A Perth woman was left shaken after she was fingerprinted, photographed and had her car impounded by WA Police when her driver's licence was incorrectly found to be suspended.

Key points: Rachel Martins says she was left in tears on the side of the road without transport

Rachel Martins says she was left in tears on the side of the road without transport The disability support worker says her client went without care for hours

The disability support worker says her client went without care for hours The Department of Transport says a quick phone call would have resolved the matter

Disability support worker Rachel Martins was on her way to visit a client on Tuesday morning when she was stopped by police on Beeliar Drive in Cockburn for a routine random breath test.

Ms Martins said she returned a zero alcohol reading.

But she said when officers ran a driver's licence and registration check, they told her the licence had been suspended on medical grounds.

"I was really taken aback, and I was confused because I had a current and valid driver's licence in my hand," she said.

"I explained to them that every two years I do a health assessment because I take medication, and I knew I filled out the forms because I was issued with my licence as a result. It's not expired."

Ms Martins told the ABC her current licence was valid until the end of next year and said she repeatedly queried the situation with the officers.

"I was like, is this actually necessary?" she said

"They couldn't really answer me and they said they didn't know and that I would have to call the Department of Transport (DOT).

"It sounded like my situation was on a technicality, [but] they said, 'Well, we've issued you a court summons so we have to do this as it's protocol'."

Stranded on the side of the road

Ms Martins said she became increasingly distressed as she was subjected to fingerprinting, a mug shot and a DNA test, before her car was taken.

Police had stopped Ms Martins in Cockburn for a routine random breath test. ( ABC News: James Carmody, file photo )

'I was in tears [by] now," she said.

"Then I am just left without a car on the side of the road, and having to call up work and explain to my client why I can't come in … thinking I've done something wrong.

"All it would have taken was literally 10 minutes maximum to call up the DOT and it would have been cleared up.

"I was left without a car [and] my client had no one to look after him for those hours."

Second motorist makes similar complaint

After Ms Martins went public with her story, another woman, Audrey, contacted ABC Perth to say she had a similar experience when her licence was incorrectly listed as being suspended on medical grounds.

"I was driving up the North West Coastal Highway, which is quite an isolated highway in between roadhouses, and I waved to police — a friendly wave as you do — and they turned around and stopped me," she said.

Another driver says a similar mistake left her kicking dirt on North West Coastal Highway. ( ABC News: Gian De Poloni )

Audrey said her car was then impounded and she had to find accommodation for several days at a roadhouse.

"It cost me $1,000 to have my car impounded … plus paying someone to come and get me, plus my accommodation," she said.

Audrey said she also handed her valid licence to the police officers.

"The Shark Bay Police were very good. They were very confused and they were on the phone for 40 minutes while I stood and kicked the dirt out there on the highway, trying to figure out what had happened," she said.

"It was very distressing to be stuck out there in the middle of nowhere."

She believes her medical clearance may have been sent to the wrong address.

Database errors blamed by DOT

The DOT's acting manager of driver and vehicle services, Steve Mitchinson, said an error concerning Ms Martins's driver's licence was listed on a licensing database used by police.

Ms Martins says she holds no malice towards police. ( Facebook: Rachel Martins )

He described the problem as rare, saying the WA Police, DOT and other organisations relied on a complex series of databases.

"We collect information from a lot of sources, including individuals and the court systems and others, to keep the licences up to date," he said.

"Not everything is automatically updated. There is obviously a lot of manual intervention and there have been some delays."

Mr Mitchinson said police acted responsibly in the case of Ms Martins, "given the information that was in front of them".

"But if they had actually rung us we would have been able to identify that error and correct it for them, which we have done since," he said

The DOT is investigating exactly how the error occurred.

In a statement, WA Police said it had contacted DOT for clarification of Ms Martins's licence and confirmed there had been an anomaly in the system.

The spokesperson said an officer then visited Ms Martins's home to offer an apology and return her car.

Ms Martins said she held no malice towards the police officers involved in the incident.