Someone elses car

[gfreebur]

I was just wondering what kind of penalty, if there is one, that you would give to someone if they were driving someone elses car and you pulled them over. Any difference if the owner is in the car with the person?

[pujolsfan146]

I was just wondering what kind of penalty, if there is one, that you would give to someone if they were driving someone elses car and you pulled them over. Any difference if the owner is in the car with the person?

Although this question is vague I will take a stab at it. It does not matter, for the most part, who ownes the vehicle.
If you are driving another persons vehicle and you violate the vehicle code you can be stopped and cited just as if you are the owner of the vehicle.

I arrest or cite people all the time who are not the owners of the car. In fact some leo's look for activity based upon running a plate and checking out the registered owner. Bad habit to get into because the have the potential of passing up alot of good activity. There is a considerable amount of vehicles being driven out there by people other then the registered owner.

[PhilipCal]

Someone else's car

I was just wondering what kind of penalty, if there is one, that you would give to someone if they were driving someone elses car and you pulled them over. Any difference if the owner is in the car with the person?

Reread Post#2. It has excellent information. Let me throw a small "legal"point at you. The police do not issues penalties. That's a function of the courts. We arrest, cite. The District Attorney prosecutes. The courts adjudicate. Okay, that's the end of Civics 101 for the day. Sometimes, it seems that every other vehicle you stop is driven by someone other than the owner. That can be especially true if you're working Commercial Vehicle Enforcement, or a similiar activity. Any enforcement action you take is based on the violation. If the circumstances warrant it, we ascertain that the driver has permission to operate the vehicle in question.

[JonMcD1980]

Just because you get pulled over driving a vehicle that does not belong to you and there is an issue with the vehicle such as an equipment violation, insurance not in effect, suspended or expired registration, doesn't change the fact that you are still in violation of that traffic law. In addition, the registered owner being in their car while you are operating it and get pulled over, doesn't put them in the driver's seat.

[Smurfette_76]

In NC the only thing I can't cite you for (while you're driving someone else's car) is failure to carry insurance...everything else you can and will hold a ticket for. It matters not to me...and oh, btw, you're also responsible for everything IN that car while you're motoring around in it.

[irishdep]

Ditto to all the above! You won't be written for anything extra based on the fact that you don't own the vehicle.

[Blueribbon]

My two cents worth... It's not your car, but you're driving it... Then no difference. You're responsibile for the producing the registration, proof of insurance, your driver's license, not to add the proper operation of said vehicle and the condition of vehicle's equipment (ie; lights, brakes, seatbelts, etc.).

So, no there is no additional citations, just the one for actual violations.

[grog18b]

In PA we can cite the driver for any violation, reguardless of who owns the car. We can also cite the owner, even if they are not there, for equipment violations and scattering rubbish.

[Desert DPS]

I was just wondering what kind of penalty, if there is one, that you would give to someone if they were driving someone elses car and you pulled them over. Any difference if the owner is in the car with the person?

Are you asking if there is a penalty for driving someone else's car? If so, no...unless they don't know you have it. Then there will probably be some issues.

Everything else has been covered by my esteemed colleagues.

[gfreebur]

thanks guys all of that is good to know, but i was also wondering how you guys know if the car could be stolen or not...do you just rely on reports out for missing cars, because you could pull over a person in a stolen car and not think twice about it.

[xdrcx]

thanks guys all of that is good to know, but i was also wondering how you guys know if the car could be stolen or not...do you just rely on reports out for missing cars, because you could pull over a person in a stolen car and not think twice about it.

That can happen. A person can only be detained for a reasonable amount of time to complete an investigation. If there is enough reasonable suspicion that the person may not have permission to drive the car, another officer can be dispatched to try and make contact with the registered owner to see if it was an unreported stolen.

Cars are stolen overnight all the time when people are sleeping and don't report them stolen until the next day. The thief is driving a cold stolen around all night. The other day we got a stolen car suspect in custody who asked why the officer who talked to him in the park overnight didn't arrest him. I lied to him and said I don't know.

[LeanG]

thanks guys all of that is good to know, but i was also wondering how you guys know if the car could be stolen or not...do you just rely on reports out for missing cars, because you could pull over a person in a stolen car and not think twice about it.

Once we run the tag, we know if the car has been reported stolen. If it hasn't been reported, then there are three other tricks that I use to see if he has the authority to be in possesion of the vehicle. (I'll tell you one, if the KEYS are in the ignition). Also, if the driver and passengers bail out once you've conducted a traffic stop, then I'm gonna bet that he's not supposed to be in the car

[pressm4n]

if you are in Aurora Co, beware the license plate readers, they are really cool for us bad for the car thief.
http://cbs4denver.com/crime/local_story_123233313.html
I have seen them work they are awesome!!!!

[Desert DPS]

if you are in Aurora Co, beware the license plate readers, they are really cool for us bad for the car thief.
http://cbs4denver.com/crime/local_story_123233313.html
I have seen them work they are awesome!!!!

We are supposed to start getting these for all our cars here. A couple guys have already gotten them and they work like a charm.

[MaineSqueeze]

If it was a moving violation, Id write them. If it was a car issue, expired inspection, expired reg, no insurance, I would use my discretion, and give them a warning.