VIDALIA — Louisiana drivers who don’t have proof of insurance in their vehicles will soon find themselves paying more than just a traffic citation violation — even for the first offense.

As of Aug. 1, Louisiana police officers will be able to tow the vehicles of drivers who can’t show proof of insurance on a first offense.

Currently, the law prohibits an officer from towing a vehicle if the driver can’t show proof of insurance and presents no “imminent danger to the public.”

If the officer feels the driver is not a danger to the public, they can issue a ticket and even take the vehicle’s license plate, requiring drivers to show proof of insurance within 72 hours.

The current law does allow for discretionary impoundment on multiple violation drivers.

House Bill 1053, which was signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal last week, repeals the ban on first offense drivers that has been in place for five years.

The new law will allow police officers to impound a driver’s vehicle who can’t show proof of insurance on first offense and that doesn’t show a danger to the public.

Rep. Ray Garofalo, R-Meraux, who sponsored the bill said a change was necessary because there’s no database to see how many times a vehicle has been cited for not having insurance.

Garofalo estimated that more than 869,000 vehicles, of the 3.3 million registered, are on Louisiana streets without insurance.