In the UK if you don't have your license and Insurance with you the Cop gives you a 'Producer' You nominate a Police Station, take the form along and show your documents. Hardly anyone carries their insurance or license with them.
I believe they have changed it now, they have access to the DVLA database and the Database of Insured cars.
If you have not got your Tax/license/Insurance on you, they will check the databases, if you are not on them they will take your car. You then have some time (14 days?) to go to the place they store your cars with license/Insurance & the cash to pay for towing/storing it. If you don't turn up they just crush the car.
I know a lad who was insured but they forgot to update the police database so he had his car taken, cost him about £300 to get it back a day or so later, he managed to get the insurance company to pay him back. .
From - http://www.drivingban.co.uk/drivingban/drivingwithoutinsurance.htm
The logic behind this change was that once they have checked and you are not on the DB for License/Insurance/Tax, they know you are commiting a crime, a policeman cannot let someone commiting a crime continue, so they take your car. By the sounds of tsome of hese Freemen, I would love them to bring this rule in for the US/Canada, don't think many would have their cars for longI was stopped for having no insurance. The Police have now impounded my car. Are they entitled to do this?Yes. The Police now have facilities to check insurance cover at the road side. If for any reason you are unable to prove the vehicle is insured, the Police are entitled to remove it from the road and charge you for the cost of transporting and storing the vehicle. Having removed the vehicle, the Police are entitled to scrap it if you do not reclaim it within 14 days by producing evidence or valid insurance.
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