Hehe… normally, news sources will give a bland accounting of human interest stories, but the Houston Press definitely got their panties in a wad over this Pavement Proposal.
I think most will go with the latter. Why should everyone else have their journey interrupted for this?
I once saw a taxi driver stop traffic on a major on-ramp to a freeway in Norfolk so a mama duck could take her ducklings across it. No one was upset.
But some idiot pulling this narcissistic stunt ON the Gulf Freeway? IMO he should’ve been ticketed for public endangerment.
Ticketed hell. Arrested.
The Internet hates this guy and he had been charged with a crime.
The Houston Press isn’t the normal daily newspaper, it’s the free, weekly, alternative newspaper, so it’s no surprise that they are more snarky than the Houston Chronicle, the big daily paper.
But also, I would be super pissed if I was stuck in traffic because some people stopped traffic for a proposal. Also, they say that they stopped traffic for just 35 seconds, but even after the stopped cars move out of the way it’s not like traffic flow would just go back up to normal immediately.
Also, I feel a bit weird about big public proposals in general, it’s like they are trying to prove something. But this proposal wasn’t just about being big, it was about inconveniencing others; his Instagram caption was “When you shut down one of the biggest and busiest freeways in the entire country (I45) and you ask your girl if she wants to marry u, That moment is priceless love u #shesaidyes.” It makes me think that for Valentine’s Day he’ll prove his love by taking her to a restaurant and stealing food and wine from other tables, and then take her to a movie and claim to have bombs strapped to him so that they are the only two people in the theater.
I think it’s going to take five to ten minutes or so for the traffic flow to return. And fortunately there were no rear-end collisions as a result of this traffic stop but if there had been, certainly he’d have been liable.
And what I don’t understand is what the point of it is. Is it somehow romantic to remember that he proposed on a freeway? Did they meet there or something?
I proposed to my first true love behind the dumpster at the 7-11. Because thats where the magic first happened. I had to give the local bum a 20 to vacate for the evening.
The grey pick-up passing them on the inside shoulder in the 2nd photo was an off duty Houston cop who was able to call the police and give them a verifiable eye-witness account and, thus, enable them to be charged with the crime.
Entitled pinheads with keys.
Yeah, I knew it wouldn’t take forever for speed to get back up to normal, but saying they just stopped traffic for 35 seconds is disingenuous. I was curious so I looked at the speed map for Sunday, but I don’t know when the proposal was, so I’m not sure how long they slowed traffic down.
Apparently one of their first dates was riding a motorcycle on the freeway. The road is often super busy and crowded, but you do get a good view of downtown which is nice. If he was a sane/non-narcissistic person, a romantic proposal would be to take her on another motorcycle ride on 45, then exit to downtown or wherever, and then do the proposal. There are other places in Houston where you can get a view of downtown, it’s not like the overpass is the only place you can see the skyline.
they’re ripping this dumbfuck to shreds on Jalopnik. what a self-absorbed douchewhistle.
I hate public displays like this with a red-hot fire of hate-ness! I personally know a young woman who felt pressured into accepting a public proposal and her marriage lasted less than 2 years. And then there are the videos when the woman says no and the guy is left looking like an idiot, which is pretty much what he deserves.
So, no, not romantic. Not in the least.
This alone tells you all you need to know about this chap. Douchewhistle, indeed.
Me? I blame those Mentos commercials, for creating unrealistic expectations of what annoyed strangers will find mirthful.
Meh, good luck to them.
Shutting down a major freeway even for a minute can mess up traffic for hours. If they had tried this in L.A. both of them would’ve been lynched, and rightfully so.
However, by far the best part of this story was the recommended article about the dildo-wielding Santa. 
There was an incident not long ago where a section of an Interstate was deliberately shut down in a similar manner so that a couple of shitheads could stage a race.
What happened in Houston may be marginally less dangerous, but just as arrogant and stupid.
A substantial fine and a few weekends in jail should get this marriage off to a wonderful start.
Interestingly, the article reports “the couple” has been charged with misdemeanor obstruction of the highway…but the douchebag says there were 8 cars with him which blocked traffic.
Unless these were self-driving Googlemobiles, when will the other participants be charged?
What on Earth is a “white and black party”, anyway? I can’t say I’m familiar with the term.
A party where the food and decorations are in black and white and the guests all wear black, white, or black & white.