Who do you report this to?

[LadyAurora]

On the subject of calling to report things from the road, can you report people who don't have their children strapped in correctly? Obviously, the same problems would apply...how the police would track down this car after you report it, etc.
This is something that really bothers me when I see it...babies held on laps in the front, toddlers standing in the back seat looking between the front seats, kids kneeling in the back end of station wagons.
Would the police be interested in this kind of report, and could they do anything about it if they were?

 

[dizneegirl]

State Highway Patrol

Here in Ohio, the number is on their license plate... I programmed it into my cell, and have used it several times to report large items in the road, and disabled vehicles.

You should be able to find in online, in the phone book, or by calling your local police dept.

Unless it's truly life-threatening, you don't want to tie up the 911 lines.

 

[PamOKW]

If your area has a special highway patrol number, of course, use that but 911 is acceptable, too. I hesitated to call "911" for this type of problem but my local police department said that is the correct thing to do. I called the "regular" number just to let them know that I had recently encountered cars going the wrong way on a one-way street in the same spot (near a hotel) and thought maybe the signage wasn't correct. They told me if I saw it happening again to call "911" from my cell phone. Another time when I called about something fairly minor they also said to call back to 911 so it went to the dispatcher.

 

[swea_pea1]

Originally posted by Dog
The infraction has to be witnessed by your local law enforcement officer or State Officer. I do believe some states allow you to file a complaint with that states registry by taking the plate#,time,date and location of the incident. I do not know what the procedures are after that though.

I have a friend that cut off another car on her way to work in the morning. She was in a hurry and just did it and apparently, it almost caused the other car to wreck. Later that night, the police showed up at her door and asked her if she remembered the incident. She acknowledged the incident, apologized, and asked if the other driver was ok. Well, they gave her a ticket for reckless driving. This was in Pennsylvania and perhaps the laws vary by state. But at least in her case, the other driver's allegation and her admission of guilt were enough.

 

[sha_lyn]

I know that in GA you dial #GSP from a cell phone to reach the state patrol. I also know that they do want you to dial 911 from any other phone to report anything, even if it is a non emergency. I've dealt with that a couple of times, and both times were told the only way they could dispatch an officer, or file a report is if the call came through 911. One time it was to report someone passing the school bus as the kids were getting on. I actually ended up calling 911 a few times because of people passing the bus at the bus stop where we use to live. The other time I called it was to report a domestic situation that was taking place in the street.

 

[stitch'sohana]

Who cares if it is too late. You never know. It only takes a few seconds for a car wreck to happen. Just the other nite I called the local police dept. on a drunk driver. Altho it took 5 minutes to just find the number and Im sure the police didnt get to him before he got home I still called. I would rather try than wake up the next morning and read about an innocent family killed bc of some ignorant drunk driver. Especially knowing I could have prevented it with one little phone call. I understand the dispatchers prob hear about road rage all day but that doesnt mean they should be so insensitive to it. Just when they stop taking it serious someone could die bc they didnt bother to take it serious. When I called the dispatcher was very nice and got all the info and then told me not to follow him for my safety and actually said she would feel very bad if something happened to me. Im know saving the # in my cell.

To answer the original question, I did not call 911 because it wasnt an emergency (yet).

LadyAurora
I once worked at a dry cleaners with a drive thru and my boss would call in any time she saw a child not buckled up. This was several years ago and I dont remember who she called but it was a special number like Dept of Children services.