Vehicle Immobilization

Immobilizing an offender’s vehicle has the advantage of preventing the vehicle from being used by the hardcore offender while avoiding the procedural problems and costs involved with vehicle confiscation and storage. The vehicle can be immobilized on the offender’s property by using a locking device to secure the steering wheel or a "boot" to lock the wheel. This reduces the cost to the offender and eliminates the problems of the state disposing of unclaimed vehicles.

Where Is Vehicle Immobilization Used?

According to data gathered by the National Hardcore Drunk Driver Project Survey, there are nine states (Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Wisconsin) using this type of sanction.

How Effective Is Vehicle Immobilization?

A 1996 study by Voas was conducted on a Franklin County, Ohio, program with a combination vehicle impoundment/immobilization law. The study suggests preventing the use of the vehicle for a period from one to six months is a promising sanction for hardcore drunk drivers. It found the sanction, whose primary component is immobilization, appeared to reduce recidivism even after the sanction was no longer in effect. During the immobilization/impoundment period, recidivism by repeat offenders was reduced by 49 percent. After the vehicles were returned to offenders, they still demonstrated a 24 percent lower recidivism level than those who had never been immobilized or impounded.

What Is the Cost of Vehicle Immobilization?

Administrative vehicle immobilization, cheaper than impoundment or forfeiture, uses a boot or a club to keep the car from moving. Generally, the vehicle is seized and impounded at the point of arrest but very shortly is released and taken to the offender's property where the police put a club or boot on it. The police remove the license plate, and the vehicle remains immobilized for a specified period. In Ohio, where immobilization is an administrative sanction, defendants pay a fee to the Department of Motor Vehicles, which then returns the money to the arresting agency. The vehicle immobilization law requires the fee be paid prior to law enforcement’s release of the vehicle to its owner. In many counties, those fees cover the cost of buying clubs, which average about $30, or boots, which cost about $200. Ohio has strengthened its law to require vehicle forfeiture on a third offense within six years. On a fourth offense, DUI becomes a felony.

Where to Go for More Information on Vehicle Immobilization

Ohio Department of Public Safety, Charles D. Shipley Building, 1970 W. Broad Street, P.O. Box 182081, Columbus, Ohio, 43218–2081.

Voas, R.B., Tippetts, A.S., and Taylor, E. 1996. The Effect of Vehicle Impoundment and Immobilization on Driving Offenses of Suspended and Repeat DWI Drivers. 40th annual proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine. Vancouver, British Columbia.

Voas, R.B., Tippetts, A.S., and Taylor, E. 1997. Evaluation of the Vehicle Immobilization Law in Franklin County (Columbus) Ohio. Proceedings from Lifesavers 15, Orlando, Florida.