Re: drunks et al

[Lee Levitt <wheelman@shore.net>]

Dan writes:
>
>I had a cell phone in my old Audi and I have had to call and report a
>drunk driver that was ahead of me.  This guy was pathetic and was
>clearly WAY over the legal limit and had no business being on the road.
>If you drink that much, walk or take a cab.  End of story!
>

I've had the occasion to get 2 drivers pulled over...neither turned out to
be drunk. The first was weaving back and forth quite nastily, 4pm on a
Friday afternoon. Clearly drunk, or so I thought. He was so bad, I called
the police and kept them on the phone for 10 minutes till I had a chance to
get him pulled over. I *really* didn't want to do this myself, who know
what his problem was, or whether he was armed. But I was able to get him to
pull over by flashing my lights and honking at him.

The guy got out of his car, and could barely walk. He was out of it and he
knew it. He told me that he was a diabetic. I told him to sit down on the
ground, which he did. The cops showed up a few minutes later and spent some
time with him. He was indeed sober, but suffering from a blood sugar
inbalance...hadn't taken his insulin. Nevertheless, he was totally
incapable of driving safely, and they took him away in an ambulance.

I *was* concerned about approaching an unknown person in a questionable
state. If he had been drunk, belligerant and armed, I could have been in
big trouble. I did give him as much space as I could, and was ready to take
off if the situation looked dangerous.

The second guy was driving down the Merritt Parkway, 9 pm on a Friday
evening. Weaving, speeding up, slowing down, typical drunk behavior. I
called it in, and pulled into a rest stop after him. Gave him plenty of
room, and didn't approach him.

The CT Trooper arrived and talked with him. Again, sober. Dead tired. Too
much time on the road.

BTDT. Scary how poorly a really tired person can drive. 

The second guy might have been okay without assistance from the trooper.
The first guy was clearly on a mission to kill himself and others, and if I
hadn't gotten him stopped, he just might have been successful.

I've called other reckless drivers and drunks in, but have never seen the
results (car pulled over). But I'll keep doing it.

Lee