Have you ever seen a drunk driver on the road? Before last night, I don't think I had.
We were on our way to Souplantation for dinner, which never came to fruition because the line backed up out the door into the parking lot. We were following a green sedan, and it began drifting into the right lane. At first, I just thought the driver was changing lanes without signaling. But just as soon as she drifted into the right lane, she'd drift back in front of us.
Then, she began slowing down. We were in a 45 zone, and at one point she came nearly to a stop. Then, when she began driving again, she began drifting again. Jason commented that she was a drunk driver, and I decided to call the police. But who do you call? I mean, on the freeways, there are signs that say to call 9-1-1 to report a drunk driver, and I'd always wondered how you'd know the driver was drunk. But I was on surface streets.
When we came to a stop to turn the corner, we pulled up next to the driver. And it turned out it was an elderly lady. I commented that it was just an old driver, not a drunk one. And Jason pointed out that the elderly get drunk, too.
In the end, the CHP 9-1-1 (which is who you get connected to automatically when you call 9-1-1 from your cell phone) connected me to San Diego's 9-1-1, and I reported the driver. I gave a great description of the vehicle, including the license plate, the direction the driver was headed, and what I could see about the driver herself.
Who knows if the police got to her. Who knows if she made it to her destination safely. I just hope no one got hurt. It made me nervous just watching her drive. And it's certainly possible she wasn't drunk and was just a bad driver. But that doesn't really make me feel any better.
4 comments:
I'm glad you reported her - whether she was drunk or not, she was not driving safely. Hopefully, the CHP was able to find her and determine the reason for her "road skills."
I have, unfortunately, seen drunk drivers on the highway. I don't have a cell phone, so, I've never had any recourse except to stay out of their way.
Thumbs up for being a conscientious citizen!
Thank you for reporting this unsafe driver. My mother was badly hurt by a drunk driver, and therefore I greatly appreciate any and all efforts to get these drivers off the road. Thank you again!
Good for you. I always call too. I also have the SDPD non-emergency phone number saved in my cell...because you never know when you need it!
I called once -- turned out the "drunk" driver was just on a cell phone -- sure made me think about how much I concentrate driving and talking! Kris
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