Licensing, insurance and the law
You lend your car to someone who turns out to have no driver's license, and they are stopped by police. What can happen to your car?
- It may be impounded for 30 days. Correct answer
- It may be impounded for 30 days, but only if the driver is also under 21.
- Nothing happens to the car; only the unlicensed driver is cited.
Why
The penalty lands on the vehicle, not only on the person at the wheel: an unlicensed driver caught behind your wheel can cost you the car for 30 days. Nothing in the handbook's wording turns on the driver's age, so the second answer adds a condition the handbook does not have. The under-21 rule that also carries a 30-day impound is a separate one, and it applies when a driver under 21 is caught with alcohol in the vehicle. Two duties are worth checking before you hand over the keys. Driving on an expired license breaks the law, and a driver who gets stopped has to produce license, proof of insurance and registration, all three of which are your problem as well once your car is the one being stopped.
Where this comes from
California Driver's Handbook, DL 600 ENGLISH (REV. 6/2025). The correct answer is It may be impounded for 30 days..
- Section 7. Laws and Rules of the Road › Evading Law Enforcement , page 53
- Section 9. Alcohol and Drugs › Drivers Under 21 , page 75
- Section 4. Changing, Replacing, and Renewing Your Driver's License › Replace or Renew Your Driver's License , page 8
- Section 6. Navigating the Roads › Law Enforcement Stops › Your Rights During the Enforcement Stop , page 30