What can the police do about a drunk driver?

BeenThroughItAll

Strider590 wrote: »

I have nothing against Germans, I just don't like the way British people behave in German cars.

That's not what you said.

soolin

kmb500 wrote: »

I was driving behind a drunk driver last night, he was driving very erratically so I pulled closer to see the plate, and called 999. I gave them the car details and the road he was on, and they said they'd dispatch a car to try and chase him down. I don't imagine they would have caught the car as he could have gone in any direction once he sped off from me, but just wondering if anyone knows what the police can then do? Given that they have the car details would they send an officer to the car owners house to speak to them?


Don't particularly want to call the non emergency police to enquire about the procedure as I'm sure they have more important things to do. But if anyone knows what they might do, would put my mind at ease.

I do hope you parked up safely and turned your car engine off or whatever one is required to do to avoid issues around using a mobile phone while in charge of a car.

Hong_Kong_Phooey.

soolin wrote: »

I do hope you parked up safely and turned your car engine off or whatever one is required to do to avoid issues around using a mobile phone while in charge of a car.

Why? He called 999.

neilmcl

soolin wrote: »

I do hope you parked up safely and turned your car engine off or whatever one is required to do to avoid issues around using a mobile phone while in charge of a car.

Maybe you should check the law regarding the use of a mobile phone in a car. Hint, it was an emergency call.

GothicStirling

neilmcl wrote: »

Maybe you should check the law regarding the use of a mobile phone in a car. Hint, it was an emergency call.

You pull over, then make the call. The only acceptable time would be calling 999 and it was unsafe. By the sounds of it the OP was driving on a single carriage in Cambridgeshire, and not 70 mph on the M25. There will have been plenty of safe places to pull over.

https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law

Car_54

The law allows a driver to make a 999 call when driving if it is a genuine emergency AND "... it is unsafe or impracticable for him to cease driving in order to make the call."

This would not be the case if you were simply reporting another driver, rather than being chased by an axe murderer.

facade

Even my woeful [STRIKE]Renault[/STRIKE] Nissan has some sort of device that allows me to make an outgoing telephone call if I so wish, while moving along, without picking up the telephone receiver.

I believe it is called "bluetoothhandsfree"


I'm not sure how the wires going from the car to the telephone exchange don't get tangled up though.....

Marvel1

Strider590 wrote: »

The biggest indicator of a drunk driver is driving too cautiously.

That would be daily for me then, average speed camera 50mph, car in front does 40mph!

Mercdriver

cjdavies wrote: »

That would be daily for me then, average speed camera 50mph, car in front does 40mph!

Down by me they do 30 on the M4 average speed camera section J41-40

interstellaflyer

soolin wrote: »

I do hope you parked up safely and turned your car engine off or whatever one is required to do to avoid issues around using a mobile phone while in charge of a car.

Many cars have Bluetooth and voice activated dialling these days, as long as the emergency service numbers are on the memory, you can just say "police" and the system will call police, no eyes taken off road or hands taken off steering wheel. The law relates to using hand held devices, not hands free.