In Luxembourg, the police are permitted to confiscate or clamp cars for a number of reasons. In cases where the driver is found to be intoxicated, lacking a licence, or has unpaid fines, police are entitled to immobilise the vehicle on a public road. This can also be applied in cases where the vehicle is overloaded. Police have the option to either withdraw the keys to the vehicle, or clamp it.
In a response to a parliamentary question from Pirate Party MP Marc Goergen, the Ministers of the Interior and Finance published a series of yearly figures relating to clamped or confiscated cars.
In 2018, the police immobilised 797 vehicles, followed by 619 vehicles the following year. In addition, an average of 39 trucks found with loads exceeding 7.5 tonnes have been immobilised over the last three years.
In 2020, just 301 vehicles were immobilised over the period from 1 January to 11 September. The decrease was attributed to the decline in road traffic during lockdown in the spring. On average, customs officials have stopped around 39 trucks each year over the last three years as well.
