A well-meaning motorist may feel the urge to call the authorities when they see a probable drunk driver. It’s a noble impulse, but it might not be as simple as you think. Here’s what happens when you call in a drunk driver, straight from the words of retired police officers.
It takes more than a simple description to take down a drunk driver
Let’s say you witness a probable drunk driver. You can call the authorities and give them a description of the vehicle and the driver (if you can see them). Dispatch will often send police officers to the location to investigate and possibly locate the vehicle. But it doesn’t stop there.
I conducted a ride along with a Central Texas police officer who informed me that observation is key. An officer will observe the possibly impaired motorist, looking for signs of inebriation like swerving, inconsistent speed, sluggish reactions, or driving without headlights in the dark.
What’s more, an officer may need to observe a reason to pull over a motorist beyond a citizen’s report. “If we do find it, we usually need to witness a traffic violation in order to make the stop,” a retired officer shared on Quora . He goes on to say that a caller’s information is hearsay, and may not be admissible in a drunk driving court case…