COLUMN: I’d rather be safe than sorry

Monday night I left the office well after dark and headed home just like I do every week day. But Monday was different because I ended up doing something I had never done before — I called in what I thought could have been an impaired driver.
The driver didn’t cut me off and wasn’t weaving violently between the lines, but several things – including the vehicle’s slow drift into the median and slow drift over the right-hand line, speeds 15 miles below the limit and braking while driving under a clearly green light – caught my attention.
I observed the driver for quite a way before I used my hands-free headset to call dispatch in Frankfort and eventually saw the driver get pulled over.
I wrestled with my own thoughts as to whether to call in this complaint, but ultimately decided I’d rather take my chances that an innocent person would get pulled over if it could possibly save another innocent person’s life.
Driving under the influence is no joke and can absolutely be avoided. I hope you saw the article on the front page that says there were only two DUIs reported over the New Year’s holiday.
I use the word “only” loosely, because we’d rather there be zero.
My plea to you is to never drink and drive, and if you are ever in my position, don’t hesitate to report it when you think someone else is.
If the person driving in front of me Monday night was intoxicated, I’m glad I did what I did. If he or she was not, I’d rather play it safe by calling it in than have to report on another auto accident because of DUI.