I reported an erratic transport driver at 2 am, stayed on the line with the dispatcher, followed the driver as best I could and still never saw a cop.
2007-02-16 18:42:23 · 8 answers · asked by crankydad_9999 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
just because you are near the erratic driver does not mean the police are nearby. If you are waiting for the Highway Patrol the nearest trooper may be 75 miles away. If you are in a city or county, the on duty officers may be on a more urgent call.
The best you can do is give the license number, description of vehicle and driver and follow at a safe distance.
2007-02-16 18:48:21 · answer #1 · answered by Combatcop 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
they are not God, they can not be everywhere all of the time. If it is a rural area, it is quite possible that at 2 a.m. all deputies and hwy patrol for that area are home, in bed and "taking calls". In the case of erattic drivers at 2 a.m. the dispatcher calls the officer deputy or trooper covering that area. Assuming you have given them an accurate location, direction of travel and speed of travel, it may be absolutely impossible for them to reach you and the errattic driver. Depending on the report that you have given the dispatcher, the dispatcher will notify the next agency so that they can have someone out in time to catch them. "Errattic driver" is one of those relative terms. It is what you perceive. 1 report of an erratic driver does not make an emergency (again depending on the information you have given the dispatcher). Deputies often get called out to a stranded vehicle on the side of the road at such and such location at 2 or 3 a.m. only to get there and there be no car at all. They then drive a 30 mile stretch of county road east and then back west again to see if they can spot a vehicle only to learn that if it was there when the call came in it isn't there anymore, and they get to go home 1 1/2 hours later. I know that it is there job to take those calls and that is fine. I just also know that unless the dispatcher has been given information of UNSAFE driving (there is a difference) the deputies may choose to wait and see if a second motorist reports the erratic driver. Also, if you dialed 911 and are giving the dispatcher landmarks instead of mile marker #'s it may be impossible to dispatch an officer to you, as you may be 2 counties over from where the dispatcher thinks you are, and your cell signal is bouncing off of towers putting your 911 call through to the wrong dispatcher.
I am not trying to slam you, so please do not think that I am. I am just letting you know what the deputies and troopers are up against at 2 a.m.
Here's what my husband always tells me when I call him about Joe Bad Driver
The best thing to do is call the information into the dispatcher. If you can not get a license number, give them as accurate a description as possible of the vehicle, and the direction and speed of travel, and the nearest mile marker or exit sign. Then, if the driver of the other vehicle is going faster than you, slow down for a few miles so that you can put some space between you and him that way if he does have an accident you are not tangled up in it too. If he is driving slower, speed up just a bit to get out in front of him, and then resume your normal driving speed.
Good luck, be safe, and always allow plenty of room between you and the next guy.
2007-02-17 03:18:53 · answer #2 · answered by picture . . . perfect 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sometimes there is only one car for a very large area (I mean hundreds of kilometres). If they are 50km away from you (which is not an unreasonable distance for OPP) and they are driving at 100km/hr it will take them 30 minutes to get to you, that's if you are stopped. You can imagine how fast they'd have to drive to catch up and ovetake you if you and the erratic driver are travelling at 90km/hr away from them.
I patrol an huge area in Northern Ontario. I might get an erratic driving complaint that is sometimes almost 80km away. I can't drive 160km/hr to respond to something like an erratic driver, it wouldn't be safe for anyone. And, besides that I would still take 30 minutes to get there. It comes down to manpower, plain and simple. A distpatcher will not pull officers off of a domestic dispute to respond to an erratic driving complaint if there is no one else to respond to it.
2007-02-17 10:08:11 · answer #3 · answered by joeanonymous 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Cell phone calls are tract by the nearest tower and depending on the distance the waves can bounce off of two or three towers , now they have to back track to the original tower and would more than likely lose the signal.
Sincerely yours,
Fred M. Hunter
fmhguitars@yahoo.com
2007-02-17 03:43:43 · answer #4 · answered by fmhguitars 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because there are so many flakes out there with cell phones and no life who think that calling the police with every little piece of crap that they see IS having a life. This sounds alot like you. Get a life and quit screwing with others.
2007-02-17 02:52:16 · answer #5 · answered by trickRick 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They tour around to keep us inline and in line (moving to & fro employment places to get the owners richer and keep the people occupied and poor), not unlike the job of the church. They both work for the corporations who are powerfully rich. They watch each others backs but not the peoples who are forced unlawfully to pay their salaries.
2007-02-17 02:59:09 · answer #6 · answered by goddess 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Most likely they were busy on the other side of town and unable to respond
2007-02-17 06:19:17 · answer #7 · answered by nickle 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
they were to busy at the donut shop
2007-02-17 02:48:47 · answer #8 · answered by plhudson01 6 · 1⤊ 3⤋