You are the police officer. What action would you take? See inside.

Drive the person home…they shouldn’t even be operating the vehicle!

I failed to add that the driver had driven this vehicle from Little Rock, Arkansas in this condition.

@john65pennington So, does that mean they are just passing through town? and are you allowed to arrest them for driving a vehicle in such a condition? I guess I kind of want to know what my options are.

Optimistic, here is a clue: you have to think of the safety of the other drivers on the road.

Oh, I was which is why I asked if I could arrest him for endangering other motorists. Then having the car impounded. I am guessing the safety inspection is out of date at the very least.

The vehicle is not street-legal, and the driver / owner won’t be allowed to travel with it any more on public roads. As a farm vehicle or soap box derby it’s okay, but it won’t be on public roads any more. So… what to do with the vehicle and car-less driver now? (It seems impossible that the car can be upgraded to street-legal for less than twice what it’s already worth, and who’s going to pay that, unless it’s an antique car being limped to a buyer. In that case, the option remains for the buyer or owner to spring for a flatbed trailer and tow vehicle.)

The thing can be junked or sold for scrap, which should net the driver enough to buy a bus ticket home to Arkansas, or to wherever else he’s going in the area. He’s responsible for taking his own possessions out of it and either transporting them himself, selling them, putting them in storage or otherwise disposing of them legally.

Does he live in your jurisdiction?
If not, and you give a citation, he will skip. If he is stupid, he will come back on his way home and you will have the same situation. No solution.

If not and you arrest, and impound, your jurisdiction will be stuck with him when he gets out of jail. No good

If he lives in your jurisdiction, I would arrest and impound. You’re stuck with him anyway, so why not get rid of the car? Best.

That messed up car probably violates a whole bunch of rules that make it so it’s illegal to drive it in that condition. Since you can probably arrest the guy for this, (not necessarily going too slow, that’s just a ticket right?) I’d do that, and get the car taken away. Especially if it’s a danger to others.

I’m sorry this is so off-topic, but this reminds me so much of a scene I watched in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles..

The bad tires here seem to be the deal breaker as far as public safety goes, and the old lady style of driving. Seat belts, meh, even the “custom” seat? There are places who sell used tires really cheap around my neck’o’the woods. They aren’t great tires but they roll- better than the steel showing at least. Possibly one such tire dealer can hook him up long enough to clear your jurisdiction?

Here in England, if the police stopped a vehicle with clearly dangerous tyres, I would expect them to impound it immediately, and to issue the driver with a fixed penalty notice, which will result in a fine and points on his license. The fact that the driver is a long way from home is the driver’s problem, not the police officer’s.

Where I live they would fine you for having faulty equipment and if it’s in that bad of condition they’d have it towed. I had a friend who’s plate light was out and they made him have his car towed and he was fined for faulty equipment. Maybe our state laws are just to strict but I’m pretty sure that’s what would happen here.

This makes me think of ‘The Straight Story’, about Alvin Straight’s journey across Iowa and Wisconsin on a lawnmower. Loved the film by David Lynch… I guess I’d ask him to mow my lawn. Then make sure he had a nice big flag on the back, with ‘slow vehicle’ on it.

Let them go. They are probably doing their damnest to make it to work and better their car at some point. The amish down here in Lawrence County don’t follow any vehicle safety rules except a little refective tape and a very dim candle lantern late at night. They also don’t pay wheel tax and there metal rims really wear bad grooves in the road. And they get away with letting their horses shit all over the roads. You are legally supposed to clean up your animals shit in public areas. Nothing like dodging or running through horse grenades on a skateboard or bicycle. There refusal here to use real headlights and tailights like some states such as Pennsylvania do has resulted in lots of vehicles crashing into poorly lit buggies at dusk and night time. Ticket the guy just like you do if his bumper is missing. If he does drop the charge.