Monday, March 10, 2008

Drunken girl

I was belled to a bar where a bouncer was leading, somewhat forcefully, a young woman towards my car. He stuffed her in the back and then came around to my window. "Make sure she doesn't try to get in her car. Take her straight home." I didn't say anything because I wasn't willing to officially take that responsibility.

After a block and a half she said to stop and let her out. I spent five minutes trying to talk her out of it. I even offered a discount on the fare. I would have driven her for free, considering how drunk she was, but she didn't let me get that far. She knew her rights -- I couldn't make her stay in the car. She paid me the $3 fare and got out. I followed her back to her car (I think she was too drunk to notice a large yellow car keeping pace with her on the street).

As soon as she got behind the wheel of a mini-truck, I called the police. I gave the description of her and her truck, and the police dispatcher asked, "Is she just sitting in the truck, or is she driving it?" I asked her to hold the line. Within 10 seconds the truck was started, the headlights were on, and the truck was pulling into the driving lane. "She's driving." The dispatcher said, "Okay, I'll notify the nearest officer."

I never heard what happened, but I hope she got a nice, $8,000 DUI.

2 comments:

Matt G said...

Unlikely. "I'm dispatching" doesn't men that "an officer around the corner is responding."

You get the best-BEST response if you will take it upon yourself to:
1. Stay on the line.
2. Identify yourself.
3. Follow the vehicle (safely), giving a play-by-play of the driving characteristics and location.
4. Precisely describe the vehicle, giving a plate if possible (this can help us head 'em off at the pass).
5. Describe your vehicle, and turn on your hazards to identify yourself. Tell the dispatcher that you're doing this.
6. Offer to stop with the officer. (NOTE: Stop only when they say to, and stop where they want you to. In the absence of direction, stop well AHEAD of the actor's vehicle, not behind the officer's vehicle.)
7. ID yourself to the officer, and be willing to give a written statement. If you're in a hurry, ask for a statement form, and get it to him later.

This increases the likelihood of a stop and an arrest by about 1000%.

Ted Martin said...

This is great. Thank you very much! Now...how do I get out of speeding tickets?