Calling in on drunks on the road

[Bird]

Be careful. It may be good that you are in Pa. In La. a citizen can only make a "citizen's arrest" in felony cases.

Norm, in Texas it's a felony or breach of the peace, which covers a wide range of sins. Unless they've changed it since I retired. However . . ., I made a lot of arrests as a police officer, but no way I'd even think about "arresting" someone now, as a citizen. I'd do as you said, call it in, follow and observe so if someone gets hurt they'll at least have a witness.

 

[Pushing_Tin]

I think you've got it right. When I saw that post about a jet pilot being able to do those things, my first thought was that there are probably a few pilots who believe that, just as there are some hard drinkers who think they're still safe drivers when drunk.:laughing::laughing:

You guys are right, I get to talk to these guys all day every day. The lack of professionalism and attention to details is stunning to me.

 

[Mike Costello]

A funny observation about fighter pilots: We once had a F16 pilot at our R/C flying site, and someone offered to let him fly his R/C jet which happened to be a F16. The guy got it off the ground OK but was all over the sky trying to control it. He later said it was harder to fly than the real thing.

 

[czechsonofagun]

A funny observation about fighter pilots: We once had a F16 pilot at our R/C flying site, and someone offered to let him fly his R/C jet which happened to be a F16. The guy got it off the ground OK but was all over the sky trying to control it. He later said it was harder to fly than the real thing.

The guy I worked for in the car shop had few customers commercial pilots. After dealing with stuff these pilots messed up on their cars, he stopped flying altogether

 

[nap61]

Bird,
The older we get the more we realize how frail the human body is. Twice in the pass I stopped individuals who were running from the police. On one I was rewarded with a torn suit and a ripped rotator cuff. Since the shoulder surgery, that is probably the best working part of my body. The other, I was able to take him down and kneel on his back until the PO caught up. I'm no bruiser (read - skinny old man), but I would probably do it again. Maybe you can't teach an old dog anything.

Norm

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Bird,
The older we get the more we realize how frail the human body is. Twice in the pass I stopped individuals who were running from the police. On one I was rewarded with a torn suit and a ripped rotator cuff. Since the shoulder surgery, that is probably the best working part of my body. The other, I was able to take him down and kneel on his back until the PO caught up. I'm no bruiser (read - skinny old man), but I would probably do it again. Maybe you can't teach an old dog anything.

Norm

What you're talking about is reflexes and instincts. People are like any other animal. Some members of a species will instinctively attack when threatened and others of the same species will use some form of avoidance.

I watched a guy on a news clip the other day talk about not helping an old man being mauled by two pit bulls. He acted like his being frozen in his tracks was perfectly understandable and to be expected because he had no weapons and no training.

Some people are going to freeze or ignore and then later rationalize their reaction as wise. Others on the other hand will instinctively be engaged. If they succeed then they're lauded as heroic. If they don't then they're ridiculed for being foolish.

I think this is sad. It's instinct I'll admit to either attack or retreat when threatened. But I believe that when someone does something besides retreat they influence others and we're all better off in the long run.

 

[Bird]

Bird,
The older we get the more we realize how frail the human body is. Twice in the pass I stopped individuals who were running from the police. On one I was rewarded with a torn suit and a ripped rotator cuff. Since the shoulder surgery, that is probably the best working part of my body. The other, I was able to take him down and kneel on his back until the PO caught up. I'm no bruiser (read - skinny old man), but I would probably do it again. Maybe you can't teach an old dog anything.

Norm

Norm, maybe I should have said I wouldn't attempt to arrest a drunk driver on my own. But, I wouldn't hesitate to assist a police officer, or to interfere if someone was being hurt.

And of course, I find it a bit hard to understand anyone like the guy Harv mentioned being frozen in his tracks instead of trying to do something.

 

[archerm3]

It's all about awareness, skill and ability. If your good you can text while driving a motorcycle, talk on the cell phone through curves in a car and be one of the safest drivers on the road.
The problem is most people are not good drivers to begin with.
Texting or cell phone use while driving a car or motorcycle would be elementary to a Jet Fighter Pilot.

I strongly disagree. I know im not a jet fighter pilot. I am only a lowly professional EMS helicopter and single engine fixed wing pilot, with thousands of hours of formation flying and air assault missions. And I would never consider texting while driving a smart thing to do. Jet pilots don't have to worry about drifting 10 feet over with the autopilot flying while tuning a radio. Multitasking skills also include prioritizing tasks and recognizing high workload areas. You can't keep a car in a lane while you are looking at the text screen to make sure that the characters you want are being loaded into your text screen.

You look at any aviation accident that you want that involves air to air contact of an aircraft with another in formation or ground obstacles, I guarantee you it was from human error and distraction.

 

[2manyrocks]

Do everybody a favor and call them in.

 

[NuBota]

Norm, maybe I should have said I wouldn't attempt to arrest a drunk driver on my own. But, I wouldn't hesitate to assist a police officer, or to interfere if someone was being hurt.

And of course, I find it a bit hard to understand anyone like the guy Harv mentioned being frozen in his tracks instead of trying to do something.

My co-worker was telling me how he was heading home one night down a two lane road - traffic was stopped in both directions. A single LEO was trying to wrestle a perp to the ground - everyone just sat in their cars.

My first response was - "Why didn't you help?" He had some pretty good rationale - Police officer may think he was helping the perp and step it up with a drawn weapon; Perp may get hold of the officer's weapon; etc

I considered all of this - but I don't think I could have just sat there - LEO's have it bad enough - I would probably have taken the risk. Curious about you LEOs out there - would you want the help?


I have intervened in similar situations - once wrestled a guy to the ground that was trying to steal a carton of cigarettes in a convenience store - don't know what I was thinking....