Farmer killed on road

F350Lawman · Oct 27, 2003

The single biggest thing they should teach people (after safety issues)when they get there license is to MOVE their vehicles if at all possible after an accident.

How many times have I seen 2 or 3 motorists out of their vehicles in the center lanes of a freewyay inspecting their cracked taillight. Cars are zooming by at 75mph and they are inspecting for paint damage. How about when they cause an hour long delay at rush hour on a 3 lane bridge because they have not 1... but 2 lanes closed off due to this nonsense. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

The police ARE NOT going to do an accident investigation unless someone is dead, likely to die or some other special circumstance(DWI etc.) We just write "he said, she said" and any witness staements on the report and let the insurance comapny battle it out. We were even instructed not to draw conclusions or issue tickets at accident scenes unless it is 100% clear cut. After all we weren't there and drawing an eroneous conclusion really screws one of the parties so you BETTER be right.

You can't blame the motorist because nobody ever told them. You will even get some knucklehead cops who start taking the report in a bad area. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif That really steams me when I am waiting in the trafic jam.

This is actually very topical because it's raining cats and dogs, with high winds and I have to travel tot he city tonight. I ahve a 50/50 chance of being stuck in the above mess /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

cowboydoc · Oct 27, 2003

I almost got taken to jail one time for not immediately pulling over. It was in town on a four lane road with absolutely no place to pull over at all. It was one of those deals where it used to be two lane and was now four lane. I waited until we got about a mile down the road and there was a shoulder to pull onto. The officers literally had their guns drawn and over the speaker on their vehicle had me get out and come to the back of the vehicle and put my hands on the car. I tryed to tell him I was just trying to find a safe place to pull over. He said it didn't matter when an officer put his lights on that meant they wanted you to pull over immediately no matter the circumstances. He said he could have given me a ticket for not immediately pulling over. He had stopped me because my tag had expired. But I wasn't over the 30 days yet so I didn't get a ticket.

Trev · Oct 27, 2003

( The single biggest thing they should teach people (after safety issues)when they get there license is to MOVE their vehicles if at all possible after an accident.)

Yeah, we all see that sort of thing.. and I think most people are conditioned by TV to "never disturb the crime scene" kind of thinking.

( You can't blame the motorist because nobody ever told them.)

Exactly my point.. although one *would* hope that common sense would come into play to some extent (I'm still shuddering at Bird's story of the guy he pulled over who simply stopped right in the middle lane of a freeway! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif)

I could think of dozens of other questions I'd love to ask you guys, but I don't want Muhammed booting me off the board for turning this into a police forum. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Seems like more opportunity for people like me to talk to people like you would help us *all* out. Of course it could turn into a furball if we got some idiots berating police for issuing speeding tickets or something. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Trev · Oct 27, 2003

( I waited until we got about a mile down the road and there was a shoulder to pull onto. The officers literally had their guns drawn and over the speaker on their vehicle had me get out and come to the back of the vehicle and put my hands on the car.)

Headlines: "CowboyDoc leads police on wild chase.. finally surrenders after being apprehended.." ?

Did they hit the siren?

Having a gun aimed at you is an unusual experience, isn't it? At least for most of us! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif The only time it happened to me, I was a dumb kid who was standing outside a bank waiting for it to open in 5 minutes so I could deposit a check or something. A couple guys got out of an armored truck with these huge bags full (presumably) of money. Without even thinking, I reached to open the bank door for them.. just out of courtesy.. you know, "Here, let me get that for you."

OOPSEY!! We all chuckled afterward, but that guy was a fast draw! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

F350Lawman · Oct 27, 2003

Might be better idea to pull over sooner. I too have gone on a bit before pulling over to a safer spot... but a mile sounds a little extreme.

Could have been real ugly if they were pulling you over not because of an expired tag but because your vehicle matched the descrition of one used in a crime or that was stolen. Your driving for a minute or two refusing to stop, they're getting all jacked up, nervous rookie cop, their imaginations start to wonder as to WHY you're not stopping, etc., etc. Could be a recipe for disaster.

At least they let you go with no tickets. You must be some smooth talker Doc /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

cowboydoc · Oct 27, 2003

Traffic was going at 65 mph so it was less than a minute before I pulled over. They never did put on the siren. They just had the lights.

F350Lawman · Oct 27, 2003

One minute at 65mph....

OK, well that's a lot better sounding. I sort of pictured you going slower and it dragging out longer.

I'm sure you understand what I am saying though, even a minute can be a tense, long time if you're wondering why the motorist isn't stopping.

I just figure cops make mistakes and misinterpret things just like everyone else so I try to make their decision making process as easy as possible. I get pulled over from time to time and I still get a little nervous. I stop the car, shut it off, turn on dome lights , both hands on the wheel, look straight ahead, etc.

I've have however goofed as well . Once I thought that the police vehicle wasn't following me because he wasn't gaining and was WAY back. I drove for quite awhile at a high speed. When I realized and told the officer he laughed but it was embarrassing for me.

bgott · Oct 27, 2003

I've had that happen. The next time I got pulled over I stopped in the lane and got reamed out about that, too. It's the pr**k factor, they have a badge so they can be one if they want. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

F350Lawman · Oct 27, 2003

Did you get a summons?

Bird · Oct 28, 2003

( The single biggest thing they should teach people (after safety issues)when they get there license is to MOVE their vehicles if at all possible after an accident. )

I may be wrong, but if my memory serves me right, back in the Dark Ages, when some of us got our first drivers license, we were taught to NOT move the vehicles after an accident until the police got there. Of course, things such as freeways, Interstate highways, etc. didn't exist. So now, while a lot of people don't know it, Texas law includes:

( (b) If an accident occurs on a main lane, ramp, shoulder, median, or adjacent area of a freeway in a metropolitan area and each vehicle involved can be normally and safely driven, each operator shall move the operator's vehicle as soon as possible to a designated accident investigation site, if available, a location on the frontage road, the nearest suitable cross street, or other suitable location to complete the requirements of Section 550.023 and minimize interference with freeway traffic. )

Common sense?

( police ARE NOT going to do an accident investigation unless . . . )

It's accident "reporting" not "investigating", as you say unless it's a really serious one.

( You will even get some knucklehead cops who start taking the report in a bad area. )

I don't think officers in this day and age are given any instruction at all in directing traffic and they simply don't know what to do or how to promptly clear the road. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif