Calling in reckless drivers

In 2015, Idaho State Police received 7,415 calls through the *ISP system.

That’s how many people called in drunk or reckless drivers. But do these calls do any good?

ISP in Pocatello said they do. Lt. Fritz Zweigart said police take all call-ins about reckless drivers seriously. He said calling in reckless drivers can potentially save lives.

“Driving is one of the single most dangerous things that we’ll do in our life and we do it on a daily basis,” Zweigart said. “You know, a lot of people don’t look at it, but we’re driving a 3,000 to 8,000 pound bullet on a daily basis so it’s a very risky behavior.”

And that risk just gets greater the more impaired or distracted a driver is.

Zweigart said on any given day, ISP could have as low as two troopers patrolling the whole district. District 5 covers Pocatello down to Utah, up to just north of Blackfoot over to the Wyoming border and Raft River area, according to Zweigart. So he said that’s a lot of area to cover and just not enough troopers to see everything.

So ISP wants to encourage the public to call in anything that looks abnormal on the road.

Once a call has been made, dispatch will notify the nearest trooper. Zweigart said dispatch also works with other dispatchers, including sheriff’s offices and local police departments. So if another officer is a lot closer than a trooper, they could be called to respond.

ISP said if they don’t catch the driver on the road, but the witness gives them a license plate, they can follow up with the driver. Zweigart said even if all they can do is give that driver a verbal warning, it is often effective.

“Sometimes we may just have to let them know that the public’s observing, even though a police officer is not behind that vehicle, but the general public is observing what their actions are,” he said. “And a lot of times, folks will wake up when they realize they’re being watched not just from police officers.”

Zweigart said they have done many follow ups from call-ins. He said in some cases they’ve even made arrests for things like DUIs or other felonies, thanks to the public’s calls. He said the bottom line is, if something doesn’t look right, call. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

“If someone sees abnormal driving, we highly encourage them to call it in because something small may turn into something big,” Zweigart said.

But ISP does have a caution.

“I want to reiterate the importance of safety,” Zweigart said. “We don’t expect people that are following these vehicles to break the laws. Excessive speed, or if a car is going was too slow, to go slow too where it ends up putting themselves at risk.”

ISP also said while a license plate number is great, it’s not necessary to call in an unsafe driver. He said even basic information, like a milepost number, a landmark, or even just a general direction of where you’re coming from and where you’re headed is all useful information.

To report something out of the ordinary, either call 9-1-1 or *ISP (*477). There is also the landline number for REDDI (Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately) and that number is 1-800-233-1212.