In what is believed to be a legal first in Alberta, police have seized the vehicle of a man accused of chronic road rage.

The man is accused in nine incidents over the past two years. On April 21, the man allegedly tried to force another vehcile off the road and threaten the driver. Police say he posed a "clear threat to public safety."

Karl Wilberg, director of the civil forfeiture office with the Alberta Solicitor General, said the vehicle was seized under laws usually used to recover assets for drug-related crimes.

Wilberg said the level of risk in this case had to be high.

"It has to be serious, where someone could have got hurt," he said.

"There has to be a likelihood of harm means is harder to prove. We have to assemble a mass of evidence or we need an expert report. So not every case that in theory could apply is one that we could actually work with."

Police have released few details about the accused or the incidents that led them to seize the man’s vehicle.

The man is facing unspecified criminal charges and is in custody.