View Full Version : Called in a drunk driver.
Belmont31R
07-19-14, 01:57
And nothing happened. Was coming back to the pizza store after 2 deliveries, and for those familiar with Austin he was going north on 183. First encounter with the drunk was on the ramp to go south on Mopac from north 183. They barely made it into the south lane as they were in the lane to go north until the last second. As they made the turn over the overpass they came within 6" of hitting the concrete barrier. Barely made it down the ramp as the merge occurs getting onto Mopac from 183.
Once on Mopac this guy went from 25 to 60 back down to around 30. Drifting and swerving over both the white lines into the middle lane and shoulder. He barely makes the Far West exit and at this point I decide to follow him. Get off at the Far West exit and he slows to around 25 where the exit merges with the service road. Once on the service road I notice a red F150 is also following him. We get to Far West and Mopac service road with a red light. Call 911 and explain the situation. I'm right behind the drunk and give the plate number. She tells me not to follow and at this point the light turns green. Drunk starts down the service road again and takes the ramp to get back on Mopac. I tell the dispatcher this and she again tells me not to follow. I tell her I'm at least 100 feet back and just observing. She then ends the call and I'm just seeing what this guy does. Red F150 is still following. We take Mopac to 45th where he exits. Barely makes the left onto 45th and in doing so he pulled out in front of someone. Come to the next light and I get next to the red F150. Ask him and it's his friend who 'shouldn't be driving.' Yeah no shit.
At that point since 911 hung up on my call and someone else was following I turned around and ended things for my part.
Guess I thought 911 dispatch would be more interested in having police officers catch up this to this guy by having the person who called in keeping them updated. Guess we can't be trusted to hang back and give updates on the location to get someone off the road who had numerous near accidents within a short stretch of road.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/19/tyzyze6y.jpg
I've called in several drunks that were all over the road. 911 is always doubtful and barely interested. I usually am going another way by the time the finish making sure I am a real person. Once they called back 20 minutes later and asked if I was still following them and where us he now. I laughed and hung up.
Averageman
07-19-14, 06:08
We were comming home from an IDPA shoot and a drunk driver pulled up along the side of my truck. It was one of those WTF did I just see moments.
The guy looked to be 70, maybe 80 years old. He was well dressed, hat on, with a shirt and tie and he had a bottle in the front seat and a glass in the cup holder. He was singing along with the stereo and he looked like he was having a hell of a good time.
I called him in and followed, he had maybe 3 near misses in 20 miles, the Police passed me and got him pulled over as he was about to get on the Highway.
I dont drink and drive, but he looked like he was enjoying himself quite a bit.
Believe it or not, since it was a Friday night, Officers *might* have been tied up on something else (domestic, fight, some other stupid shit caused by alcohol, etc) or could've been coming from the opposite side of town. Or they just weren't going, I did a couple of terrible weeks that ended in injury over on N. Lamar, and nobody there seemed to fond of the municipal or county guys there....who knows.
Don't get butt hurt over dispatch telling you not to follow, they have all sorts of stupid rules and things they "have" to say (like "sir please put the gun away and let the home intruder leave"....lol ya right). You did good giving a plate number (95% of people DONT...go figure), and giving a good vehicle description.
Times I've called in other drivers the local PD has been responsive. Guess not much happens in my little berg....
The funniest call was when I happened onto a car on fire in a rural(ish) area. Called in and told the dispatcher that it was between two different streets that intersected the one I was on. The dispatcher asked for the address, to which I said there wasn't one. She said she had to have the address to find it. I said trust me go east on Yorktown Rd and somewhere between Flour Bluff Dr and Waldron Rd you'll see a car on fire. To which she replied that she still needed the address to dispatch a fire truck to.
FromMyColdDeadHand
07-19-14, 09:05
Did this once in Cincy. Saturday afternoon and a driver couldn't stay in his lane and actually kept trying to go up the left lane barricade- there was construction at that time. Dispatch kept me on the line and from when we got onto 275 going west from 71 to just past 747 there had to be 10 cops cars that showed up almost at the same time. The guy was weaving so bad that he was creating a rolling road block that went from 40 -60 mph. I think a number of people had called. I wonder of this is the motivator- if there is just one call it could be someone trying to be a pric, more than one call in means that there must be something going on.
Voodoochild
07-19-14, 09:30
Your best bet is to call State Troopers. They will more times than not handle the situation.
After nearly being hit by a drunk driver, I stopped in at a coffee shop as I knew there would be a cop inside. I told him about the drunk driver.
He jumped up and took off after the guy.
I saw the cop a few days later and he informed me the guy wasn't drunk, just so sleepy he couldn't control his vehicle. He kept falling asleep at the wheel and then waking up a moment later and repeat, repeat, repeat.
I failed to ask if the cop ticketed him, but the way he acted I don't think so. He seemed a little annoyed with me - go figure.
I'm of the opinion a sleep deprived driver is as dangerous as a drunk driver and needs to be ticketed for putting everyone on the road he's on at risk, including himself.
always ticked me off when you get dispatched to possible drunk/tired driver and you ask dispatch for an update on location, and all dispatch tells you is the caller hung up or callers not on the line. Here is a novel idea, call them back or keep them on the line, especially if the time delay is under 5 minutes. After that 5 minute mark chances are you won't find them unless a little luck comes into play.
If it was a busy night for the local PD good luck. Domestics usually take two officers if available and you never know how slammed dispatch is at the time handling all sorts of crap to actual business.
operator81
07-19-14, 10:31
Sleepy driver = impaired driver. I cite for careless each and every time my supposed "drunk" ends up being too tired to drive. After investigating a fatal crash where a kid fell asleep and went head on with another car, I have zero sympathy for people who drive while sleepy.
Depending on what time you called, Austin can be overwhelmed with drunk drivers. Up in dfw they are pretty responsive to those calls, especially in Collin county.
When I lived down near Austin I made it a habit to never be driving on the highways after 10. It is not a question of whether or not you are going to be hit by a drunk, just when.
For me the first was being tboned by one who ran two red lights. The second, nearly run over as a pedestrian on a sidewalk, the third having one pass out and slam into the back right of my car nearly spinning us out of control.
There are just too many drunks on thee road there, especially at 2am.
I've heard every excuse from people, sleepy, "seizure" is a favorite, or hey " it was just my prescription medicine." In texas, ingesting naught hint that causes the loss of normal mental or physical faculties is considered intoxicated.
You can actually assign an equivalent BAC to sleep deprivation/fatigue. We use it all the time as an example in the airlines when a pilot calls in fatigued and we plug all of their sleep data into the computer. It maps out their circadian rhythm and we can see as their fatigue level increases(anything exceeding 3 hours of sleep loss is mildly fatigued, 5 hours is full fatigue) we can see their "equivalent" i.e. how they operate BAC numbers. I think 5 hours fatigue is equal to an equivalent BAC of .08.
When we show the pilots that they are operating like they were legally intoxicated it really opens up their eyes to fatigue.
SilverBullet432
07-19-14, 13:20
We were comming home from an IDPA shoot and a drunk driver pulled up along the side of my truck. It was one of those WTF did I just see moments.
The guy looked to be 70, maybe 80 years old. He was well dressed, hat on, with a shirt and tie and he had a bottle in the front seat and a glass in the cup holder. He was singing along with the stereo and he looked like he was having a hell of a good time.
I called him in and followed, he had maybe 3 near misses in 20 miles, the Police passed me and got him pulled over as he was about to get on the Highway.
I dont drink and drive, but he looked like he was enjoying himself quite a bit.
Sounds like a hell of a time! :lol: im sorry but that is just funny.... Everytime I call something in they usually come to my house and never find anyone lol
Averageman
07-19-14, 13:33
Sounds like a hell of a time! :lol: im sorry but that is just funny.... Everytime I call something in they usually come to my house and never find anyone lol
I know it is wrong but I get a bit of guilt if I have to call 911.
A week ago someone left an infant and a 3 or 4 year old kid in a mini-van and I called it in. It was odd 'cause I wouldnt have notice had my truck not been lifted, just saw the top of the kids head as he was playing cars on the floor. The infant was laying in a carrier in the second seat behind tinted windows.
I called it in with the plates, make and model and stayed on the line, they got her about a mile away. It was like 90 outside, God knows how hot those kids were. Hell I was in there 20 minutes and parked next to her when I pulled in.
I didn't want them to write her a ticket, I think a swift kick in the Taco might have been a better solution.
I know it is wrong but I get a bit of guilt if I have to call 911.
A week ago someone left an infant and a 3 or 4 year old kid in a mini-van and I called it in. It was odd 'cause I wouldnt have notice had my truck not been lifted, just saw the top of the kids head as he was playing cars on the floor. The infant was laying in a carrier in the second seat behind tinted windows.
I called it in with the plates, make and model and stayed on the line, they got her about a mile away. It was like 90 outside, God knows how hot those kids were. Hell I was in there 20 minutes and parked next to her when I pulled in.
I didn't want them to write her a ticket, I think a swift kick in the Taco might have been a better solution.
Why would you not want her ticketed? They should have arrested her and sent child protection to investigate. I'm sure she will likely repeat this scenario and the kids will be in great danger if not killed....in my not so humble opinion!
Where I work is on something of a main street, with curbside parallel parking. We have a room with a garage door and two big windows on either side. This room is right on the corner of the block. Us heathen smokers use it as the break room. The door is typically open, but in this instance was closed.
I walked into the room from inside the building and was back from the windows. I noticed a car had parked in front of the door, which isn't a parking space, and it was blocking our ramp up to the door. I sat and watched as one of the guys pours some powder on a CD case and cuts two lines, while the other rolls up a bill. Chopper does his line and then passes the case to the driver. Driver does his, cranks the music, and they rock out while sitting in the car. My building is directly across the street from the 911 dispatch building.
Though I have little concern about what one may or may not do in their own home, once you're on the road where my family, friends, or neighbors may encounter your impairment, I tend to take umbrage. I called 911, told the dispatcher what I saw, she said "oh, dear," and had me describe a few things before ending the call.
A few minutes later a marked unit showed up, and shortly after a plainclothes came from the 911 building. They got the guys out of the car, did a search, and pulled a few things out while the guys waited. Afterward the guys got back in the car and drove off, probably going to change their britches and tell the story of how they almost got busted. I guess the officers were unable to find anything they could get the guys for. Hopefully it was enough of a buzz kill to keep them from being too dangerous on the road.
Averageman
07-19-14, 14:07
Why would you not want her ticketed? They should have arrested her and sent child protection to investigate. I'm sure she will likely repeat this scenario and the kids will be in great danger if not killed....in my not so humble opinion!
At best what could the Officer do?
I don't think he could write a ticket without seeing the kids in the car and the parent absent. He cetainly never followed up with me.
If someone is that ignorant and careless, I doubt a ticket would be much more than a PITA and She'll probobly take it out on the kids anyway.
However a swift kick in the Taco might leave an impression, or at least an indentation.
You can actually assign an equivalent BAC to sleep deprivation/fatigue. We use it all the time as an example in the airlines when a pilot calls in fatigued and we plug all of their sleep data into the computer. It maps out their circadian rhythm and we can see as their fatigue level increases(anything exceeding 3 hours of sleep loss is mildly fatigued, 5 hours is full fatigue) we can see their "equivalent" i.e. how they operate BAC numbers. I think 5 hours fatigue is equal to an equivalent BAC of .08.
When we show the pilots that they are operating like they were legally intoxicated it really opens up their eyes to fatigue.
If you have a link to a good scientific study on this would you mind shooting me a pm? That is very interesting.
TriviaMonster
07-19-14, 14:42
Calling in drunk drivers is my favorite sport. No doubt I have spared some innocents at least 2x. One was when a guy kept trying to race us and finally he kept cutting us off. Then he rammed us in the side and tried to pit us. Unreal. He then took off down the wrong side of the highway with no lights. He got time for that stupid stunt.
I was pretty disappointed with a response the last time I tried - same deal, but a 2500 Silverado swerving to miss medians and oscillating between 30 and 60mph; dispatch seemed pretty disinterested (despite being at 2:40AM on a Wednesday).
I share your frustration Belmont. They have plenty of time to hide in the bushes on the side of the road and write expensive tickets for driving four miles per hour over some arbitrary number posted on a sign, but then they can't be bothered when there is an actual felony taking place and lives are endangered. I've called in a few of these over the years and sometimes the bad attitude of the dispatcher is astounding. I have had words with more than one. I've had the police responses run the whole spectrum from excellent to dismal. I'm sure they are busy sometimes, but simply explaining that to the caller would alleviate a lot of frustration, and it could also motivate people to try to get more cops on duty.
I share your frustration Belmont. They have plenty of time to hide in the bushes on the side of the road and write expensive tickets for driving four miles per hour over some arbitrary number posted on a sign, but then they can't be bothered when there is an actual felony taking place and lives are endangered. I've called in a few of these over the years and sometimes the bad attitude of the dispatcher is astounding. I have had words with more than one. I've had the police responses run the whole spectrum from excellent to dismal. I'm sure they are busy sometimes, but simply explaining that to the caller would alleviate a lot of frustration, and it could also motivate people to try to get more cops on duty.
Ok first off, if you think a speeding ticket is more expensive than a DUI, apparently you've never had a DUI (good thing of course) lol (where I work a DUI is only about 8 TIMES the cost of a normal 10 over speeding ticket). Secondly, a DUI is not a felony, unless (depending on the state) its their third or fourth within a certain time frame (usually 5 or 10 yrs).
Simple facts....that's all....
alienb1212
07-19-14, 20:25
I have called twice and both times they were very grateful that I called and stayed with the driver. Quickly rattling off your location, description of the vehicle, plate number, and heading I seems to get their attention. The most recent one the officer somehow got my cell number and called back to thank me.
If you have a link to a good scientific study on this would you mind shooting me a pm? That is very interesting.
I dont have any specific studies, just my first hand experience with running my airline's program(we were the first commercial 121 airline to start using this program). I would be glad to chat on the phone about it if its something you are really interested in. Send me a PM if you want to do that.
The computer program was developed by the Air Force and NASA(maybe Navy and Marines and Army too, I dont know who all was involved). Its called FAST. You plug numbers in for a guys sleep times, quality of sleep(good, fair or poor) and awake times, naps and what not too. The program then calculates when their fatigue started and how severe it was. It also shows circadian rhythm so you can see when a guy got his "second wind" so to speak. I believe it defaults to 8 hours sleep as a minimum. As you get less than 8 hours of sleep it starts the fatigue clock. 3 hours sleep debt is considered verge of fatigue and 5 hours is considered full on fatigue. Through all the sleep debt the program charts the equivalent BAC of what you were operating as and like I said at 5 hours sleep debt the equivalent is(I believe) .08 BAC(it might be 1.0, but I think its .8). When you show a guy all this info it really opens their eyes to fatigue and the possible consequences. You say "would you ever drive drunk" "of course not" "well you were flying a plane in an impaired state very similar to drunk driving" "holy shit".
We take all this info and the guys narrative of what happened to cause him to not get enough rest and sit in a meeting with a representative from the company, union and the FAA and discuss all of these and it helps us mitigate future issues by changing various aspects of our operation, changing hotels, putting bulletins out to our pilots on how to mitigate issues(stupid stuff like turn the clock away from you, set the temp between 63 and 67 degrees, etc....). It also helps to understand that we can only adjust sleep up to 2 hours a night so if you are used to going to bed at 4am, the earliest you will fall asleep is around 2am.
Very interesting program and a very interesting topic in general I found after I started working on it.
Ok first off, if you think a speeding ticket is more expensive than a DUI, apparently you've never had a DUI (good thing of course) lol (where I work a DUI is only about 8 TIMES the cost of a normal 10 over speeding ticket). Secondly, a DUI is not a felony, unless (depending on the state) its their third or fourth within a certain time frame (usually 5 or 10 yrs).
Simple facts....that's all....
Sorry. I'm not following. Where did I imply or state that a speeding ticket is more expensive than a DUI? Speeding ticket here is around $400 and a DUI runs around $10,000.
My post was to illustrate that in my area the police seem to have lot of time to hide in the shadows and write speeding tickets for people who were driving "sanely" and not hurting anybody, but they don't always respond well to actual crimes with a potential victim like DUI in progress, hit and run, or dangerous traffic incidents like a stalled call in active traffic lanes at the bottom of a hill around a blind corner. I actually had this last one happen and I had to strenuously argue with the dispatcher to get her to make the motorcycle cop a mile and a half up the road put away his radar gun and leave his speed trap to come down around the bend and prevent an accident. Several cars came to a screeching halt nearly hitting the stalled car while I was arguing with the dispatcher about the importance of the matter. She could actually hear the screeching rubber through my phone, yet still didn't see a reason to hurry up the response. As it turned out, the moto cop never did leave his speed trap and was still there ticketing people when I went back up the hill 30 minutes later. A police car came from the other direction after about 20 minutes to handle the situation.
Its frustrating. I see them laying in wait to ambush people driving a few miles per hour faster than the posted limit, while just a short distance away there is an actual problem that could use their attention. For example: Instead of hiding out in the bushes on the open roads that lead to the freeways where honest hardworking people are trying to head to work, I would rather see marked police cars parked at the start of active school zones when all the kiddies are on their way in to school or when school is letting out. What is more important? The visible presence of an officer on a busy street to make drivers slow down and keep the kids safe, or stealthily catching speeders, and giving them hundreds of dollars in fines while they were just on their way to or from work to earn an honest living. When I say "speeders" I'm talking about people going a few miles over, but driving safely and courteously otherwise. I'm not talking about reckless idiots darting in and out and actually posing a problem.
What conclusion can be drawn when I pass several schools with no cops in front of them, and I pass two or three cops with radar guns out at the bottoms of hills or around blind corners away from heavy traffic areas and cross streets waiting to bust people? Parking in front of the school might save kids lives, but it generates no revenue. I think you can guess what I have concluded about their priorities.
NCPatrolAR
07-20-14, 14:55
Who writes a speeding ticket for 4 over? Here; you don't get stopped unless you're doing at least 10 over
Who writes a speeding ticket for 4 over? Here; you don't get stopped unless you're doing at least 10 over
Pretty much the same here, but I think the speed limit itself is a factor. In other words you may only get 5-7mph over the limit leeway in a 25 zone but 15mph or even more on the highways.
NCPatrolAR
07-20-14, 15:23
Pretty much the same here, but I think the speed limit itself is a factor. In other words you may only get 5-7mph over the limit leeway in a 25 zone but 15mph or even more on the highways.
10-15 over is the standard here regardless of posted limit. Now a school zone might see a reaction to a lower speed, but that's about it. Hell for me to give you a speeding ticket you need to be doing 20+ over. Of course I write very few speeding tickets and typically arrest people at that point for reckless driving (20+ over the posted limit)
Eurodriver
07-20-14, 18:36
I have called to report a drunk one time, and it resulted in one arrest. Of course I dialed the Sgt's cell phone personally...
I abide by the "9 you're fine, 10 you're mine" rule of motoring. I used to set my cruise control at 83mph in a 70+ zone and was never pulled over even when I drove by police running radar pointed directly at me all the way from FL to NY. I drive more slowly now, but only because driving at 72mph vs 83mph increases my gas mileage from 24.5 to 28!
Also, since we're on the subject of speeders I saw Florida HP running radar from a plane on one of the most isolated roads in the state today (Between Sebring and Lorida) Not only must that be horribly inefficient money wise (there were maybe 2-3 cars every 30 minutes on that road), but you could see the damn plane from miles and miles away. I guess speeders are a huge public safety issue during dry afternoons on one of the straightest, flattest roads in the country. Of course, they did nab some soccer mom in her SUV who was probably too busy checking Words With Friends to actually do any driving (Seriously, how did she miss the Cessna?) so I guess it's not totally in vain.
Seriously, how do people get pulled over by aircraft? It's not like they're 30,000 feet up and airplanes generally aren't flying low and parallel to highways.
10-15 over is the standard here regardless of posted limit. Now a school zone might see a reaction to a lower speed, but that's about it. Hell for me to give you a speeding ticket you need to be doing 20+ over. Of course I write very few speeding tickets and typically arrest people at that point for reckless driving (20+ over the posted limit)
In NC you can be arrested for 20+? Is that the law or your discretion?
85 in a 65 is an average commute for most people down here
10-15 over is the standard here regardless of posted limit. Now a school zone might see a reaction to a lower speed, but that's about it. Hell for me to give you a speeding ticket you need to be doing 20+ over. Of course I write very few speeding tickets and typically arrest people at that point for reckless driving (20+ over the posted limit)
Ive gotten pulled over for all sorts of sppeding infractions when younger. Most legit.. Like 90+ in a 70 (leaving Vegas). Then again, gotten pulled over for 53 in a 45 on my way to work in scrubs (don't get hurt on today's shift, buddy), or expired tags (dad's car, forgot to swap stickers, but it was paid with up to date registration in the car).
However, my experiences calling in have also been pretty abysmal. EMS and Fire have been fine, PD usually not.
I've called in a lot of drunks over the years. I've never seen one arrested, but dispatch is usually interested and I've gotten calls back from units looking for more information. I followed a guy all the way to his house, one time - Not to involve myself, but simply because I was absolutely positive he wasn't going to make it to his destination without hitting something or someone. I relayed address information to either dispatch or an officer (I don't remember who, at this point), and hope they at least paid him a visit in the morning to put the fear in him.
SomeOtherGuy
07-20-14, 20:56
I've called in one potential drunk, one drunk or more likely sleepy semi truck driver, and one crazy "tweaking" druggie over the last 10-15 years. No idea if anything happened to the drunks, but the druggie was caught, arrested and charged. That one happened at 10am on a sunny weekday. I've never had 911 treat me disrespectfully on these type of calls - but maybe because I live and travel in relatively safe areas.
At best what could the Officer do?
I don't think he could write a ticket without seeing the kids in the car and the parent absent. He cetainly never followed up with me.
If someone is that ignorant and careless, I doubt a ticket would be much more than a PITA and She'll probobly take it out on the kids anyway.
However a swift kick in the Taco might leave an impression, or at least an indentation.
In Michigan an unattended child in a car (any weather, any location) will get the driver/parent arrested and charged. I think we've gone too far in that direction, but certainly it's not something taken lightly here. (I say too far because it's the same crime if it's 50 degrees out and cloudy - our average weather - and it's in Mayberry and the parent is 20 feet away in a relative's house or what not. I don't have sympathy for those who leave a kid in a hot car and wander off - and our law was prompted by the death of an infant while a female POS was getting her hair done over two or more hours.)
NCPatrolAR
07-20-14, 21:27
In NC you can be arrested for 20+? Is that the law or your discretion?
20+ is getting into the realm of reckless driving which is a trip to jail in most cases. I'd have to look at some paperwork but I believe 20 over alone is a misd which could result in you going to jail w/o the reckless charge.
85 in a 65 is an average commute for most people down here,
I'm talking about non- interstate/rural highway speeding
I quit doing it. One night last year I was behind a vehicle that was a potential DUI and dangerous. I gave them the license number, description, direction of travel, etc... I was on the phone with DPS dispatch. I continued to follow the vehicle and ahead I saw lights on the side of the road (AZDPS) at road side construction scene. The vehicle passed right by and the car just sat there. There is no way possible that this unit couldn't know especially since I told the dispatcher the vehicle was approaching the DPS officer and I could clearly see it sitting there.
This was well past midnight and there weren't but a handful of vehicles on the road.
Eurodriver
07-21-14, 06:27
20+ is getting into the realm of reckless driving which is a trip to jail in most cases. I'd have to look at some paperwork but I believe 20 over alone is a misd which could result in you going to jail w/o the reckless charge.
Oh wow. In FL, you don't reach that level until 30+. It's a misd but it's still not reckless unless other factors are involved. This was highlighted recently by some football star or someone doing 95+ in a 65 and getting arrested for reckless driving even though he was the only car around on the interstate during the day. They dropped the reckless (but not the speeding) because the trooper couldn't articulate how simply driving fast was reckless. Some South FL representative tried passing a law that would automatically lead to seizure of a motorcycle if it was caught doing 30+, but ABATE shut it down. He still managed to pass a law making a wheelie a $1,166 fine with felonys for subsequent offenses.
I'm talking about non- interstate/rural highway speeding
Gotcha
Thoughts underlined. Good to know things like that for different states, but as of about a year ago I really chilled out on the speeding anyway. You save money on gas and driving is much less stressful when you aren't constantly looking ahead for smoky.
I've called in a lot of drunks over the years. I've never seen one arrested, but dispatch is usually interested and I've gotten calls back from units looking for more information. I followed a guy all the way to his house, one time - Not to involve myself, but simply because I was absolutely positive he wasn't going to make it to his destination without hitting something or someone. I relayed address information to either dispatch or an officer (I don't remember who, at this point), and hope they at least paid him a visit in the morning to put the fear in him.
I've tracked down a couple of drunkards back to their house. Crappy thing is, if you aren't actively pursuing them and kick the door right after they go in (hot pursuit doctrine), all they have to say is "I've been drinking at home". You then have no way of proving what their BAC was prior to entering the residence. And usually the folks with multiple priors know how to play the game.....
PS, as long as the bond is high enough to justify the expenditure of holding someone in jail, you can arrest on any misdemeanor (that occurs in your presence, etc).....and certainly if its a must appear anyway.....
Averageman
07-21-14, 06:36
In Michigan an unattended child in a car (any weather, any location) will get the driver/parent arrested and charged. I think we've gone too far in that direction, but certainly it's not something taken lightly here. (I say too far because it's the same crime if it's 50 degrees out and cloudy - our average weather - and it's in Mayberry and the parent is 20 feet away in a relative's house or what not. I don't have sympathy for those who leave a kid in a hot car and wander off - and our law was prompted by the death of an infant while a female POS was getting her hair done over two or more hours.)
I understand your point and agree. I do believe the cops here have to actually witness the kid being left in the car or the Parent has to confess before some sort of action, even a ticket can be written. That didn't happen in this case.
For a very brief moment in time I was teaching Special Ed. When we had cause for a parent to come in for a parent to come in to discuss a behavioral issue it was usually very apparent that the apple hadn't fallen very far from the Tree. As jaded and F'ed up as that sounds, you just have to be there to understand it, some folks aren't born with the love and empathy it takes to be a parent. That lack of parental nurturing results in issues our whole society had to deal with.
I learned I can't fix a parent or a kid, so I got another job and now I just try and do my best and live a good life.
Last year we had 100 days of 100+ degree weather and people still do this everyday.
I have called twice and both times they were very grateful that I called and stayed with the driver. Quickly rattling off your location, description of the vehicle, plate number, and heading I seems to get their attention. The most recent one the officer somehow got my cell number and called back to thank me.
The only time I ever called in an inebriated/moron driver (middle of the afternoon, middle of the week, bouncing between curbs on a two-lane road like a pinball), I gave them the plate number, exact location, and heading. 911 thanked me and I continued to follow from a safe distance to see if anyone would be dispatched. This idiot continued down the same road heading in the same direction, nearly hitting cars and pedestrians for over eight minutes. We actually passed the main PD for the town along the way. I called again and said that they had an officer on it. I followed this guy for another six or seven minutes until he pulled into his driveway. I called AGAIN to give the guy's address and waited around for a few more minutes... nothing... and my city is practically a police state. Normally you can't drive three blocks without seeing a cruiser. That's when I realized that our local PD could care less about the safety of its citizens.
I have kids... There isn't THAT much crime here. Reminds me of the time when I was a young lad and was jumped by four other boys on my walk back from school. As I was fending them off with my footwork and kicks, a police car drove by, slowed down, and both officers in the car were just staring at us, eyes glazed over, then they just casually drove off right as a kid hurled a rock at my head. Sad really...
NCPatrolAR
07-21-14, 07:28
I quit doing it. One night last year I was behind a vehicle that was a potential DUI and dangerous. I gave them the license number, description, direction of travel, etc... I was on the phone with DPS dispatch. I continued to follow the vehicle and ahead I saw lights on the side of the road (AZDPS) at road side construction scene. The vehicle passed right by and the car just sat there. There is no way possible that this unit couldn't know especially since I told the dispatcher the vehicle was approaching the DPS officer and I could clearly see it sitting there.
This was well past midnight and there weren't but a handful of vehicles on the road.
He was probably working an off duty job at the work site hence no response from him
I called AGAIN to give the guy's address and waited around for a few more minutes... nothing... and my city is practically a police state. Normally you can't drive three blocks without seeing a cruiser. That's when I realized that our local PD could care less about the safety of its citizens.
...
LOL....oh and its "couldn't care less".
I know its really hard for some people to understand, but sometimes a reckless driver report or dui report has to take a back seat to other more important calls for service. Not to mention 99% of all the dui calls I've been sent to, the driver was nowhere near impaired.
LOL....oh and its "couldn't care less".
I know its really hard for some people to understand, but sometimes a reckless driver report or dui report has to take a back seat to other more important calls for service. Not to mention 99% of all the dui calls I've been sent to, the driver was nowhere near impaired.
Dude, this guy was literally zig-zagging so much that he was bouncing off the curbs, swerving into oncoming traffic in a populated urban area. I would call that important. Much more important than backup on a routine traffic stop where a roach or some cocaine residue was found. Jeez... Some police need to get their priorities straight.
...and apologies for the grammatical error. It was early when I wrote that.
Dude, this guy was literally zig-zagging so much that he was bouncing off the curbs, swerving into oncoming traffic in a populated urban area. I would call that important. Much more important than backup on a routine traffic stop where a roach or some cocaine residue was found. Jeez... Some police need to get their priorities straight..
So that's what was taking priority? Or are you just assuming?
Assuming of course, but knowing this town, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. When you regularly (I mean this is almost daily) see eight police cars parked around some teenage kid who's already been restrained and all the police are doing are sitting around laughing and talking with their arms crossed... when you're eating at a diner and an emergency call comes in and the police keep eating before casually get up, joke with and hit on the waitress, then crawl to their cruisers before speeding off like a bat out of hell, running red lights, almost causing accidents... When you see people walking down the street being stopped and searched by the police regularly and let go... Police cars can be seen every few blocks, parked in a parking lot, facing the street, waiting for trouble... I could go on... Growing up in this town as a teenager, I couldn't even walk half a mile without being pulled over and searched, and I was a pretty clean cut kid. I've had guns pulled on me and been slammed to the ground just for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I've had SIX pocket knives and a very expensive flashlight stolen from me (I called and complained every time and was forwarded to the magical phone that never stops ringing) during routine searches and then just let go (I was of legal age and they were legal knives)... If they have time to do all of that - they have time to respond to someone who is clearly endangering lives. May I also add that I never had a criminal record, dressed like a thug, am half-Asian (racial profiling? I doubt it, there were practically no other Asians in the city at the time so it's not like I was a gang member), and was never out during weird hours or after curfew. Welcome to Pasadena, TX.
Who writes a speeding ticket for 4 over? Here; you don't get stopped unless you're doing at least 10 over
Can't remember the officer's name but it was 4:30 am on a Saturday morning on a two lane remote country road with no cross streets or other traffic. There was not another car on the road and he was parked off to the side in a dark spot. I didn't even see him until the red light clicked on as I approached. He flipped a U and pulled me right over. I was on my way to work and doing 59 in a 55. In the dark, all alone, not drunk or weaving or anything. Just calmly driving along, looking forward to seeing the sunrise and having a good day at work.
Once he started writing (the point of no return) he got an earful from me. He actually looked teary eyed and ashamed by the time my tirade was done. I explained to him how school children now look at cops with a wary eye because of BS like this, where in the past the police were looked at as selfless heroes. I told him at least the kids can still look up to the firemen as heroes. This incident didn't do anything to make traffic cops more popular with anyone I know.
I have friends and family that are police, and even they were disgusted by this. They wanted to believe there was more to the story. One guy knew of the cop who wrote the ticket. He wasn't surprised.
Doc Safari
07-21-14, 14:31
You can actually assign an equivalent BAC to sleep deprivation/fatigue. We use it all the time as an example in the airlines when a pilot calls in fatigued and we plug all of their sleep data into the computer. It maps out their circadian rhythm and we can see as their fatigue level increases(anything exceeding 3 hours of sleep loss is mildly fatigued, 5 hours is full fatigue) we can see their "equivalent" i.e. how they operate BAC numbers. I think 5 hours fatigue is equal to an equivalent BAC of .08.
When we show the pilots that they are operating like they were legally intoxicated it really opens up their eyes to fatigue.
Wow. So is it possible to go to jail if you are just fatigued and not actually drunk?
Maybe, I don't know. But, the public safety is more important than some off duty gig sitting on the side of the road. There is no doubt that the person I saw was impaired due to drugs or alcohol and driving in excess of 75 MPH.
He was probably working an off duty job at the work site hence no response from him
NCPatrolAR
07-21-14, 19:09
Maybe, I don't know. But, the public safety is more important than some off duty gig sitting on the side of the road. There is no doubt that the person I saw was impaired due to drugs or alcohol and driving in excess of 75 MPH.
It's important to take people like that off the road, but an off duty officer might be working on a different channel, have his radio turned down, etc. each thing causing him to miss the call/BOLO
I explained to him how school children now look at cops with a wary eye because of BS like this, where in the past the police were looked at as selfless heroes. I told him at least the kids can still look up to the firemen as heroes. This incident didn't do anything to make traffic cops more popular with anyone I know..
Bet you felt like a badass afterwards huh?
Whiskey_Bravo
07-21-14, 19:37
Bet you felt like a badass afterwards huh?
The anger is strong in you man. It radiates out of almost every post you make. What was it that you did for a living again?
Again I suppose anything is possible but DPS is pretty squared away and I can't imagine that they would have their radios set in such a way. There were several minutes from the time I made the initial call until the vehicle passed that unit. And there are on/off ramps all along the way.
At the end of the day I have decided unless it is impacting me directly leave it alone. I'm still a little dumbstruck by the illegal who managed to drive mile after mile wrong way on the highway and no one was able to stop him until he went head on into a Mesa officers vehicle, killing him
It's important to take people like that off the road, but an off duty officer might be working on a different channel, have his radio turned down, etc. each thing causing him to miss the call/BOLO
It's important to take people like that off the road, but an off duty officer might be working on a different channel, have his radio turned down, etc. each thing causing him to miss the call/BOLO
Assuming the dispatcher relayed all the information provided on the telephone by the complainant, this is a possibility.
Once he started writing (the point of no return) he got an earful from me. He actually looked teary eyed and ashamed by the time my tirade was done. I explained to him how school children now look at cops with a wary eye because of BS like this, where in the past the police were looked at as selfless heroes. I told him at least the kids can still look up to the firemen as heroes. This incident didn't do anything to make traffic cops more popular with anyone I know.
I have friends and family that are police, and even they were disgusted by this. They wanted to believe there was more to the story. One guy knew of the cop who wrote the ticket. He wasn't surprised.
Wow. I had no idea this was you.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtcvmu3p6WM
Man, you are like an internet celebrity. Remind me not to piss you off.
Can't remember the officer's name but it was 4:30 am on a Saturday morning on a two lane remote country road with no cross streets or other traffic. There was not another car on the road and he was parked off to the side in a dark spot. I didn't even see him until the red light clicked on as I approached. He flipped a U and pulled me right over. I was on my way to work and doing 59 in a 55. In the dark, all alone, not drunk or weaving or anything. Just calmly driving along, looking forward to seeing the sunrise and having a good day at work.
Once he started writing (the point of no return) he got an earful from me. He actually looked teary eyed and ashamed by the time my tirade was done. I explained to him how school children now look at cops with a wary eye because of BS like this, where in the past the police were looked at as selfless heroes. I told him at least the kids can still look up to the firemen as heroes. This incident didn't do anything to make traffic cops more popular with anyone I know.
I have friends and family that are police, and even they were disgusted by this. They wanted to believe there was more to the story. One guy knew of the cop who wrote the ticket. He wasn't surprised.
Bullshit.
SomeOtherGuy
07-23-14, 07:01
Wow. So is it possible to go to jail if you are just fatigued and not actually drunk?
New Jersey has a law providing for just that. I don't know if any other state does.
Voodoo_Man
07-23-14, 07:22
Skimmed the thread sorry if I am repeating things that were already stated.
If you are going to call in a DUI, follow that person and stay on the phone. I am not talking about high speed pursuit, but keep a safe distance and keep an eye. Calling 911, hanging up and driving away feeling good about yourself does absolutely nothing for the officers who are responding. If you follow that person, safely, the officers will eventually stop the person (hopefully based on their observations) and then if that person seems impaired they will get your information as a witness and then all this can go to court.
DUI is a very serious issue, I know people laugh when I say things like that, but you have a higher chance of being killed by an accident on the road, especially from a drunk driver than getting shot or stabbed to death. Always follow through with a hunch, do not let laziness or the idea that it is "someone else's problem" stop you from doing what you know is right.
Locally we lost 4 guys to DUI's in the 5 years, in one case guy drove the wrong way on a MAJOR highway and killed a very good officer, another I watched as an officer took his last breath, struck by a DUI while crossing a roadway.
I have seen DUI's destroy families and kill random people who were on their travels. The one you do not call on may do that, and would you want that to happen to your family because someone did not take the time to make a call and follow through?
Zero tolerance, I think DUI laws should be even more strict.
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