A few years ago at work you could often find me on the left shoulder of US 59 running radar looking for speeders. For a few reasons, I have not run radar on the freeway in quite some time. The main reason is that I have been training or evaluating non-stop lately. Doing traffic stops on the freeway is very dangerous, but also fun at the same time. When I am training, I like to train my probationary officers in a more controlled environment than the freeway. However, my current probationary officer, Ron, expressed an interest in learning about freeway traffic stops. So tonight we checked out a radar and ventured up onto the freeway.
I directed Ron to the place on US 59 where I prefer to run radar. The spot allows me to back up the patrol vehicle between short concrete walls, providing protection from the crazy drivers. I step out of the vehicle between the concrete barriers and point the radar at the oncoming traffic. Ron was driving, so I told him that when I jump back into the vehicle, to mash the accelerator to the firewall. Otherwise, we have no chance of catching the speeders. After about 5 minutes of waiting, I hear the glorious high pitched squeal of the radar and jump back into the patrol vehicle. Ron floors the accelerator and I tell him to catch the white Altima in the left lane. Ron gets the patrol vehicle up to 100 mph. I turn on the emergency lights and the Altima begins to slow down. At this point, Ron learns a very important lesson. You never know what drivers are going to do when you get behind them with your flashing lights on. This driver pulled very quickly onto the left shoulder and slammed on her brakes. Ron had to basically lock up our patrol vehicle to get stopped in time. We put ourselves out on traffic and went to speak to the driver.
I know you are not supposed to judge a book by the cover, but sometimes it is accurate. In this case, my first impressions said "stripper". The driver had on heels, daisy duke shorts, and a tube top. She had blonde hair with highlights and some other enhancements as well. She was also talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone. Just so happens, she is dating a fellow HPD officer. Shocking. She hands me the phone and I talk to her boyfriend. I tell him that we stopped her for doing 91 mph in a 60 mph zone. I tell him to get my cell phone number from the department's computer system and to call me later. I told him that so that I can verify that he is in fact an officer. If he is, he will know how to get my phone number. We ended up writing her a ticket for 89 mph in a 60 mph zone and for no insurance. After running her driver's license number on our computer, we saw that she is no stranger to the traffic stop. She had 5 traffic convictions on her record and she is only 19. That is even worse than my teenage driving record!
We made it safely back to our radar spot and 3 minutes later I was jumping back into the patrol vehicle. Ron does his best top fuel dragster driver imitation and we burn out after a silver Scion tc. Ron successfully catches the Scion and activates the emergency lights. This driver takes Spur 527 and then decides to stop on the Richmond exit ramp. Why in the world do you decide to stop on an exit ramp? We approach the vehicle, once again a female driver with a female passenger who look like they have been out clubbing, and the driver is crying hysterically. Once she calms down a little, she tells us that her baby is sick and that she is trying to get to him. I ask where he is and she says with a babysitter at a motel close to the Westheimer and Beltway 8 intersection. Just then, the babysitter calls and I ask to speak with her. The babysitter confirms that the baby is sick, a fever of 101 along with diarrhea. At this point, I do not have a lot of faith in the mother or the babysitter. So, I told her to call 911 and to have HFD take care of the baby. At least that way, the baby would be in good hands. I then ask the babysitter what is the name of the mother of the child? She tells me that she has no idea. So, I then ask the driver, who is babysitting your child? At this point, the passenger pipes up and says one of her friends. I then assure the driver that the baby will be taken care of by HFD. Ron then asks for her driver's license and insurance. She has no identification on her and no insurance. She says that she bought the car yesterday from some guy. It just kept getting stranger the more questions we asked. It turns out that the driver had a New Jersey driver's license. The vehicle had insurance according to our computer, but from the previous owner. She receives a citation for 95 mph in a 60 mph zone, no insurance, and failing to present a driver's license to an officer upon request. The driver then speaks with the babysitter again who tells her that the baby is with HFD on the way to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the medical center. So, I gave her directions to the hospital. She thanks us for our help and drives off.
Every traffic stop is different. Traffic stops on the freeway seem to lean towards the strange side. Tonight was no exception.
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