No, I didn't get hammered & roll through town.
So last night, after watching the UK football game at my sister's house, on the drive home across town I encountered not 1 but 3 (three!) drivers in front of me that if *I* were a cop, I would have pulled over for suspicion of drunk driving.
Time was shortly after midnight. Lexington, KY - 2nd largest city in KY, overgrown college town of just over 250K. UK students have been back about 3 weeks.
#1 - not far from my sister's. 4 lane divided road (secondary beltway around town). 45 mph limit. I drove up behind a pickup truck in the left lane doing 30-35. Some lane drifting but no danger at the time since we were the only cars in sight. I couldn't just blast past him because my intersection was just around the curve. At the light at the intersection, there is already a car sitting at the red signal arrow waiting. The thru traffic has a green light. The pickup slows down & stops at the intersection as if the light was red. 10 seconds later, his light changes to yellow. Once it goes green again he drives off with the rest of traffic while I make my turn.
#2 - about a mile down the road. 2-3 lane suburban road that has many subdivisions spurred off it as well as a small shopping center & some schools. Get behind a sedan that's driving without headlights / running lights (road is well-lit with streetlights all along). No other obvious signs of DUI, so this one may not have been, but probably still would have warranted a check.
#3 - almost home. 2-3 lane road in semi-industrial park. I had just turned onto the road off a major intersection when this guy pulls a California stop & hauls ass to turn in front of me coming out of a shopping center. No other cars in sight. It wasn't really a "I'd better hurry if I wanna pull out in front of this guy" thing... I was doing 35 and he had so little room that I had to swerve into the turn lane to avoid hitting him. I then had to follow him down the road at 10 mph below the limit until he reached his next intersection, where he ran the red turn arrow.
So - my question for the LEOs is (@Frank & @Officer_Charon) - what is the recommended course of action that I should take in these situations? #1 & #3 both exhibited dangerous behavior that could easily cause harm in heavier traffic. #2 maybe not so much since the road was lit, but still, not noticing your lights are not on could indicate impaired judgement.
After #1 but before #2 I began to think about things I could have done. I'd assume any options would start with a 911 call? Like I said, 250K with a decent size police force, but we're not crawling with police around every corner. I thought maybe a 911 call while tailing the pickup might have been in order. Hazard lights might lead to confrontation if the guy IS drunk. If he turns into a subdivision side road it could get dicey as well.
I don't know, I just hate it. I lost a good friend in high school when he was hit by a drunk driver while walking his date home at college. Another friend lost his Mom to a drunk driver, & the guy hasn't served a day in jail or paid reparations because his family is connected in their podunk fucking county. I'd just like to know what the best options are for ratting these fuckers out since, ya know, there's never a cop around when you need one
So last night, after watching the UK football game at my sister's house, on the drive home across town I encountered not 1 but 3 (three!) drivers in front of me that if *I* were a cop, I would have pulled over for suspicion of drunk driving.
Time was shortly after midnight. Lexington, KY - 2nd largest city in KY, overgrown college town of just over 250K. UK students have been back about 3 weeks.
#1 - not far from my sister's. 4 lane divided road (secondary beltway around town). 45 mph limit. I drove up behind a pickup truck in the left lane doing 30-35. Some lane drifting but no danger at the time since we were the only cars in sight. I couldn't just blast past him because my intersection was just around the curve. At the light at the intersection, there is already a car sitting at the red signal arrow waiting. The thru traffic has a green light. The pickup slows down & stops at the intersection as if the light was red. 10 seconds later, his light changes to yellow. Once it goes green again he drives off with the rest of traffic while I make my turn.
#2 - about a mile down the road. 2-3 lane suburban road that has many subdivisions spurred off it as well as a small shopping center & some schools. Get behind a sedan that's driving without headlights / running lights (road is well-lit with streetlights all along). No other obvious signs of DUI, so this one may not have been, but probably still would have warranted a check.
#3 - almost home. 2-3 lane road in semi-industrial park. I had just turned onto the road off a major intersection when this guy pulls a California stop & hauls ass to turn in front of me coming out of a shopping center. No other cars in sight. It wasn't really a "I'd better hurry if I wanna pull out in front of this guy" thing... I was doing 35 and he had so little room that I had to swerve into the turn lane to avoid hitting him. I then had to follow him down the road at 10 mph below the limit until he reached his next intersection, where he ran the red turn arrow.
So - my question for the LEOs is (@Frank & @Officer_Charon) - what is the recommended course of action that I should take in these situations? #1 & #3 both exhibited dangerous behavior that could easily cause harm in heavier traffic. #2 maybe not so much since the road was lit, but still, not noticing your lights are not on could indicate impaired judgement.
After #1 but before #2 I began to think about things I could have done. I'd assume any options would start with a 911 call? Like I said, 250K with a decent size police force, but we're not crawling with police around every corner. I thought maybe a 911 call while tailing the pickup might have been in order. Hazard lights might lead to confrontation if the guy IS drunk. If he turns into a subdivision side road it could get dicey as well.
I don't know, I just hate it. I lost a good friend in high school when he was hit by a drunk driver while walking his date home at college. Another friend lost his Mom to a drunk driver, & the guy hasn't served a day in jail or paid reparations because his family is connected in their podunk fucking county. I'd just like to know what the best options are for ratting these fuckers out since, ya know, there's never a cop around when you need one
