Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is a life threatening situation for motorcycles. I've passed a ladder once ever while riding and was super glad it was daylight and I saw it. There is no doubt hitting a ladder would have caused me to go down and probably slide into another lane, probably getting run over.
That certainly warrants a 911 call, its a potentially lethal road hazard. Better to call 911 have them get annoyed and remove it than not to and have someone potentially be killed.
It is a life threatening situation for motorcycles. I've passed a ladder once ever while riding and was super glad it was daylight and I saw it. There is no doubt hitting a ladder would have caused me to go down and probably slide into another lane, probably getting run over.
Well, he hung up before the call was done so they probably thought it was a crank call.
911 is for emergencies only, not debris in the road (unless the debris is so large it is completely blocking a lane, such as a disabled car or a boulder). Objects falling off vehicles happens all the time; it's not a life threatening emergency. Also a very dumb idea to the people who suggested he stop and try to move it; people get hurt/killed all the time stopping on the side of highways.
If you have a passenger and a phone with internet service, have the passenger look-up the local non-emergency police number; otherwise dial 0 or 411 and have an operator look up the number for you.
In most places drivers are encouraged to call 911 to report large road debris.
Quote:
If you see large pieces of debris on the traveled way that are causing traffic to swerve sharply or slow down quickly it should be reported immediately by calling the CHP or 911. CHP will advise Caltrans crews immediately of the danger and dispatch a crew or set up a traffic break to remove the danger.
Now what's your opinion about not wanting to give the nosy operator a lot of extraneous personal information?
Completely agree with you on that one, too. See my earlier post -
Quote:
And yeah, you did the right thing by hanging up when you were finished. You already told them everything they needed to know, and there was no reason to tell them anything else. If it was a crank call or they needed more information, they can call back. 911 calls are traced; they can reach you if they need to.
There was no need to give all that personal info. It's completely out of line.
So when I messaged my 911 phone center/Sheriff dept veteran she said the correct thing is non-emergency number. But she did say calling 911 is a good thing in this situation. Okay, I give. You done good.
I would have called 911 as well. The potential hazard of the ladder to others warrants that call. It's not like you were calling to say your McDonalds drive thru order was wrong.
I too have run over an aluminum extension ladder one day while commuting on I95 in NoVA. Surprised I didn't damage my car. But there was no way in Hades I was stopping to try to pull that thing off the road.
As far as providing all the personal information the dispatcher asked for, I'd probably give them my name and phone number That's it.
Absolutely, calling 911 was the correct thing to do. That ladder could have caused an accident at any time.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
