Good deed? or bit naughty?

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

i had cause to call plod on thursday night, due to the down right dangerous driving of a rolonoff driver on the m74 southbound.
i was cruising in no real hurry but catching this motor up when it suddenly veered into the hard shoulder then into lane 2, so i eased off until he woke up as i didnt fancy passing him, any way he was veering into lane 2, the hard shoulder inan alarming way. so i just watched and hoped he would sort himself out, when all of a sudded he seemed to just turn and head for the central reservation, i had to look twice as i couldnt believe what i was seeing.

he must have been inches from hitting the central res, when he went into lane 2 and between all 3 lanes.

at this point i started flashing him like crazy, he didnt see me cause he done it again straight for central res, oncoming heavies on northbound flashed him but he was oblivious to anything.

so i decided to ring plod, as this driver (in my opinion) was going to kill some one.
(hence the title) did i do right or shouldnt i have rang old bill)

after telling them what i was seeing infront of me, they said a car would be on its way.still this bloke was in every lane the hard shoulder he just couldnt keep the motor in a straight line.

plod rang me back and asked where i was now, i had just passed the 3 mile marker for johnstonbridge services, so they said there was a range rover waiting to intercept this motor at jnct 17 would i put my hazards on when passing the off slip. which i said i would, to indicate to plod in range rover where this motor was.

as we approached the svcs i thought sureley he will pull in and give himself a shake, but on he went veering all over the place still.

any way junction 17 approached and i put hazaeds on and saw the motor being pulled over by plod.

ive got to tell you it shook me up seeing him heading for the central reservation like that.

15 minutes later plod rang me and said thanks v much n all that, and said the bloke had commited several tacho offences and was tired, but the worst bit is he also told me the driver had a two yr old child in the cab with him.

he wouldnt be driving for a while plod said, when he asked me if i would go to court i must admit i declined,but said i would write down every thing i saw.

never in my life have i seen anything like it. people were really going to die if he hadnt been stopped…

would you have done the same?

2

Yes- I’d do the same. There’s “looking after fellow professionals” and there’s downright road safety. I wouldn’t shop anyone for a minor offence or a mistake, but when things get that bad you’ve got to do something for their own sake as well as everyone else.

I hope I’m never that bad, but if I am and don’t realise, I’d rather someone did something and I was stopped before it was too late.

I took my lad with me the other night for a treat :question: :exclamation: and sure as hell wouldn’t have taken any chances with him there. That said, I wouldn’t anyway - someone else’s kid is just as precious to them. I can understand the “I’ve got to get home no matter what” mentality, but it just isn’t worth the risks. I do regular nights, and if I need to stop I will and sod what the boss says about getting back by such and such time.

3

I would say you did the right thing Terry. Imagine how you would feel if you heard on the news that this truck had gone through the barriers and crashed head-on with other vehicles. I would have done the same. You tried to help him recover by flashing him but he chose to carry on.

Calv

4

I would have done the same Terry I say you did a very good deed , probley saved him and his kids life.
Well done Son.

5

I have to admit I am one of the ‘leave well alone’’ brigade YET … I think I would have done exactly the same if the guy was that bad!!
As Calv said, could you have lived with yourself if you had done nothing and then heard about an accident…especially this close to Xmas

6

Pat yourself on the back, fella.

It’s not a nice thing to have to do - but you probably saved his life, the kid’s life, and any number of innocent members of the public.

And no, I don’t think that is an exaggeration.

7

Yes i think you done the right thing, and lets face it you didnt jump straight on to the blower, after getting no reaponse or change in driving, once you’d flashed at him to try and wake him up, so he could do the right thing, you really had no choice. Your actions were vindicated by the plod when they informed you of his tacho offences and was tired, enough said :wink:

8

Yes, I would do the same. After all, you see some of these accidents in the central reservation, where people have been hurt possibly killed, so no hesiatation, drivers like that give us a bad image never mind the fact of possibly kiling somebody.

9

no doubts terry, you did a good deed m8, the ■■■■■■ needs banning off the road to be honest that type of thing aint petty and it aint grassing, im live and let live as you well know, but drivers like that dont let live, they kill others by being too ■■■■■■■ stupid or greedy to get their heads down for a few hours. well done tezza!

10

ditto to all whats been said

11

ohterry:
would you have done the same?

Absolutely YES!!

Because…

ohterry:
people were really going to die if he hadnt been stopped…

12

Yes you did the right thing. You just may have saved at least one family, possibly more, from never enjoying this time of year again.

13

Blimey, not often we get 100% agreement on someone phoning Mr Plod!!!

14

You did the right thing there Terry, I would have done the same. If he had carried on he may have been involved in a serious accident (and with a 2 year old in the cab as well :open_mouth: ).

15

I would have done the same even if that at the time he was mad as hell with me over it in time i would hope he would see it was for the best

16

yes i would have done the same.

17

Too right you did the right thing Terry. Its not so bad if you can manage to wake them up and then you can see them pull over or pull onto the services, but this guy was looking at causing serious injury or even death to not just himself and his kid , but a 3rd party as well.

I have a question. What number do you ring to contact the police on the mobile phone??. Do the plod have a national number for these type of calls??.
Ive seen some real dodgy stuff over the years , but never done anything as I dont know what number to ring. I wouldnt want to ring 999, as thats just for emergencies and I dont think they’d take too kindly ,do you.

I had a guy wandering all over the M62 between 23 & 22 Westbound the other week, it was about 2.30 am. I flashed him like mad , but couldnt get close enough to give him a blast on the horn, and when he swerved towards the central res, my stomach was in my mouth. Its not so much the crash that scares me, as I follow stockcar racing and Ive seen some brutal crashes in that game, but the fact that I would be first on the scene and might not like what I find in the cab.
This guy managed to get down Windy Hill in a straight line, but once past 21 he was at it again , all over the road. Had I known what number to ring , then I would certainly have called plod.

Stuart

18

TheBear:
Blimey, not often we get 100% agreement on someone phoning Mr Plod!!!

i think its because a lot of the time the coppers are phoned for petty stuff bear, and it ■■■■■■ some of us off! :wink: , but this was obviously very serious and needed doing summat about!

19

Definetly the right thing to do, no doubt about it. l, like buttyman, would be interested to know what number to ring.

20

I think I would just call 999, this would qualify as an emergency in my book because the guy needs stopping quickly before the worse happens. If an accident did happen you would call 999 so why not call it to prevent it happening?