May the police seize and impound cars driven by people charged with minor traffic violations?

The News and Observer reported Sunday on the Hamlet Police Department’s seizure of vehicles from drivers charged with low-level traffic offenses and the subsequent selling of those vehicles as scrap in what the reporter characterized as a “series of questionable and off-the-books transactions handled by the police.” A story in today’s paper states that the State Bureau of Investigation will look into “possible forgery and/or misuse of court orders” related to those seized vehicles. According to the News and Observer, some of the court orders provided to the salvage yard appeared to be pre-signed in blank, with vehicle-specific information added later. The Hamlet situation raises a number of thorny legal issues—too many to cover in a single post.  The one I want to address here lies at the very heart of this controversy:  Are police officers authorized to seize and impound motor vehicles driven by defendants who are cited for low-level traffic offenses? The answer, which may come as a surprise to anyone who has ever received a ticket and driven (perhaps not merrily) home afterwards, is that yes, sometimes they may. We’re talking here about misdemeanor traffic offenses, and not about motor vehicles used to transport drugs, to drive while impaired by a person already revoked for impaired driving, or to feloniously flee from police. Specific statutory authority permits police to seize vehicles in those more serious cases. See G.S. 90-112; G.S. 20-28.3; G.S. 20-141.5. So where’s the authority to seize vehicles from drivers who are cited for, say, driving [...]