You can't fix stupid

[usmohls2]

Had to take a road trip by car last week. A Prevost MH towing a 7 series BMW 4 down passed me like I was parked. I sped up just to see how fast He was going. Twenty seven MPH over the speed limit! That right,102 miles per hour! If the driver of the Prevost reads this post, I want to give you two thumbs down!!!

[Steeljag]

Anyone driving a rig of that size, and of that speed is an idiot ! No concern for the safety of his/her family or the other families on the roadway!

[rickeoni]

DiskDoctr wrote:
I wouldn't bother calling. Tried to report an extreme DUI a while back with 911. Followed the guy 15mins while they transferred around, each one wanting the full replay.

Eventually, I said, "Forget it, he's parked now."

It seems public reports of other drivers ranks up there with a raccoon in a tree reports.

IMHO, you'd be better served by leaving the phone on the seat and watching the road and traffic very carefully for any unexpected "maneuvers"

More dangerous to call on your phone while driving! Talking on the phone is far more stupid than speeding.

[tegu69]

But officer, I was just going that fast to see how fast he was going.

[fla-gypsy]

The MH was a menace to all on the road and is our business

[wa8yxm]

I forget if it was 1983 or 1984 but back then there was some discussion in the state of Michigan over some law or another (Seat belt, Motorcycle Helmet, Child restraint, forget which one of the safety laws)

I made a post titled "A Cool Million"

Here is how I got that title.

At that time the Michigan State Police had a Statistics section, they had just released the figures on how much it cost the citizens of the state of Michigan every time someone went SPLAT on the Highway (Including freeways and byways) of the state... I took that figure, multiplied by the inflation rate (two years) and it came out to (Slightly rounded) 1,000,000 dollars.. A "Cool million".

This cost included Trooper time investigating and protecting, Lost production, Insurance, Cost of removing the remains, and planting them, cost of removing the wreck, repairs to the roadway and much more.

So when some idiot applies for a Darwin Award by driving like there is no Tomorrow (And for him there IS NO TOMORROW).. Let's be kind and say it is costing us 1,000,000 1985 dollars.. Consider the inflation between then and now (I would have to research but as I recall it was 13% in 1979, thankfully that is outside the scope of this post). and you get an even MORE staggering figure. I mean at 7.2% interest 1,000,000 becomes 2,000,000 in just 10 years.

[lakeside013104]

DiskDoctr wrote:
I wouldn't bother calling.

IMHO, you'd be better served by leaving the phone on the seat and watching the road and traffic very carefully for any unexpected "maneuvers"

Sadly, a lot of truth in what you just stated.

Lakeside

[DiskDoctr]

I wouldn't bother calling. Tried to report an extreme DUI a while back with 911. Followed the guy 15mins while they transferred around, each one wanting the full replay.

Eventually, I said, "Forget it, he's parked now."

It seems public reports of other drivers ranks up there with a raccoon in a tree reports.

IMHO, you'd be better served by leaving the phone on the seat and watching the road and traffic very carefully for any unexpected "maneuvers"

[rhagfo]

I wonder what a MH looks like after crashing at 100+mph???

[Dog_Folks]

As I poke along at 62 mph, I could have never got his plate number to report him even if I wanted to.

I would keep my eye out for him parked on the side of the road up ahead. Either blown tire, cop stop or accident.

[skipnchar]

You're right, YOU can't fix stupid but fate can and likely will. Don't be in the wrong place at the wrong time or you could be "fixed' at the same time.

[Campfire_Time]

Nevermind...

[larry_barnhart]

My MH friends always tell me they are not a truck pulling a trailer so the speed limit doesn't apply to them. Of course they know better.

chevman

[Dennis_M_M]

No need to speed up to see how fast he was going. Note the exact time he passes you (starting a stopwatch is ideal), then pick a landmark, like a bridge, a short ways down the road, as he passes it ahead of you note the time he passes it and then the time when you pass it. Then you can calculate how much faster he is going. Good mind exercise to keep your brain sharp.

[Crowe]

So, yeah- it IS our business!

Yes, indeed it is!

It may be your business Francesca & Ray but it's not mine. If you want to make it your business, go for it. As for me, I have enough on my plate already. I'm not going take on your "stuff" also.

A quick call to the SP to alert them is not taking on someone else's "stuff" - it's potentially saving someone's life, possibly even your own. If that driver had taken out one of your loved ones and it could have been taken care of by a 30 second phone call, you'd be carrying the burden and sadness of a whole lot of OTHER "stuff".

Speeding up to see how fast he was going DOES fall under the category of stupid is as stupid does. Makes you as dangerous as the original idiot because you are paying attention to HIM and not what you are doing.

[wa8yxm]

True story: Reported in departmental news I am afraid so I can not link to it.

Some years ago early in the week (Mon or Tue) the Michigan State Police "Parked" an aircraft (Either a fixed wing small plane or a helicopter) over a stretch of I-696 international speedway in Oakland county.

Before the eye in the sky had to return to base (Lansing) for re-fueling they wrote 85 tickets.. The slowest you could go and get a ticket was 85, the person who won the fastest 105.

Later that same week (Thu/Fri not sure on the exact day) they parked the other kind of aircraft (if the first was a fixed wing (Plane) the 2nd was a 'coptor or ther other way around) Same stats exactly 85 tickets, at least 85 MPH and the top ticket was 105.

I suspect, but the item did not say, it was the same guy at 105.

The subject line in this thread.. Almost true..

Turns out you CAN fix stupid.. For more on how http://www.darwinards.com Wendy has a lot of examples of stupid being fixed on that site..... Most of them were fixed... fatally, however.