I agree with this, because a few years ago, I was doing exactly this (had ONE beer on my short commute home), and about 5 minutes after tipping it up for my first refreshing drink, a highway patrol pulled up in the left lane (I was in the right) slightly behind me and hovered there, VERY obviously watching me, checking my license/vehicle, just waiting/dying for a reason to pull me over. Apparently, my driving, license, vehicle and demeanor were legally acceptable because after a very long, infuriating and stressful few minutes which seemed like hours, he pulled ahead and passed me. Of course, I don’t know for sure, but my theory is that someone (like many posters here) was trying to save the world from my evil self by “calling it in”.
So, if their driving’s fine, I’ll do nothing, just as my “good samaritan” should have done.
The problem is, someone’s driving can look perfectly fine, right up until they swerve into the oncoming lane, or rear-end the car in front of them. And if you’re in a traffic jam and essentially not moving, as the OP was, then of course they’ll look fine - they have plenty of time to react and maneuver.
In your case, you were fine, but your “good samaritan” had no way of knowing whether that was your first beer or your fifth, and whether you were almost home or just starting a long drive. And in the end, you didn’t get arrested, or ticketed, or even pulled over. You just had a cop follow you for a couple of minutes and determine you were indeed fine. Which is all that would probably have happened to the guy in the OP’s case, too, if he were also fine.
Well the police would surely have complete sympathy for a concerned citizen calling them because somebody “likes fucking with people”. In this scenario either his IS guzzling liquor behind the wheel, which would warrant a 911 call IMO; or he is being a complete jack-ass and just pretending to guzzle liquor behind the wheel. Eh. Same diff. :dubious:
Fair enough, though by definition for you to know someone has had a six pack, they must have done something to catch your attention, which I stated was just cause in my book.
If you are doing whatever you are doing and I can’t tell you are doing it, then I won’t be calling anybody because I will have no reason to think I should…
Well, duh, because if you can’t tell what they are doing, then as far as you know they aren’t violating any laws or creating any risk. But doesn’t that include not swigging from a liquor bottle where you can see it?
The only point I have ever tried to make is that I don’t care about anyone who does not make their lawbreaking evident. If I can’t spot it, I don’t care. The reason I make it a point to stress this is because I see there is a difference between those who may be only slightly breaking the law but are too stupid to hide it, and those who are breaking the law but are successfully hiding it. To me if you are aware enough to remain below the radar then the function of obeying the law is met. If you do anything that gets you noticed then tough shit.
And when it comes to the difference between tired and drunk I prefer the police make that call. I have followed someone who appeared drunk only to have the responding officer discover otherwise. The driver was let go with a verbal warning which was fine. Their driving was bad enough to gather attention, and I a sure they were more careful in the future.
Here I disagree, for a certain interpretation. I mean, if the lawbreaking is not evident, then I’m not sitting around pondering “Are you breaking the law? Are* you*?” On the other hand, just because I am not aware of the lawbreaking does not mean it does not concern me. There are plenty of incidents of which I am completely unaware that nevertheless pose a risk to me personally, much less a risk to any number of other innocent bystanders.
No, if you are remaining below the radar, then you may not be putting many at risk this time, but you are contributing to a pattern of behavior that overall is risky and illegal. Not getting caught does not equal not breaking the law.
That said, a similar argument could be applied to speeding, which in general I find to be much less of a serious issue. I mean, someone exceeding the speed limit to a degree* but otherwise driving safely and in control is not a concern to me, whereas someone who is weaving in and out of traffic, making close passes and abrupt turns, etc is of much greater concern to me.
In fact, it is entirely possible to be within the legal speed limit and yet be doing the above unsafe acts. If I were going to dig out my phone to report someone, I would be much more likely to do so against someone who is within the speed limit but making close merges and the like than I am someone who is driving faster than me.
*There’s some degree of relativeness on what is acceptable. Someone doing 80 mph in a 25 mph zone is probably exceeding the conditions of the roadway, and thus a hazard just on speed. Someone doing 80 mph on the interstate where the speed limit is nominally 65 mph because it is in city limits is, in itself, not really a concern to me. YMMV, handle with care.