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An impaired driver almost took me out Wednesday

BY Dori Monson  on February 27, 2013 @ 5:29 pm (Updated: 1:09 pm - 2/28/13 )

Dori writes...

Wednesday afternoon at about 3:15 p.m. I was driving Northbound on I-5.

I saw a white pickup truck in the center lane swerve badly in my left lane. Was he picking up his phone? Momentarily distracted? Drunk?

I then saw the truck go halfway into the right hand lane before dangerously correcting. Medical condition? Falling asleep? Drunk?

I decided to give the truck a lot of leeway. But then it suddenly slowed down from 60 to about 45 mph and again swerved into the right lane.

I needed to get past and away from this menace. I started to pass in the left lane. As I was alongside, he again came way over into my lane. I quickly checked to make sure there wasn't a carpooler flying up before I went halfway into the HOV lane to avoid a collision. I - or any one of hundreds of other people - could have easily been killed by this truck that was all over I-5.

Every year, more than 10,000 people are killed in alcohol related crashes. That's a 9/11 every four months. It's a Sandy Hook Elementary every day. (CDC)

As I saved my life and got past this pickup truck, I looked over and saw business graphics on the side - it was a work truck for a major construction company. I noted the phone number.

The average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before they are arrested one time. (MADD)

I made two phone calls. The first was to 911-State Patrol to report a suspected drunk driver. The second was to the construction company to tell them they had a truck all over the road on I-5 North. The woman who answered the phone said she would tell a supervisor.

Now, my dilemma: Should I let it go? I doubt if the State Patrol made a stop/arrest. I think they rarely do when they get these calls from people like me.

Should I follow up with the construction company? I don't particularly care to out them and give the company name here or on the air. I don't want some hard working business owner to be hurt because of some idiot employee who was drinking at three in the afternoon. But as a condition of me not outing them, should I demand to know if they disciplined the driver? The guy could have killed me on my afternoon commute home. But me pushing could cost this man his livelihood. Is that too steep a price just because he happened to swerve in front of a talk-show host?

I hate drunk driving. Am I 100 percent certain this guy was drunk? No. But I am 100 percent certain that he was very dangerous and should not have been driving? Yes. I also got a good look at the guy. I could pick him out of a picture array if the company claimed they don't know who was driving (I did not get the license plate number.)

I went to the company's website - this is a major construction company with several big projects around the Northwest.

If I let it go and I later learn that someone driving drunk from this company killed somebody, would I be able to live with my inaction?

Update:

Dori spoke with the company, who followed up immediately with the driver and handled the matter with the utmost gravity. When they called back, they told Dori the driver had said he was exhausted and getting over the flu. The driver's supervisor said he trusts this man, who has a family and isn't the kind of person to get liquored up in the afternoon and then drive.

News anchor Ursula Reutin speculated that the man may have taken some flu medicine that made him more tired, and, consequently, a dangerous driver.

Dori said that he's going to take the man at his word; because the driver admitted to nearly hitting Dori on the freeway, Dori thinks that it's likely that he was being honest about the situation.

Dori Monson, KIRO Radio Talk Show Host
Dori Monson is host of The Dori Monson Show on KIRO Radio (weekdays Noon-3) and the pre-game and post-game host for the Seattle Seahawks Radio Network. There are three words that Dori thinks best describe him - competitive, competitive and competitive.
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Comments (28)


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  • Cash wrote...
    The right thing to do is this...
    February 27, 2013 5:02 pm
    Follow up with the Construction Company and make sure this is follow up on by them and handled in an acceptable fashion. If not, I would air the details including the company because if they don't take it seriously based on the obvious facts they deserve the negative hit on the air. In the end I don't think it will do a bit of good one way or another but if the dude was driving as badly as described they better resolve it.
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  • Clearwater3 wrote...
    Probably better check with legal...
    February 27, 2013 5:42 pm
    ...before you go on the air and name the company that you believe may have an employee that may have been drinking. The suits don't like surprizes.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • chubby wrote...
    Dori the Hypocrite . . .
    February 27, 2013 5:58 pm
    Dori, you are such a two face. You state that you Hate drunk driving/drivers. If this is truly how you feel, then why do you continually give that drunk driving, scheming low life lawyer, Anne Bremner, a platform on your show? She should be treated like a pariah! Click on these links to refresh your memory, Dori . . . http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2012832729_bremner08m.html http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2012537195_bremner05m.html Stop being a hypocrite, Dori!
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  • irony wrote...
    dui,,,,
    February 27, 2013 6:18 pm
    were they drunk on alcohol or pot... i've seen drivers in the seattle area taking hits while driving.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Well, Dori. You brush with death at least was a lot closer to the actiion than Luke a few weeks ago 'just missing being killed' while he slept 5 miles away from a shooting at his favorate bar.
    February 27, 2013 7:28 pm
    But three things -

    No, you shouldn't name the construction company - I doubt they sanction drunk driving and it just might have been a medical condition of some sort.

    You were right calling about a potential DUI. Even if it was, say, an epileptic seizure or such, the police needed to stop that truck. .......But just what makes you think the State Patrol ignores calls like yours ???

    But - even though the driver probably was drunk, YOU can't be sure based on simple observation of his driving. .. The important thing was that the driver was impaired in SOME way, and needed assistance to stop. ........... Judge later when or if you ever know for sure.

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  • Raymong wrote...
    Ignores...
    February 28, 2013 5:31 am
    Dori didn't say the State patrol "ignores, or will ignore" his call. He said; "I think they rarely do when they get these calls from people like me." I have made a few of these calls myself and I don't think they "ignore" them, however there is usually no patrol around when you see them so when you call and give your location the dispatcher relays info. and if someone can they will give it a look see. Dori is wrong in saying "rarely do", they always do, but Rarely Catch them.
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  • Drool wrote...
    How Do You Know He Was Drunk?
    February 27, 2013 8:25 pm
    He might have just stayed up all night playing wiffle-ball.
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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    cellphones/Texting ...= Amazing driving ability
    February 27, 2013 9:53 pm
    He was just texting Larry ..no bigge
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  • Vlastimil wrote...
    big mistake trying to go around him
    February 27, 2013 10:04 pm
    Last place you want him, is behind you, where he can plow into you when traffic stops ahead. If you were truly concerned you should have got the license plate and stayed behind him with your hazards giving updated location status until the state patrol arrived.
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  • wsualumn wrote...
    Careful About Quick Judgements
    February 28, 2013 5:54 am
    My father in law was a diabetic and had 3 reactions while driving. He looked like a drunk driver, like many that do when they are having a reaction. The driver could very well have been drunk, but we need to be careful when we decide to label them as drunk.
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  • RMGrant wrote...
    Agreed
    March 1, 2013 5:24 pm
    When I call 911 to report a driver, I no longer say "drunk" driver. I always say "possible" impaired driver or "medical" emergency. My ex-husband is a type-1 diabetic and I know for a fact that if their blood sugar is dangerously low their behavior will closely mimic that of a drunk driver.
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  • DesertRez wrote...
    As a motorcycle rider
    February 28, 2013 6:01 am
    I see this stuff all the time. It is usually a texter. You did the right thing though.
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