Thursday Police Report: Don't Drink and Drive

The two most interesting reports in today's Northern Light involve, as you might have guessed by the title, DUI charges. I know I usually come up with some sort of clever title for these posts, but I think this one most clearly captures the theme of today's reports.

Fortunately, no one involved in any of these cases was seriously injured.

The first report occurred on Thursday, October 21. While on patrol, a Blaine police officer spotted a car weaving back and forth across both lanes while driving north on Peace Portal Drive in downtown Blaine. The officer pulled the car over and initiated a rather interesting discussion with the driver.

In response to the officer's question on why the driver was weaving across both lanes, the driver replied, "Because I'm buzzed." When asked how much he had had to drink, the young man answered, "A lot." Both clearly the best answers to any such questions from police.

The officer conducted a roadside sobriety test on the man and confirmed he was telling the truth about his condition. The 21-year-old Lynden resident was released to his parents after being charged with driving under the influence.

The second report happened on Friday, October 22, not far from the Blaine high school football game. On Friday evening officers responded to a call about someone who appeared to be injured lying in the middle of Boblett Street near the Blaine primary school. Blaine police arrived and found an 18-year-old being tended to by his friends. After some interviews, officers gained a more complete understanding of what had transpired.

Apparently, the teen lying in the street had been hanging out the front passenger window of his friend's car attempting to fix the antenna. He fell out when his friend lost his grip on his feet. Now, this would not generally be considered a bad idea if it weren't for two things: the driver appeared to be intoxicated, and the car was moving.

The driver let go of his friend's feet to avoid hitting a quickly approaching power pole. The car avoided the solid hunk of wood, but apparently the amateur antenna repairman did not. After the injured teen was taken to the hospital, the driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, and the third 18-year-old passenger was arrested on suspicion of being a minor in possession of alcohol. Similar charges are apparently awaiting the injured teen's release from the hospital.

So, as if there weren't millions of other reasons to avoid the pastime: don't drink and drive.

Driving in the Rain

Today on my drive to work, the sky really let everyone have it. Hell, lake-fulls of water fell from the sky pretty much all day. I write this post not as a hackneyed rant on how much it rains in the Pacific Northwest. That complaint really doesn't have any teeth anymore, and it's something I've gotten used to as a transplanted Washingtonian. 

Instead, I'd like to spend some time here thanking everyone I passed or saw driving on I-5 on my way to work for driving safely in the rain. Wet-weather driving probably comes as second nature to most everyone who calls this corner of the U.S. home, but it is truly refreshing to see for someone coming from a completely different climate (me).

In my hometown of Las Vegas it rains as much as it did today for a few weeks in August and September; our wet season, if you will. Because of the paucity of rain showers leading to normally dry ground and the Las Vegas valley's geography, flash floods are not uncommon. The yearly occurrence of flash flooding even inspired our regional flood control district to initiate a fairly well-known billboard campaign warning of the dangers of floods with billboards like this:

Source: http://www.ccrfcd.org/2004billboards.htm

Despite these painfully obvious warnings, some people continue to not get it. Shots of stranded motorists being rescued from cars they drove into waist-deep water are a more common site on the local news than I'm comfortable admitting regularly.

You'd think images like the one above would be hard to forget.

Some Las Vegas drivers also seem to think that driving in the rain at or over the speed limit is a good idea; as if getting to their destination as quickly as possible is the best way to drive in wet weather. People eventually learn, but then inexplicably forget a year later, that driving in the rain means slowing down. The posted speed limit is not a challenge, it is the fastest most drivers can safely travel in the best conditions; roads glossy with water are far from ideal.

Fortunately, people in my adoptive state seem to get it. Most everyone I saw driving today kept a safe distance from the car in front of them and did not seem to feel the irresistible urge to go flat out. I have a feeling this will be only one of the many things with which I am continually pleasantly surprised as I grow more and more to consider Bellingham my home.