Can you call to report dangerous drivers on the highway?

Kaari P

Yes, someone called on me when one of my kids unbuckled his seatbelt and started climbing around. I did get him to go back, but an officer came to my house asking whether the kids were safe.
Be careful out there. Anyone can call to say you're speeding or dirving recklessly or even threw your cigarette out the window.

cajunrescuemedic

Yes you can, but the cops will attempt to catch them doing the unlawful act. When they get home, then it'll be their word against yours if the cops go to their house. I'm sure there's an easy cell phone number that can reach a county or state cop where you live. Be prepared to describe the vehicle, give the license plate, tell the cops what's going on, and your location. Best of luck to you.

joeanonymous

If the person has done something dangerous, you can call the police and ask them to speak to the driver of the vehicle and to file a report. If this person is the subject of multiple calls the officer will see that the person has already been warned. This is what we do in our city (in Ontario, Canada). You may have to insist with the dispatcher that you want the driver spoken to and that you want to speak with an officer. You can also request that a general broadcast be put out about the vehicle if you don't want to speak to police and want to remain anonymous.

Despite what others have said, Police don't have to see the violation to give a ticket (ie. give them at accident scenes and didn't see what happened). What we do need is a witness that can identify the driver and is willing to testify in court about the incident.

toobusytostress

yes, you can report.
The officer going to the house depends on what is reported.
For traffic violations, the officer has to see the violation in order to give a ticket.

d3midway

Yes I used to work for the county and people would call all the time and give the license plate, description of the veh. and tell what road they were on and we would send and officer out to investigate.

TCSO

You can report whatever you want, but consider that following too closely is a minor traffic violation. Any jurisdiction that has time to run the plate and send an officer to chat with the registered owner clearly has too many officers or too much time. Your best bet is a generalized complaint to the traffic division of your local department and they have the option of increasing enforcement. Also, the cops dispatched to stuff like that roll their eyes and may or may not bothering driving through the area in search of the offender.

casinodog

yes report them
then the police can watch for them

Stewart's Girl

Yes you can report it, however like others have said, there is no guarantee the officers are going to arrest anyone. If they don't see them commit the infraction there isn't much that can be done. But please use common sense when calling 911. You could be taking time away from a real emergency. And do not get angry if you don't get the action you feel you deserve. The officers are not going to break away from a violent domestic to respond to someone tailgating. And remember, We pay taxes too!

yes

Fideland46

Yes you can, but don't follow very closely or you could make the driver angry at you and trust me that is not a good thing. Call the local or state police and report the license plate #. The cops usually either find the driver in a ditch, gets away, or gets arrested for a DUI or cited for wrecless driveing.

spag

Unfortunately, if you call 911 and I'm not in the immediate area, there's nothing I can do for you. I am not going to run code and send traffic off the road to catch up to a tailgater. Can you imagine the liability if I crash and my report says I was responding to a tailgater? I'm on your side though. Even driving in to work I get them on my back end. I'll usually give them a call and talk about it.

glock310

call the local police dept or highway patrol post

rukidding

I have when the guy was weaving in out out of traffic at a high rate of speed. I just wanted him pulled over so he didn't kill anyone. I didn't want them to go their house. What would that accomplish?

evilprincess

yes you can call to report but officers have to see the violation to do anything about it. in some states you can file traffic charges against the person you must have the tag # and be able to id the driver and no officers just don't go to someones house and tell them they were reported for driving bad if they did they wouldn't have time to do anything else.

CG-23 Sailor

Cops cannot arrest or write a ticket just because you say they did something. So No they will not go to their house when you tell them they were driving dangerously. be it Speeding, weaving, drunk driving, cutting you off, tailgating, whatever.
They will however attempt to locate the vehicle itself and if they observe a violation then they will take action.

You have every right to call the police if you observe someone doing something that endagers others or is a violation of the law. Just be sure that what you are calling about wasnt just a mistake and is a continuing event. If someone cut you off by accident and you get pissed and call the police it is doubtful that there will be some continuing violation for the police to observe when they show up. In this case all you are doing is wasting the police officers time.
Now if you observe someone driving and continuing to drive erratic and dangerous please by all means call the cops.

Back to whether the cops can do anying based on your report or do they have to observe it themselves, just apply a little common sense. Do you want the police to be able to come and arrest you just on someones say-so?

laughter_every_day

Cops could go to the house, but they won't, except for hit and run and similar things. However, they might get dispatched to the highway and observe the violation themselves, if you suggest that the driver might be drunk. By the way, following too closely is not just rude and dangerous, it is a crime.

jh 6

Move over to the other lane. SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT.

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