led to this:
If you're stopped by the police (randomly or otherwise) and you fail a road-side breath test what happens to your car?
1) does a policeman drive it to the station you're taken to or is it left at the roadside?
2) if it's left at the roadside does that mean it may be left on a motorway hard shoulder - how do you recover it?
3) do the police have unlimited insurance cover ie what if you were driving a Veyron and not a £200 banger?
4) what if you pass the breathtest at the station and it transpires the roadside tester was defective (you had had no alcohol at all) - are they obliged to take you back to your car or if it was lifted waive storage charges?
I'm sure there are other issues but this'll do for starters.
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On one of those Cop patrol programmes, they seem to either drive it to an area where there are other parked cars or back to the station if nearby.
Not sure what happens on Motorway, but I guess they obliged to arrange for its removal.
I knew of a car that was stolen and then left abandoned on Double yellows where it got a ticket, but as it was reported stolen and found, police arranged to get fine waived.
However as it was nearby, owner was expected to move it. If car is roadworthy and you are innocent then can't see how police would charge you for storage.
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Or arrested under say the terrorism act, and are aquitted 6 months later, or it's found to be a case of mistaken identity.
Come to that, what do they do with any passengers? Turn small children out by the roadside and leave them to walk home? Provide 24 hour child care until you are released?
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On the motorway, it'll be removed by a police approved garage at a fixed cost (£125ish) and taken to that garage's secure compound nearby. The garage charge you for storage at around £12 per day and will keep the car until they get the money. If they don't get the money, they keep the car.
The same happens if you break down on the motorway, haven't already got your own breakdown/recovery cover and are not insistent on joining the AA or RAC at the roadside. It'll cost you about the same to join at the roadside as paying for the police garage, but you'll get a year's membership. However, they'll still only take you 10 miles towards your destination (or to the next junction) - after that it'll cost you an amount per mile.
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In my day one felt morally bound to take care of an arrested persons vehicle and ensure its safety/security by taking it to the 'nick'.
Whilst I would gather some still do this they can, and do, invoke a recovery firm as stated above, and charge you (finacially) after charging verbally.
dvd
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1, in the old days the car would be taken to the police station...nowadays it will be left in the street...if v unusual circs e.g. particularly high value car, high value load etc then officer might well still take it to the police station and park it o/s. Vulnerable passengers ought to be offered to be taken to the police station and left in the front office if they feel this is safer.
2, M/way....not my expertise, but i'm failrly sure they are not left on the hard shoulder
3, police have no insurance...like many large companies they have a bond and undertake to settle insurance claims like an insurance company would. An officer would be entitled to drive anything if authorised through his/her work
4, if you pass a breath test at the nick and are therefore not guilty of any offence, then like anyone else who is found to be totally innocent, you should be treated reasonably to 'allay any sense of grievance' which ought to include a lift back to your car
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Cars get removed from the hard shoulder at Police expense, unless the driver has no licence or insurance, in which case they pay.
On 'normal' roads, as already stated, they get left by the side of the road unless unusual circumstances apply. Don't know about other forces, but in mine, innocent you get taken back, guilty and you'll normally be given a lift home, as long as it's we're not talking silly distances.
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thanks guys - were you three all on the same shift this morning? 'course you wouldn't be surfing the net from the office - would you? :)
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My brother was in a Ford Fiesta recently with a drunk mate doing the driving and the Police swooped on the Felling bypass and arrested the driver (acting on a tipoff we reckon), the car was abandoned at the side of the road and the 5 passengers (yes, 5, one was in the boot!) were kicked out and made to walk home to Newcastle!
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