Followed really Drunk Driver last night - Called Highway Patrol

[Chromatic]

Last night as I was turning onto the Interstate,.. I noticed the guy in front of me A) Had a really banged up car, but immediately noticed an odd 'turn' .. and thought (as I say in video) he may be drunk.

It didn't take very long to realize this person was absolutely plastered drunk behind the wheel.

I followed and tried to stay behind him to keep cars from coming up on his tail to protect him and the other vehicles (but you're fairly helpless in these situations)... I also knew if it was obvious I needed to call the highway patrol. I ended up calling them in video, but they didn't 'find us/him' before he turned off the interstate. Which, I was just thankful and hopeful he made it home in one piece and didn't harm anyone else, including himself.

Why people do this with all the options available now no matter where you live pretty much for uber/lyft/taxi's/friends etc.. I beyond me.

I sped up parts of it,,.. so if you don't want to watch 9 mins of video just hit the 2x button in youtube. Going full screen will probably give a better picture of the swerving/almost hitting other cars etc.

(I cropped much of this dash cam footage because of how far it places the objects away from you by design, so quality suffers a little.. it is 1080p @30fps - Mobius Actioncam)

 

[Rajagra]

I reckon he had a 50/50 chance of making it home without a crash. It's the slow, quiet roads without stimulation that sees them losing concentration or falling asleep.

 

[kamkar]

The best use of the damm cellphones, nailing skum like this.

If the police got the licenceplate they should be able to figure where the person was going, or just wait there for him/her to come home.


THX for making the right call

 

[Chromatic]

I reckon he had a 50/50 chance of making it home without a crash. It's the slow, quiet roads without stimulation that sees them losing concentration or falling asleep.

At least,.. He was off the interstate.. so he wasn't traveling at 60-70+ MPH anymore at least. The area he turned into was fairly close to where he would be going.. I couldn't imagine he had more than a 5-10 minute drive left at best. I didn't want him to be arrested, but at the same time he was a ticking time bomb on that road.. and people have to 'learn' a lesson sometimes with a DUI. I've had friends that would drive buzzed/drunk at times and finally completely stopped after a DUI (for one friend it took 2).. but nonetheless the message eventually got through (it's not worth it, etc).

I think had I called right at the beginning he would have been pulled over -- Cops are everywhere in that area,.. but they just didn't have the time to get there (not to mention they may get a lot of those calls and not exactly RUSH to them).. but a chance for a Cop to get a drunk driver off the road is bound to be somewhat 'enticing' esp. if it's a slow night etc. I still felt a little torn calling the cops on someone,.. but when they are a danger to other people and literally could kill themselves before my very eyes I just don't have any choice (at least and feel 'ok' about things).

Do you see many people this bad off on the roads at night?

 

[Chromatic]

The best use of the damm cellphones, nailing skum like this.

If the police got the licenceplate they should be able to figure where the person was going, or just wait there for him/her to come home.


THX for making the right call

They got it -- I just sped up that part not to have that conversation on the video (and it is a long video) -- plus they asked for my name and call back number (they never contacted me.. though I didn't expect them to). You are absolutely right, with the license they know where he lives, what car it is, his name, etc (if it's all legit). If he had continued on the interstate for another 10 minutes or so I do believe an officer would have arrived as he was going slow (like 40-45 mph for some parts.. then would randomly speed up to 75). He kept scaring me when he'd almost hit the cars passing him/beside him.

 

[DT MI]

.... and people have to 'learn' a lesson sometimes with a DUI. I've had friends that would drive buzzed/drunk at times and finally completely stopped after a DUI (for one friend it took 2).....

Sometimes the financial hit on the first offense isn't quite enough.

A former friend (lost contact with him about 15 years ago) was out of pocket about $8,000 (tickets, court costs, attorney fees, insurance increase, etc.) on his first DUI. He didn't learn and kept drinking/driving.

Second offense ended up costing him over $25,000 plus loss of license for 2 years. When he did get his license back he still had to have an ignition interlock put on his car at his expense ($150 to install and $80/month rental) for an additional 2 or 3 years. He then saw the error of his ways.

All told it cost him over $35,000 (plus a divorce).

 

[Chromatic]

Sometimes the financial hit on the first offense isn't quite enough.

A former friend (lost contact with him about 15 years ago) was out of pocket about $8,000 (tickets, court costs, attorney fees, insurance increase, etc.) on his first DUI. He didn't learn and kept drinking/driving.

Second offense ended up costing him over $25,000 plus loss of license for 2 years. When he did get his license back he still had to have an ignition interlock put on his car at his expense ($150 to install and $80/month rental) for an additional 2 or 3 years. He then saw the error of his ways.

All told it cost him over $35,000 (plus a divorce).

Wow! That's an expensive lesson. Though there are definitely people worse unfortunately. You have bonafide hard core alcoholics who down a pint first thing in the morning and continue drinking through the day, everyday, just to feel "normal" who , well, drive.. -- Then you have a slew of weekend warriors who don't have any intention on hurting anyone,.. but don't quite 'get' they are as bad as they are , as dangerous as they are, driving inebriated. People will go to the bar, friends place, party, whatever -- and may be 5-10 minutes from home.. Think, oh I can't afford, or don't want to pay $XX for a ride -- and then on top are drunk,.. so aren't thinking very logically / rationally -- plus many have made it home dozens, or hundreds of times without any accidents/pull overs etc.. so they continue until they do have that accident or get pulled over and their confidence / plan / thinking is obviously flawed.
There is also the whole -- I drove my CAR here.. I don't want to leave it at this bar/restaurant/club/house etc.. That's one of the bigger ones I've heard to justify driving it back home.
Bottom line is if you are going to drink, you have to make your 'plan' before you start (and before you leave in your car, IF you use your car at all that day/night) imho.

I have a friend who didn't learn his lesson until he got to that IIRC, 3rd DUI -- which made anymore a felony and VERY serious consequences beyond money. He was a nervous wreck hiring a 5-6 thousand dollar attorney who said it would be an additional X thousand if they went to trial on it.

Eventually..in our lifetimes -- Most/all of the cars on the road are going to be automated -- where drinking and driving will be a non issue (for the most part) -- But that's not next year or even in the next 3-5 years.. for it to truly be 'en mass' we have some decades to go imho.

 

[Module 79L]

Eventually..in our lifetimes -- Most/all of the cars on the road are going to be automated --

I hope I'm not around anymore when that (eventually) happens...

 

[Chromatic]

I hope I'm not around anymore when that (eventually) happens...

lol. Yeah,.. as I mentioned I'm a car enthusiast,.. drive a 350Z that I've modified quite a bit,.. only drive manual trans, etc. So I'm not going to be in line to buy an automated vehicle -- but it's coming, no doubt. Though we don't have to worry about things in the near future anyway. We still have plenty of time to drive like we always have 10-20 years I would imagine before it is really the vast majority.. who knows how fast or slow that 'movement' will take off. I just brought it up because one obvious benefit is it will nearly eliminate the Drunk Driver (and even just sleepy, .. really bad drivers, etc problem(s))

 

[Module 79L]

I don't think automated vehicles will bring any benefits in terms of reducing drunk driving. A drunk person still has to be able to put the vehicle in motion and stop it if necessary. After smartphones, automated cars will be the thing that ultimately will stop the Human brain's evolution, therefore I hope they won't happen in my generation.
Electric cars have been around for quite some time and its "movement" has yet to take off, despite all the positive evolution and all the advantages it brings in terms of cost/effectiveness and the benefits to the environment.

 

[Chromatic]

I don't think automated vehicles will bring any benefits in terms of reducing drunk driving. A drunk person still has to be able to put the vehicle in motion and stop it if necessary. After smartphones, automated cars will be the thing that ultimately will stop the Human brain's evolution, therefore I hope they won't happen in my generation.
Electric cars have been around for quite some time and its "movement" has yet to take off, despite all the positive evolution and all the advantages it brings in terms of cost/effectiveness and the benefits to the environment.

Hrmm.. I respectfully disagree. Yes a drunk driver can still have some control over the transportation system 20-30 years down the road - however, the whole way people conduct their travel will be completely different. Personal vehicles will be , by majority (decades from now) , vessels in which people do work in , watch movies, news, entertainment shows, .. use the internet for simple browsing to gaming and everything in between (not to mention the dynamic of the internet itself will be something we cannot really imagine at this point),.. people will sleep if needed, the windshield, windows, etc will be monitors/displays,.. vehicles will be moving environments like the one you are sitting at now, or at work, and beyond. Point is,.. in MY opinion a large chunk of the inebriated on the weekends, etc will get in and let the vessel take them to their destination while sleeping, while being entertained, whatever. Yes, some percentage of people will do stupid things - but this number will fall dramatically especially after the transition from what we have now to what will be.

Stopping the evolution of the human brain from smartphones to automation of transportation. I understand your logic, I just , again, disagree. Sure,.. people will no longer be utilizing all the thousands of conscious and subconscious input/reactive thought processes required to drive manually - but I honestly don't think this will halt or even slow the 'advancement' of the human brain. Evolution is , pedantically, something that continues good or bad - so obviously that can never be stopped short of extinction of the species.

Automation of vehicles is coming. It's just not something we can stop - technology moves at an incredible rate and we already have the ability and infancy of fully automated vehicles. We are 'transitioning' right now while many may not realize it (and I think this type of thing will further lead to full automation (it's not something I believe will just pop up over night) -- What I am referring to are the 'idiot' safety automated features gaining momentum every month, every year with new vehicles. -- From BSM (Radar Blind Spot Monitors), Active Lane Keeping Assist, Park Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic braking, and the list goes on.. these are the more common options. While these start becoming standard rather than options, more options will continue to emerge. Further, we have over 30 Corporations working on Autonomous vehicles/R&D -- From Ford, GM, Audi, BMW, Nissan, Jaguar, Toyota, to Google, Apple, etc -- Many of these companies have thousands of employee's whose sole job is just this task.

Though I'm not here to convince you,. I merely think it's inevitable (and I'm a "driver'".. car nut, "track" my car(s) etc..) -- Either way, as with all things coming down the future pipeline,.. we'll all deal with them.

 

[DT MI]

...
Electric cars have been around for quite some time and its "movement" has yet to take off, despite all the positive evolution and all the advantages it brings in terms of cost/effectiveness and the benefits to the environment.

Not trying to speak for anyone but myself here but there are 2 reasons that I have not yet considered buying an electric vehicle in spite of their advantages.

1 - Inconsistent performance in extreme temperature conditions. When cold efficiency, and thus range, is dramatically reduced. When hot there are reports of the vehicles refusing to operate and/or recharge at all until temperature goes down.

2 - Long distance driving. With a gas/diesel vehicle I can drive to the limit of the fuel range, stop for 5 minutes to refuel (recharge) and be on my way. This cannot be done with current EV technology. For me a minimum range of 200-250 miles on a single charge (regardless of weather) and the ability to recharge in less than 5 minutes is mandatory.

Solve these 2 issues and I'll be next in line for an EV.

We can now return our programming back to dash cams.

 

[Module 79L]

Hrmm.. I respectfully disagree. Yes a drunk driver can still have some control over the transportation system 20-30 years down the road - however, the whole way people conduct their travel will be completely different. Personal vehicles will be , by majority (decades from now) , vessels in which people do work in , watch movies, news, entertainment shows, .. use the internet for simple browsing to gaming and everything in between (not to mention the dynamic of the internet itself will be something we cannot really imagine at this point),.. people will sleep if needed, the windshield, windows, etc will be monitors/displays,.. vehicles will be moving environments like the one you are sitting at now, or at work, and beyond. Point is,.. in MY opinion a large chunk of the inebriated on the weekends, etc will get in and let the vessel take them to their destination while sleeping, while being entertained, whatever. Yes, some percentage of people will do stupid things - but this number will fall dramatically especially after the transition from what we have now to what will be.

Stopping the evolution of the human brain from smartphones to automation of transportation. I understand your logic, I just , again, disagree. Sure,.. people will no longer be utilizing all the thousands of conscious and subconscious input/reactive thought processes required to drive manually - but I honestly don't think this will halt or even slow the 'advancement' of the human brain. Evolution is , pedantically, something that continues good or bad - so obviously that can never be stopped short of extinction of the species.

Automation of vehicles is coming. It's just not something we can stop - technology moves at an incredible rate and we already have the ability and infancy of fully automated vehicles. We are 'transitioning' right now while many may not realize it (and I think this type of thing will further lead to full automation (it's not something I believe will just pop up over night) -- What I am referring to are the 'idiot' safety automated features gaining momentum every month, every year with new vehicles. -- From BSM (Radar Blind Spot Monitors), Active Lane Keeping Assist, Park Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic braking, and the list goes on.. these are the more common options. While these start becoming standard rather than options, more options will continue to emerge. Further, we have over 30 Corporations working on Autonomous vehicles/R&D -- From Ford, GM, Audi, BMW, Nissan, Jaguar, Toyota, to Google, Apple, etc -- Many of these companies have thousands of employee's whose sole job is just this task.

Though I'm not here to convince you,. I merely think it's inevitable (and I'm a "driver'".. car nut, "track" my car(s) etc..) -- Either way, as with all things coming down the future pipeline,.. we'll all deal with them.

Sorry for not being as optimistic as you, but looking at today's human behavior I have lots of reasons to believe those things will be sold as "improvements" but too many people don't have the ability to think critically anymore and they won't realize they really aren't.

 

[Chromatic]

Sorry for not being as optimistic as you, but looking at today's human behavior I have lots of reasons to believe those things will be sold as "improvements" but too many people don't have the ability to think critically anymore and they won't realize they really aren't.

No need to apologize (I know it's rhetorical) -- Though I do agree with not 'enough' people have/use critical thinking skills. A lot of people don't like to THINK period. They avoid it at all costs, then it's a side effect of their lifestyles, and on and on. This topic falls across the board from being informed about politics, the country's affairs/world affairs to everyday life tasks and so on.

You seem somewhat unhappy with what you expect the future to hold in terms of human behavior. Fair enough, plenty of signs point to a downward spiral,.. but out of curiosity are you my age? younger? Older? I'm 37 at the moment, and yes I become a little more cynical and jaded each passing year

 

[kamkar]

Im not over the top about many so called smart things in society today. but i do hope with all the time that ppl will have freed up by not having to drive them self will be spent on making the world better.
But i doubt that will happen, seem like we are doomed allready.

Just look at the phones now, most ppl get withdrawl synptoms if they havent looked at the damm phone within the last 20 minutes ( i know 20 minutes is way too long for many ppl )

EDIT turn 50 in august.

Know world issues for decades, but only responding to that knowlege within the last 10 years or so.

Soooooo glad i dont have kids, proberly the smartest thing i ever done in my life.

 

[Gibson99]

I look at them as the individual pieces needed for fully autonomous vehicles. They're shaking out the bugs one system at a time while also experimenting with making the systems talk to each other, eventually ending at fully autonomous cars.

 

[Module 79L]

You seem somewhat unhappy with what you expect the future to hold in terms of human behavior. Fair enough, plenty of signs point to a downward spiral,.. but out of curiosity are you my age? younger? Older? I'm 37 at the moment, and yes I become a little more cynical and jaded each passing year

I'm not unhappy, I'm just being realistic. I've been much further from losing my faith in humankind than I am now. As you said, there are plenty of signs out there but more and more people seem to have lost the ability to notice them.
Age has nothing to do with being capable of thinking critically and not let someone else do the thinking for you, but if you really want to know, I'm 50.

 

[Genki]

At least,.. He was off the interstate.. so he wasn't traveling at 60-70+ MPH anymore at least. The area he turned into was fairly close to where he would be going.. I couldn't imagine he had more than a 5-10 minute drive left at best. I didn't want him to be arrested, but at the same time he was a ticking time bomb on that road.. and people have to 'learn' a lesson sometimes with a DUI. I've had friends that would drive buzzed/drunk at times and finally completely stopped after a DUI (for one friend it took 2).. but nonetheless the message eventually got through (it's not worth it, etc).

If the driver is really smashed, he may not be only 5-10 minutes away from home. I've read stories of people who got pulled over and the driver thought he/she was headed toward city XXX when in fact the driver is near city YYY about 200 miles away. When you're plastered, you can't think direction at all and can't handle map and drive somewhat by instinct but one wrong turn somewhere will have the driver really a long way from home.

Do you see many people this bad off on the roads at night?

Not usually but I don't drive at night often.

 

[kandrey89]

Here's a few pointers for reporting drunk drivers:
#1. Dial 911, if on a highway ask to be transferred to *HP (CHP for example in California)
#2. Say the following to report the nature and location of the situation "Reporting a drunk driver, <east/west/north/south> <route> and <east/west/north/south> of <last or upcoming intersection>" then when the dispatcher copies describe the vehicle, "Green Honda Civic, plate number XXXXXX (learn the phonetic alphabet if you can of your state's highway patrol)"
#3. State your name and phone number when asked, say that you're available for callback, this is so that the highway patrol unit who is able to respond could call you back, or the dispatcher could call you back for more info. I've had responding officers and dispatchers call me back asking for updated 10-20s.
#4. Don't tailgate the drunk driver, you could come up to the side and behind them to remember their plates to relay to the dispatcher but then back off. Not only for your safety but also because you don't know what the drunk driver is going to do when he sees a tailgater or a car following him.
#5. If after 5-10 mins there's no response or action from highway patrol, you could call them back and give them a new 10-20. If the DUI car changes roads, consider calling back with updated 10-20 and request a unit if available.
#6. Be conservative in exercising 911 DUI calls, don't call in every person who swerves a couple of times. In this video, it was clear the person was DUI, but still don't call in after a car swerves once or twice.

Depending on how busy *HP is, they may not respond to the "1 caller" report, that's why sometimes you have to call back and ask for a unit to respond and provide a new 10-20, it's difficult to track down a specific car on a highway. Cars move fast and there could be many of them, a time frame of even a few minutes could mean 500 cars. In the dark it's even harder, that's why leaving your phone number for callback is important to narrow down the location of the DUI suspect.
Don't sound unsure, unless you really are unsure. If you sound unsure of what you are reporting, the dispatcher could give it lower priority, especially if you are a single caller.

I've been doing it for a while now.

 

[Chromatic]

Here's a few pointers for reporting drunk drivers:
#1. Dial 911, if on a highway ask to be transferred to *HP (CHP for example in California)

This is different than me dialing *HP like I did? I was directed to the Highway Patrol. I didn't want to go straight to 911,.. don't want to tie up that line for what I consider instant emergencies (though I know tons of people do 'abuse' the 911 lines with trivial things. (Not to undermine the seriousness/danger of this drunk driver)

#2. Say the following to report the nature and location of the situation "Reporting a drunk driver, <east/west/north/south> <route> and <east/west/north/south> of <last or upcoming intersection>" then when the dispatcher copies describe the vehicle, "Green Honda Civic, plate number XXXXXX (learn the phonetic alphabet if you can of your state's highway patrol)"

I know you're giving general tips and don't know what I did because I sped the video up during the several minute discussion with HP dispatch, therefore other than the dialing and them answering (I left that in so people wouldn't question why I didn't call the police) -- I did start (which is in video) with I need to report a suspected drunk driver.. I went on to give the direction of travel.. (ie: We are Northbound on Interstate/Highway XX,.. we just passed Mile marker Y, and the intersection of HWY XX and I-XX,.. We are coming up to Exit XXX (and inserted the actual name of said road of exit) -- I described the vehicle as well,.. blue/light blue -- compact car, damaged bumper/rear, make/model,.. I used the phonetic alphabet that I know in general from piloting (alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, etc..) -- But great tips.

#3. State your name and phone number when asked, say that you're available for callback, this is so that the highway patrol unit who is able to respond could call you back, or the dispatcher could call you back for more info. I've had responding officers and dispatchers call me back asking for updated 10-20s.

The dispatcher requested this at the end of the conversation and I gave name and cell number. Never received a call back though.

#4. Don't tailgate the drunk driver, you could come up to the side and behind them to remember their plates to relay to the dispatcher but then back off. Not only for your safety but also because you don't know what the drunk driver is going to do when he sees a tailgater or a car following him.
#5. If after 5-10 mins there's no response or action from highway patrol, you could call them back and give them a new 10-20. If the DUI car changes roads, consider calling back with updated 10-20 and request a unit if available.
#6. Be conservative in exercising 911 DUI calls, don't call in every person who swerves a couple of times. In this video, it was clear the person was DUI, but still don't call in after a car swerves once or twice.

Depending on how busy *HP is, they may not respond to the "1 caller" report, that's why sometimes you have to call back and ask for a unit to respond and provide a new 10-20, it's difficult to track down a specific car on a highway. Cars move fast and there could be many of them, a time frame of even a few minutes could mean 500 cars. In the dark it's even harder, that's why leaving your phone number for callback is important to narrow down the location of the DUI suspect.
Don't sound unsure, unless you really are unsure. If you sound unsure of what you are reporting, the dispatcher could give it lower priority, especially if you are a single caller.

I've been doing it for a while now.

You sound like you know the drill -- I realize these tips aren't critique of the video as I followed all of them pretty much from common sense -- I did not call back.. due to the driver turning off after a 'relative' short amount of time.. (10 minutes or so after call).

The highway patrol had time to get there IF they had a unit within oh.. 10 miles or so -- Local PD could have gotten there a lot faster.. they are ALL over this area.. but I dialed HP because of the guy driving through multiple jurisdictions and for 'speed' .. I don't have police dispatch numbers memorized or as contacts in phone (I've called in 3 Drunk Drivers in the last 2-3 years,.. and I only do so when I have zero doubt like this instance was beyond obvious.) -- For the first DD I called in,.. it was the middle of the day and we were in an area that had quite a while before it changed jurisdictions -- I asked Siri for the dispatch number of the county I was in (I know the PD presence/number of cars/how dense they patrol in any given area etc) -- it turned up, it dialed and I talked to that dispatcher and under 10 minutes there were 2 county LEO's who pulled the person over.

Good information/advice!