The popularity of vehicle impound options has spread to a number of new proposals including one currently being considered by Louisiana's Task Force on DWI and Vehicular Homicide.

The group will propose mandatory vehicle impound of any person with a license revocation due to DWI or vehicular manslaughter. This will close the supposed "loophole" whereby drivers with revoked licenses simply get behind the wheel of a car regardless. The current law only allows for a vehicle impound after a third or fourth DWI arrest or vehicular manslaughter arrest. 

To clarify, the statute does not allow a person to be convicted of vehicular manslaughter four times before an enhanced penalty. Rather, the statute places these two offenses in the same category; any combination of the two that totals four arrests can justify a vehicle impound.

In addition to this impound law, the Task Force would like to add an herbal substance to the list of prohibited drugs to ingest before driving. The herb is commonly called "mojo" or "jimsom weed," according to the Shreveport Times. This is a plant some say is similar to marijuana but not yet on the list of banned substances.

The new law would allow an arrest for impaired driving regardless of the source of impairment. This extends to prescription medication in addition to the new plant-based hallucinogen. The language change would now encompass the verbiage: "any substance, legal or illegal, which when taken into the human body impairs the ability of a person to operate a vehicle safely."

On the issue of vehicle impound, opponents often question who will pay for the cars kept on impound lots. These lots are often expensive to maintain, and the fees to impound a car can be over $30 to $50 each day. With a year-long revocation, the fees could run to an astronomical amount, and many license revocations are even longer than a year.

In terms of the expanded DWI verbiage, questions remain on how to define impairment. There is a slippery slope to add drugs not listed as "drugs" in any state to a list of substances banned prior to driving. Impairment could occur after chewing tobacco, drinking an energy drink, or waking up after a night of rest using a sleep aid. All of these questions center around the definition of impairment who gets to decide what impairment really means.

In the new, expanded definition, determining impairment would almost exclusively rely on an officer's evaluation of the situation. An arrest report could be the only evidence used in a conviction, which carries heavy implications if an individual has a prior DWI arrest or other criminal record concerns. Ultimately, the expanded language leaves much to be determined in the coming months as the proposals move through committee.