The only people I've heard of, who have had issues, deserved it. They were known to the police, had a history of idiodic driving etc etc.
Secondly, the police can pull you over, book you for neg, wreckless driving, speeding etc, and do you know the funny part, they might book you for neg driving, speeding and not wearing a seatbelt and that gives them enough points for some people to loose their licence for 6 odd months (Sometimes more!)... The Hilarious part... The fact that the copper then just has to walk away, and joe blow idiot is free to rip a skid and take off up the street and keep going LEGALLY for another month or two...
It is only in the VERY rare instances that Police can and will confiscate a licence on the spot. If they take the car away, for most people it makes it ALOT harder for them to do this.
So car gone for a month, can't drive, then loss of licence for 3 - 6 months, hopefully if they're smart enough (Most aren't) they won't drive, so it frees the roads up for 4 to 7 months.
Also, the only time I had an over bearing/aggressive copper was when I was caught well and truly over the speed limit, he went all "you were going real fast back there, how fast do you reckon you were going" and I went on the defensive of "I don't know"... Only time I had an issue. The last time I got caught I handed over my licence, apologised, he handed licence and fine back and I was on my way. (Minus 8 points and a chunk of my pay... Damn double demerits!)
The time before that, which could well have ended in a car confiscation ended up with nothing more then a warning as I was polite and upfront. (I could have been booked at 30+ over the limit as I even said a speed to the officer and he let me go after a quick check of my tyres and licence.
Only those whom deserve it, and those who give the coppers hell from what I've seen and heard appear to have these issues.