Quote:
Originally Posted by RainMaker
People get arrested for making illegal U-Turns in your state?
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No, not u-turns, I was referring the license/registration/insurance charges.
That can be a tough predicament for an officer. How can you know someone's going to show up for court when you can't even sure of their identity? That's a big issue in communities with a lot of immigrants ("Oh no, that wasn't me, that was my brother Hector, he uses my name sometimes"). Officers would prefer not to arrest in general (it takes them off the street for a while), and in Idaho, it's pretty common for them to release people with suspended licenses and no insurance, who of course then have no choice but to illegally drive away from the traffic stop if they don't have someone to pick them up.
There's a big difference between infractions (u-turn/speeding/red lights) v. misdemeanors (driver's license/insurance/registration). Some of the later categories might be infractions in some states if it's a first offense, or if it's just an expiration issue.