Would you have phoned the police....

D

DrNick

Senior member
 Wickham, Hampshire
....or assumed somebody else had done it?

I phoned 999 for the first time ever tonight! Driving back from Southampton about 23:30 north on the M3 just past jnc 13, I noticed a female pedestrian on the southbound carriageway, running in the fast lane, waving arms about....I called 999 and explained the problem and the lady quickly and politely replied that they had had many calls about this and a patrol was on the way.

I though this may have been the case, but if everybody had thought that and didnt phone, nobody would have phoned in the first place! But I also felt I was wasting a 999 call as they already knew...

Would others have called the police? Or just assumed somebody else would have done so already? :scratchhead:
 
As a Detective myself, I'd always say RING. You may have other vital information that could be necessary if an incident had occurred. Indeed, you may not even know that something you have seen was significant. Way, way to many people do nothing.

Good on you for calling.

JK
 
agree with the above. id be 50/50 whether to call though as id assume someone else already had, the thing that would make me do it is the fact id feel guilty for doing nothing if i didnt.
 
I went to Comet the other week, parked my car, and in a Clio parked next to me was a 4 ish year old girl all alone, locked in the car.

I asked the opinion of some passers by, and then called the police....they waited til the owner came back....
 
DrNick said:
Would you have phoned the police....
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Absolutly. I was always taught to assume that I was the first to call. The emergency services have no issue with repeat calls just with dumb ass hoax calls.
You absolutly did the right thing.
:thumbsup:
 
I probably woulfnt have called, thinking like you said, someone else will have done it. But you did the right thing. Its a shame you where left feeling otherwise and you could maybe write to them with some feedbsck so that others arent left feeling discouraged?
 
Thanks for reassurance guys :thumbsup: I hope that they got there before some innocent driver had to live with hitting a pedestrian for the rest of their life.

You may have other vital information that could be necessary if an incident had occurred
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I did omit telling them about the black BMW speeding up the northbound carriageway... :tumbleweed:
 
Its a shame you where left feeling otherwise and you could maybe write to them with some feedbsck so that others arent left feeling discouraged?
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No I wasnt discouraged by them at all - the operator was very polite and didnt make it out to be a problem at all. It was just self reflection as I continued my journey and was curious as to what others would do.
 
I would always phone ! the case of Kitty Genovese , a women murdered in New York , approx 38 people heard her cries and everyone assumed that someone else had been in contact with the authorities , however , no one did .
A couple guys , darley and latene ,studied the reaction of bystanders/apathetic bystanders when faced with situations ,where people may need help, interesting reading .
 
Absolutely did the right thing, no doubt at all :thumbsup:

I've had to do it a few times for different reasons while on the road, seen people driving totally erratically (probably wasted and a liability to others - one was bouncing off the kerb on the central reservation), seen one car with both rear wheels with alternating positive and negative camber, unable to keep it going straight and twice had cars coming towards me on the A406 north circular road, on the wrong side of the carriageway (how they manage it is beyond me). Called the police every time.

Don't want to come across as holier-than-thou or anything like that, but if someone sees something 'seriously wrong' that would put lives at risk, then I'd recommend to call the police - it's why they exist, let them decide what action to take.
 
I did similar a few years ago - although I knew the local police number so used that. There was a dog running about confused on a dual carriageway, I was told similar that they'd had loads of calls about it and a patrol car was on it's way. Can't hurt to be cautious.
 
About 2 months ago I was teaching, and one of the children said they could see a fire out of the window. (My lesson was obviously captivating their interest).

There was a factory fire about half a mile away. We didn't phone as it was quite a huge blaze and I explained that someone would have already reported it. The classroom 2 doors down from me also saw the blaze, but they decided to call. Turns out the firebrigade didn't know about it. :oops: I guess lots of people, like me, presume that someone else has called. :fuelfire:
 
i'd say you did the right thing.... whats the saying.. to assume makes an ASS out of U and ME
 
So long as you were using a hands free!! I've had to call the police many times due to a student job I had many years back when I had to deal with hoodlums in southsea when i was supervising a shop. Its quite a good experience to have done it at least once so you know what to expect and how for example you can try and pick out unique identifying points to help them pick up the perps.
 
DrNick said:
Thanks for reassurance guys :thumbsup: I hope that they got there before some innocent driver had to live with hitting a pedestrian for the rest of their life.
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which is exactly what my wife did in the exact same circumstances, except it was dark, raining and the guy was pissed. And then dead.
 
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