Playing Follow The Drunk
You see it on freeway dotty boards and you hear PSAs about it on the radio. When you spot a drunk driver on the road, you should call 911 (when safe to do so).
For some reason, these videos keep popping up where somebody chooses instead to follow the drunk driver and take video until the expected crash, then run home and upload it to the internet. It is a perverse game we call "Follow The Drunk". We devoted a blog entry to the subject as well.
This is wrong on several levels. First, this allows an accident to occur. Sure, they might have crashed anyway. But anticipating a crash instead of trying to prevent it is a form of causing a crash. Second, it can be Very dangerous to follow a drunk driver intentionally because when they crash, they frequently come to a complete stop very quickly. It is better to get a description of the vehicle, the license plate (only if it is safe to do so), and exit the freeway or pull over to call 911.
Follow The Drunk 1
These guys following the drunk are having too much fun.
Follow The Drunk 2
Following a drunk driver onto a bridge is risky. The bridge may become blocked up ahead.
Follow The Drunk 3
When the same guy keeps crossing the road you are on in front of you, it's time to call the cops and take a different route!
Follow The Drunk 4
What do you know? He hit something!
Follow The Drunk 5
Like we said, a drunk driver is liable to come to a complete stop VERY quickly!
While the videos above all appear to be from other countries, we know of one guy who plays Follow The Drunk here in America. Instead of just uploading his video to the internet, it becomes part another part of his news story. From 2010, we have this YouTube video of investigative reporter David Goldstein playing Follow the Drunk. In this case, it was drunk DWP workers. When you watch a drunk driver and don't immediately contact the police, you are endangering the public. Our attempts to reach Mr. Goldstein went unanswered. Then, in October 2011, he reported on another drunk city worker and AGAIN, showed video of somebody blatently drinking and driving. Again, it's just part of his story. Again, the drunk driver is allowed to continue on his way while somebody who knows what's happening is watching.