Should I have dialed 9-1-1 police emergency under these circumstances?

Question

This morning, while driving on the freeway in heavy traffic, I saw two young men smoking a substance out of a pipe. This was not a tobacco pipe used by your grandpa, but a pipe used for smoking marijuana or crack.

I am just so sick of clowns in a drug induced stupor putting the public at risk. I thought about calling 9-1-1, but decided against it realizing that the police probably couldn't do anything and that what I had witnessed didn't constitute a life and death emergency. Should I have called 9-1-1? Would any of you had dialed 9-1-1 under the same circumstances?

I should qualify my sensitivity to this issue. My wife was killed three years ago in an auto collision caused by a hit-and-run drunken driver.

Answer 1

No, I don't think this would qualify as a 911 call. You could call the police and report the incident next time. They do have an actual phone number that is not 911 (people seem to forget this!). You could look this up in your phone book and put it in your phone for future reference.

Answer 2

Calling 911 for something like this is good idea. Someone doing drugs while traveling on the freeway in heavy traffic is putting others at risk. Letting the cops know so they can "be on the lookout" gives them the opportunity to prevent an accident.

As for the "its no worse than alcohol" responses---if you saw someone driving in heavy traffic chugging Jim Beam whiskey, wouldn't you be concerned?

And the "mind your own business" type response, if someone is potentially putting my life in danger, it becomes my business. If they are sitting by the side of the road, I don't care. They get in a car next to me or in front of me, I care.

We hear about suicide bombers in the Mid-East and we ask ourselves "didn't any of their neighbors notice they were up to something? why didn't they speak up?" Because THEY were minding their business. They couldn't be sure the guy was going to blow up a bus...

And we can't be sure someone on drugs is going to have an accident and kill some innocent people---but we do know the odds of it happening have skyrocketed the second the driver started using drugs in heavy traffic.

I think the police would have been fine with a 911 call about an impaired driver rather than the possibility of a later 911 call reporting a fatal accident.

Answer 3

I honestly would not have called 911 nor would it really be of any great importance to anyone there. I am also sick of this but I'm pretty sure 911 would just be annoyed if you called them. You could have gotten their license plate and turned them in at a police station when you got the chance.

Answer 4

I don't believe I would have called 911 however, I would have asked for the nearest police, and inform the police about what you saw. These people could have driven after doing that crap and possibly killed someone or themselves on the highway, which is a dangerous place for any accident. Your heart and mind was in the right place and I commend you for that. There is far way too many drugs out there killing our children. God bless you.

Answer 5

In FL, we receive calls such as that all of the time on 9-1-1. If we don't have officers immediately available, we will take the information and BOLO it to the officers in the field. Certainly, call in the future. If this was a DUI and they killed someone, you would be upset with yourself for not calling. Good question.

Answer 6

I wouldn't have because it wasn't life threatening and 9-1-1 is for emergency calls only;
You asked a good question though.

Answer 7

You were witnessing a crime in progress - driving while under the influence of drugs. Yes, you should have called, even if they were unable to do anything at the time. At least this car and the occupants would then be on record.

Answer 8

I wouldn't have. Marijuana should be legalized as it has the same effect as (the already legalized) alcohol. The more time police officers and the government spend on drug users, the less time they are focused on actual problems.

Answer 9

No, 911 should only be used in the case of life or death.

Answer 10

I said, yes, you should have called. They could have hurt someone later due to their actions that you witnessed. There is never a bad reason to call the police. If you need help or are concerned you have the right to call ... please don't let others dictate to you when you should call and or when not.