Minn. Cops Fuming Over Drivers Who Hit Squad Cars
July 24th, 2008 . by TexasFredA drunk driver slammed into the vehicle Police Officer Paul Oelrich had just pulled over during a routine traffic stop in Burnsville, Minn.
Oelrich was hit by flying debris and thrown into a ditch, according to MyFOX Twin Cities. The person behind the wheel, 30-year-old Devin Halden, was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence in the July 11 incident.
The crash is the eighth of its kind in the last two-and-a-half years and has Minnesota authorities fuming over the problem of drivers hitting squad cars and other vehicles during police stops.
“Pay attention to the roadway. Pay attention to what’s happening in front of you. If you see those squad cars on the side of the road, move over,” said Burnsville Police Chief Robert Hawkins during a Wednesday press conference addressing the issue.
Full Story Here:
Minn. Cops Fuming Over Drivers Who Hit Squad Cars
“Pay attention to the roadway. Pay attention to what’s happening in front of you. If you see those squad cars on the side of the road, move over,”
Well that’s some excellent advice Chief, very astute observation, and in a perfect world it would work like a charm too, but with that kind of advice I just have to ask, how in the hell did you get to be a Police Chief?
This story is about drunk drivers plowing into parked and very well lit up police cars, DRUNKS, not your average motorist, and it’s not just an occurrence in Minnesota, it’s happening all over the country, and all the good advice in the world is totally LOST on a damned drunk.
A simple Google search turned up 8 stories regarding drunk drivers hitting police cars that were engaged in traffic stops of one kind or another. I can’t find it right now but I read a study some years back that speculated that a drunk is fascinated by the flashing lights and is perhaps induced into a state of hypnosis, thus causing them to ram the police vehicles.
I don’t know if that is a fact, but it is an interesting proposition, it could explain a lot of things. The real challenge would be, what do you do to stop that temporary hypnosis? Other than stop the drunk from driving?
Save your good advice Chief, save it for the normal motoring public, the *move over law* is a great concept, and as long as people obey it, officers lives will be a lot safer from that additional danger, but face it Chief, drunks are NEVER going to exhibit ANY common sense. If they had common sense, they wouldn’t be drunk drivers.
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Asking a drunk driver to exhibit common sense or responsibility is wasted breath. They are already breaking the law by driving drunk, they have already abdicated all responsibility by getting behind the wheel after they got behind a glass, what makes the Chief think they are going to listen to him now?
Just authorize a spotter to ride along with the cops, and arm the spotter with a TOW - that will stop the drunk from hitting the cop…
If you drink don’t drive. Very simple. A no brainer.
Simple?? No brainer?? Yeah, it is…
Now, convince the drunks…
I only needed some minor convincing… including weekends in jail and roadside sanitation to get the hint that Drunk Driving was not a wise move… could have been worse I guess. I could have killed someone. Funny how when you grow up and look back you realize exactly how stupid you were. Some never grow up.
Makes sense to me Fred. You’re right if one is drunk they aren’t obeying any rules, period.
The move over law is a good one, it keeps our troopers safe from people who aren’t intoxicated, but can’t seem to keep their car straight when they see a cop pull someone over.
Even when I’ve been stopped I’ve asked the officer if we could exit the freeway for his/her safety.
Drunk drivers burn me up.