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dumb and dangerous drivers

7

730 virgil

Well-known Member
Location
IL Wis state line near Monroe Wi
yesterday mrs 730 and i went to rockford il
driving on one the major streets in rockford i heard a siren in the distance then out of the corner of my eye i saw an ambulance coming to the intersection i had just crossed i'm thinking i hope he isn't coming my way.
as luck would have it, he came my way right behind me!
so i'm looking to get in another lane when the woman ahead of me stopped in middle of street and i couldn't pull over as there was someone next to me the first chance i had i got over the knot head started moving again and wouldn't move over so ambulance could get past her then she stayed there about 2 blocks. the ambulance driver was blasting on his air horn and siren finally she moved to the right so ambulance could past her.
i said to mrs 730 what dumb azz!
 
We all see that stuff once in awhile and wonder why there aren't more accidents. A couple of years ago I was on a major two lane at night when I came up on a patrol car that had a car pulled over on the shoulder on my side. His lights were flashing and bright and visible. I slowed down when I came up behind them and just when I was approaching them a car passed me! The car that passed me was even with my left door when I was even with the patrol car on the right side but I was slowed way down by then. I got about a quarter mile down the road and here came the patrol car after the car that passed us back when he was stopped. He went around me like I was standing still and when he was catching up to the offending car he hit a deer and that ended the chase. The car he was after kept on going and got away with it. I didn't know if I should have been mad at the deer or the thoughtless driver or both. I thought about stopping and venting my anger about the dumb driver to the officer but I figured he was plenty busy and steamed about it too. Jim
 
see stuff like that lots as a volunteer firefighter... had a call last wednesday evening, leaving town a car pulled over and stopped for us, i nearly had a heart attack... getting the pumper truck going takes a while, i've been passed before now by people as we leave town on a call... i'm glad we are only a small town, i don't think i could cope with driving an emergency vehicle in some of the cities.
 
Now that I care for my parents and have for a year or two, that are 90 and 93 (they don't drive) I have a much different view on things. I spend a lot of time at the pharmacy, the DR.s, the bank. Everywhere I go I see dozens of elderly like my parents only without anyone to look after them. The way I see it we should have daily carnage on the roads and dozens of accidental overdoses, and thousands in lost and misspent $ just from old people that are unable to function anymore. I don't know the answer, just my two cents on some of the very shocking driving.
 
A couple of years ago, I was on my way to the sale barn. In front of me were a van, then 2 cars. Then my pickup and two more cars. A county squad was behind us all. We were in somewhat of a valley on a county road, spread out for more than a mile. An ambulance with the lights on came up behind us. The 2 cars behind me pulled over and stoped. So did I and the three ahead of me. The cop slowed way down and looked at each or us as if we were crazy. After passing all of us the ambulance driver had enough and hit the siren. Only then did the cop pull over for him. The van stopped I stopped and 3 of the four cars stopped and we all talked and agreed to be witnesses if the ambulance driver wanted to pursue charges. We all exchanged contact information and the van driver volunteered to locate and contact the ambulance driver to see if he wanted to pursue charges. He did and filed a formal complaint. The cop got out of it by citing the ambulance driver for failing to have the siren on while transporting a patient. County law enforcement at it's finest.
 
About two years ago I was on the way to fight a huge grass fire that was threatening to destroy a small village 11 miles west of our major town(2500population).

We were running in line with several other "ranch rigs" as they are called around here(local VFD depends on help from us), about 80mph with our hazzard lights flashing.

Word had been going out over the local radio station to stay off the highway and let the firefighters get to the fire.

Well, a half mile ahead of us was a gawker in a late model Lincoln....as we closed in he pulled off to the right shoulder, I assumed to let us by....nope....without even looking he pulled a u-turn on the highway. I had 300 gallons of water in the sprayer making quick lane changes a bit risky but I whipped into the left lane just in time....felt the right rear of the pickup box graze the front of his car...didn't stop, he wasn't there after we got the fire out, so I'm assuming he was able to drive back to town and clean his shorts....maybe order a new front bumper....hopefully next time there's a fire he'll be telling his buddys to just stay in town.
 
you are so rite ,, and there are no good answers . many folx simply cannot recall wheter they took their meds or not ,, and sometimes double dose!!! .. both my parents were good drivers even in their old age ,, dad drove himself around when ever no one else was on the road before they all came home from work ,,. he was driving the monthe before he passed at 92 ,, mom on the other hand , drove me around the 600 acre square county road about a year ago ,,and told me ,, she felt it best she not drive anymore ,,. that was a relief, because I could never tell my mom what she can and cannot do
 
And people wonder why I quit driving truck.
What gets me is the guys who run a highway regularly, but don't figure out that if you stay 5 under the speed limit, you make better time than speeding because the lights are programmed to turn red when you start speeding. Had a light load going up 31 through Kokomo one day, running 5 under, and hitting green lights. Heavy hauler kept trying to run 15 over and catching red lights, got mad when I kept hitting the left lane and passing him when the lights turned green again.
Quite often they'll let you have a little extra as long as you show them you're paying attention. I regularly hit 8-10 over in Summersville WV (Speedtraptown) at the bottom of a hill in front of their revenuers. But I kept it way down til there was no question I would make the light at the bottom (and making all kinds of space in front of me) under green, then got on it. Lots of guys would come barreling down the hill and smoke the brakes for a red light, or get pulled over half way up the other side.
 
Funny seeing this thread, I was driving into town today, right where the speed drops down from 55 I see the VFD offroad truck coming up behind me fast with all his lights blazing. I grabbed the shoulder and let him pass. It seemed strange that he was headed that direction. It was toward the station. Right after he went by he cut the lights and made the turn into their lot. Must have had hot food waiting is all I can figure. Pretty rude if you ask me. He saved about 15 seconds by making me pull off the road.
 
(quoted from post at 18:58:52 04/18/14) A couple of years ago, I was on my way to the sale barn. In front of me were a van, then 2 cars. Then my pickup and two more cars. A county squad was behind us all. We were in somewhat of a valley on a county road, spread out for more than a mile. An ambulance with the lights on came up behind us. The 2 cars behind me pulled over and stoped. So did I and the three ahead of me. The cop slowed way down and looked at each or us as if we were crazy. After passing all of us the ambulance driver had enough and hit the siren. Only then did the cop pull over for him. The van stopped I stopped and 3 of the four cars stopped and we all talked and agreed to be witnesses if the ambulance driver wanted to pursue charges. We all exchanged contact information and the van driver volunteered to locate and contact the ambulance driver to see if he wanted to pursue charges. He did and filed a formal complaint. The cop got out of it by citing the ambulance driver for failing to have the siren on while transporting a patient. County law enforcement at it's finest.
Click to expand...

Actually, in my state the law requires lights AND siren on any emergency vehicle. The cop didn't "get out of it" any more than Joe Average would have in the same circumstances. Not everyone sees the lights in the rear view, thats why the siren is there and why the law is written that way.
 
(quoted from post at 01:08:46 04/19/14) Funny seeing this thread, I was driving into town today, right where the speed drops down from 55 I see the VFD offroad truck coming up behind me fast with all his lights blazing. I grabbed the shoulder and let him pass. It seemed strange that he was headed that direction. It was toward the station. Right after he went by he cut the lights and made the turn into their lot. Must have had hot food waiting is all I can figure. Pretty rude if you ask me. He saved about 15 seconds by making me pull off the road.
Click to expand...

Kind of like our local "volunteer" rescue squad. They charge for every call now, have a lot of paid members and it's normal to see them take the ambulance to the grocery or for sodas or whatever and leave it running. They they ask for donations. I'm all for supporting them, but fiscal responsibility is everyones job.
 
Before my father died, he was transported from the
nursing home to the hospital 4 times. They always
used the lights only. I have heard conflicting
reports about what is and what is not required in my
state, but the cop only cited the ambulance driver
AFTER he was informed of the complaint against him.
He went about 2 miles without looking in his rear
view mirrors. Any civilian would have been ticked
for inattentive driving for that.
 
Strange that this post should come up today. We just had 8 departments on a fire in 30+ mph winds. Most departments had fires in their districts today for one reason or another. Anyway they were trying to get enough water to this fire and fortunately there was water only 2 miles away. I was helping fill trucks and watched as they were trying to get out on the highway during rush hour. Darned clowns in the cars wouldn't even let trucks with lights and sirens on get out on the road to do their job. Had one driver who was fortunately empty coming to fill up with water almost take out some goof on a motorcycle. Everyone else got over for the fire truck and the motorcycle decided to pass 10 cars, ever see a fire truck leaving black marks? It didn't sound like anywhere that I wanted to be. After almost an hour they finally got the police to stop traffic for the trucks(fireman were doing it by then already).
 

Last fall I was driving the main road through my town at dusk, with my lights on of course. I was just slightly over the speed limit and when I came around a blind curve, right in front of me there was something completely across the road blocking both lanes, I couldn't tell what it was at first, but then my lights hit it. It was the Fire Dept. ten wheeler tanker with not so much as a clearance light on. Fortunately it had reflective tape down the side. The idiot was turning around in a "U" driveway, well after sundown, without a light showing, and had to stop and back up. We were all lucky that I was not speeding.
 
(quoted from post at 05:15:51 04/19/14) Before my father died, he was transported from the
nursing home to the hospital 4 times. They always
used the lights only. I have heard conflicting
reports about what is and what is not required in my
state, but the cop only cited the ambulance driver
AFTER he was informed of the complaint against him.
He went about 2 miles without looking in his rear
view mirrors. Any civilian would have been ticked
for inattentive driving for that.
Click to expand...

I disagree. In 22+ years as a road Trooper I only had 1 person fail to pull over in a timely fashion that wasn't either fleeing or unable to do so. That was one old lady who just couldn't believe I was going to pull her over for speeding, only I wasn't trying to pull her over, I was trying to get around her to go to a shots fired complaint. She didn't get a ticket, but I did explain she wasn't the only fish in the sea. I've pulled over, literally, tens of thousands of cars, trucks, tractor trailers, etc. A lot of the time I'd be behind them for a mile or 2 with just the lights on and sometimes even bumping the siren or air horn before they'd spot me. (Why not run the siren? Because it upsets people and they'd call in and complain.) No one ever got a ticket for not pulling over right away- ever. So the cop was driving just like everyone else on the road- with a cranial/rectal inversion. Then everyone decides he's supposed to be superman and have unfailing observation skills and that they'd get a ticket if the ambulance driver complained about them so they all together to stick it to the cop. The cop notes that the ambulance guy wasn't following the law and using his siren. Who's the bigger moron here? :roll: The cop should have seen the ambulance and the ambulance driver, if actually on an emergency run and not just a transport, should have used his siren. Sounds like 2 people in the wrong to me.
 
I've got an old high school friend who's no a retired cop. In his entire career he only wrote one ticket for failure to yield. He was responding to a possible heart attack 911 call. Was on a narrow road, lights and siren on and had a teen driver in front of him that wouldn't pull over. According to my friend he was behind this kid 4 or 5 miles when he heard on the radio that the EMT's were on scene so he followed this kid until he did finally pull over and wrote him a ticket. He told me he first ask the kid if A. he didn't know there was an emergency vehicle behind him (kid said yes) then ask B. why didn't you pull over? The kid told him that he didn't know he was supposed to.

As far as parents driving beyond their ability: My mother was never a good driver. After she hit 65 years she got much worse. I tried many times to tell her she shouldn't drive. Then her car broke down. Should have been about a 90 dollar fix at that time. I told her that it would cost me about $550 dollars to get the parts to fix it (multi port injection and it had one bad injector). Even though she had the money she thought it was too much. So for the next 5 years my wife or I would take her shopping and to doctor appointments as needed. Was the best solution to getting her out from behind the wheel.

Rick
 
I'll have to disagree with you. If average citizens
of average intelligence know enough to pull over,
then the cop should have too. He had his lights on.
A cop with training should be looking behind him
enough to see it. If said cop had been in the same
situation(in a hurry with only his lights on), he
would have crucified anybody that didn't pull over.
People should be screened better before allowing
said person to be a cop. Too many cops out there
have little man syndrome or hate the world.
 
(quoted from post at 17:01:39 04/19/14) I'll have to disagree with you. If average citizens
of average intelligence know enough to pull over,
then the cop should have too. He had his lights on.
A cop with training should be looking behind him
enough to see it. If said cop had been in the same
situation(in a hurry with only his lights on), he
would have crucified anybody that didn't pull over.
People should be screened better before allowing
said person to be a cop. Too many cops out there
have little man syndrome or hate the world.
Click to expand...

If the ambulance driver had hit his siren he would have pulled over, exactly like he did once the ambulance driver DID hit his siren. Generally when you have people slowing down and pulling over in front of you your attention is on those cars and what ever it is they are doing, right? It sounds to me like it had nothing to do with intelligence and something to do with a guy wondering why the cars in front of him were pulling over for a reason he wasn't aware of. That's what you're supposed to be doing out there, looking into unusual activity. But go ahead and take any chance you can to jump on the cop while ignoring the fact the ambulance driver didn't obey the rules and run his siren. I know that will make the insecure feel better.
 
Too many drivers on the road who never acquired a physics credit in school. And/or their primary driving education was playing Grand Theft Auto. There is no re-set button in real life.
 
The cop is the only one out of 7 cars not to pull
over. 6 cars, all in front of him, pull over and
stop. He thinks this is weird so he looks around
and apparently sees nothing wrong. Did he not
bother to look behind him? If 6 cars all pulled
over one after another, you'd think he'd really be
looking around. The biggest problem here is that
the cop broke the law. The cop has a big ambulance
directly behind him and you're actually going to
claim that the cop didn't see him? Here, the law
is VERY clearly written that traffic in both
directions(on an undivided highway) must pull over
for emergency vehicles with the lights on. Not
doing so carries one heck of a fine along with a
bunch of demerit points.
When the ambulance driver pursued charges, the cop
basically said I'm invincible and charged him. The
system is broken when this can happen. There is no
recourse against him. You complain, they'll(cops)
find something to charge you with. At any given
time of your life, you are probably breaking a
law, so finding something to charge a person with
isn't difficult.

Given you were a cop, I'm sure you see no problem
with cops acting like this.
 
(quoted from post at 07:40:33 04/20/14) The cop is the only one out of 7 cars not to pull
over. 6 cars, all in front of him, pull over and
stop. He thinks this is weird so he looks around
and apparently sees nothing wrong. Did he not
bother to look behind him? If 6 cars all pulled
over one after another, you'd think he'd really be
looking around. The biggest problem here is that
the cop broke the law. The cop has a big ambulance
directly behind him and you're actually going to
claim that the cop didn't see him? Here, the law
is VERY clearly written that traffic in both
directions(on an undivided highway) must pull over
for emergency vehicles with the lights on. Not
doing so carries one heck of a fine along with a
bunch of demerit points.
When the ambulance driver pursued charges, the cop
basically said I'm invincible and charged him. The
system is broken when this can happen. There is no
recourse against him. You complain, they'll(cops)
find something to charge you with. At any given
time of your life, you are probably breaking a
law, so finding something to charge a person with
isn't difficult.

Given you were a cop, I'm sure you see no problem
with cops acting like this.
Click to expand...

What I see a problem with is that we have an agenda driven anecdote told in a fashion to make the stupid cop look like he's entirely in the wrong and a bunch of people completely ignoring the fact the ambulance driver was in the wrong too. I've driven both ambulance and police car. In both people fail to see you which is why we have sirens. If the ambulance driver was soooo bent about it then why wasn't he on the radio to dispatch notifying his people that a police car was "refusing" to pull over?

I can see both sides of it. The cop should have been checking his rear view, which I'm sure you do 100% of your driving time and never, ever miss anything in front, to the sides or rear while you're driving, and the ambulance driver should have used his siren. Simple as that. Then when the cop is brought up on charges of doing wrong, he issues the ticket for the other parties violation. Note please that if the cop had been a real jerk he would have issued the ticket long before the charges were brought up.

Can you see both sides? Didn't think so...
 
I drive to work into Columbus (Ohio) every work day and see one or more dumb azz'z a day on I-70. Be on the road long enough you'll see it all.
 
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