Followed an unsafe driver until the police could catch it

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

This morning I was driving on 114 East through Southlake, TX when I spotted an SUV weaving in traffic. People can be dialing, or reading a map, or fishing for something and have a driving lapse, but not this. It would slide from the leftmost lane halfway to the middle, ride the line for a bit, and then slip back into the left lane. It would slip and just have the right tires ride the line for a bit, even when another car or truck was approaching. And other cars did approach and pass because when I matched speed a few car lengths back we were 10 mph under the speed limit (bright, dry, clear day).

I wouldn’t tail a speeder and especially not a reckless one, but this one just begged the need for protection. And the traffic needed some warning too. As I called 911 I stayed back and changed lanes as appropriate. I would rapidly tap my brakes to alert traffic if the car started another round of weaving or line-riding. I hoped the tapping would at leas let traffic know that “hey, something weird’s going on here”.

I reported the license plate and things like “going under the Carroll Ave. bridge”, and “going over the Kimball Ave. bridge”. The 911 operator said that they were getting police there and that I didn’t have to follow, but I felt scared for the driver and the traffic. With a reckless speeder you have a chance of seeing the problem and getting out of the way, but with a slow reckless driver in morning traffic many drivers just barely passed by as the car started to weave or slide into another lane.

I was approaching Grapevine and they had to switch 911 operators and police jurisdictions. The car weaved as we bunched up in traffic but fortunately everyone slipped by it. Exiting to the access road it was still weaving. I thought it might be going to stay in the left lane and immediately reenter, by it slowly cut across a triangle of striped lines and took the access road. I was back far enough and followed. I was still reporting the intersections and turns to the 911 operator. I was wondering if the driver was scared of this green Volkswagen following it, and was trying to lose me, but it always drove under the speed limit, though still weaving. The last side street was better, without traffic, but still it was 5 mph under the speed limit (bright, dry, clear day) and almost slid over onto the curb edge a couple of times.

We came up to a turn that would put it onto another highway access road. The operator said that two police officers were closing in on the location. I then saw one across the intersection pull into the right turn feeder lane and stop, waiting for our turn left onto the access road. The operator said to make room for the police car and then pull over to a stop too and the officer would come and talk to me. I’m starting to get all nervous and jittery. I don’t want to mess anything up and let that unsafe driver back on the road. I have the utmost respect for officers. They put themselves in danger all the time, and I certainly couldn’t do that (due to the inevitable heart attack from stress).

The arrow came on and we waited a few seconds. Normally I flash my lights when the other car doesn’t notice their turn light, but I didn’t think that would be a good idea at this particular time. It finally turned, I gave some room, and the officer pulled in behind. Then lights and a pull over to the shoulder. I pulled over too and waited with my arms and hands on the open window frame. I wait to give them every ease in such unknown situations. Then I noticed the police car behind and the officer approaching me (on the passenger side). I didn’t want to suddenly move to open the passenger window so I waited until he knocked and could see me. I opened the window and he asked me to describe what happened. I did and he listened. The first officer walked up and before I or the second officer said anything he leaned down and said, “Thanks, you’re free to go.” So I supposed the problem was obvious without an eyewitness report. I would have liked to ask what the problem was, but I knew they couldn’t tell me anyway.

It took a couple of minutes to get a free lane of traffic so that I could leave. The officers were conferring off to the right of the car. As I drove off I could see the driver talking on the phone. She looked a distraught and wiped her face. Whether drunk or depressed over someone dieing, or whatever else might have been going one, I’m glad she could be stopped before she hurt herself or someone else. Considering that this was a 10-15 minute “chase” with weaving throughout, it would only been a matter of time before something bad happened.

2

She probably was drunk. I would hope that even emotionally upset people would pull off the road to compose themselves.

I once got stuck behind an obviously impaired driver. She was weaving horribly and I couldn’t pass, couldn’t do anything. She finally made a turn and entered a parking area.

If she hadn’t parked, I too would have called the cops.

3

Well, dang, so we don’t get to find out what the deal was? Bummer. [pouts]

Can we make up our own endings, then? I’m gonna go with, “Woman masturbating with dildo while driving”. :smiley:

4

I had one of these once; in fact, it turned out that three of us were following the guy from different perspectives, and the whole thing lasted forever until the police caught up with us. The driver had turned into an assisted living center and two of us blocked him in as the police pulled up. As I was filling out my statement, they were talking to him… it was an older guy, there to see his wife, and the police were unsure if he was too elderly to be driving or if he was on some type of medication that was impairing him (or both).

Good for you for helping the police out on that one.

5

Mr. S and I did something similar last fall . . . the driver was weaving all over the road, often well into the oncoming lane. I called 911 while Mr. S (who was driving) kept a safe distance and flashed his lights at oncoming cars. The cops showed up and pulled the person over, and the 911 dispatcher had us wait nearby. Then she told us to pull up behind the squad, and the officer came over and asked us if we wanted to fill out reports, which we did. Meanwhile the tow truck showed up to load up the person’s car.

As we turned in our reports, I said something to the effect that I guessed there had been sufficient reason to get the person off the road. The officer told us that the woman had been having a reaction to medication, and yes, they were glad we had called her in.

Then they said we could go – but our van wouldn’t start! The tow truck was just starting up to leave, so I jumped out and ran over to the cop and told him our battery was dead (we’d left our lights on, and the next day we found out that our battery was 7 years old! Time for a new one). He flagged down the tow-truck driver, who gave us a free jump. I guess it was the least he could do. :slight_smile:

6

This is the strangest thing that’s happened to me for a while!

I drive on 114 every morning - but early morning, as I want to be somewhere by 5am. So this morning, about 430, I was driving west on 114 and just as I was coming into Grapevine an SUV comes flying past me doing about 90! I usually stick to 65-70 and since there’s not much traffic I stick to the slow lane as much as possible.

This SUV was weaving ALL OVER the road, crossing the lines, etc… My first thought was “must be a drunk”, but occasionally it would put on a signal to ‘change’ lanes, then sort of weave back over into the other lane.

From past experience, there is no way that I’m gong to attempt to chase or follow someone in that condition and eventually it was waaayy ahead of me. I got off the highway near Westlake and that was the last I thought about it until now.

I wonder if the same person somehow made it to a bar at whatever destination they were headed for and then turned around and came back a few hours later?

7

Good for you, Corner Case.

8

Good for you! You did the right thing!

9

Were you on a hands-free phone?

Was tapping your brakes in traffic a better alternative than, perhaps giving the people behind the driver an unobstructed field of view?

And what would you have done to protect them?

I dunno- I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but it seems to me like all you did was add an element of risk that could have been avoided.

10

I called in an imparied (not drunk) driver when I was working in a Petrol Station once, turns out he hit three parked cars after he left my place, was driving on a flat tyre. I had to go the local cop shop and id the driver from photos.

Then the other time I called in a weaving driver from behind her, they ran the plates and found it was an 80 year old woman - she got a free pass.

Then there is the time that a officer had me pulled over and was checking my car, (I had had two glasses of wine, enough to be nervous but not to be over the limit) when a good citizen rushed up to tell him about a DRUNK driver - he rushed off and left me alone.

11

Given that it took the cops a good long while to get there and that it sounds like the car wasn’t on the same road anymore… it seems likely to me that the cops wouldn’t have found the guy otherwise.