Sometimes, There IS a Cop Around When You Want One

[kevin_standlee]

This afternoon, Lisa and I decided to walk over to the Gene's Meat Market, located on the other side of Oregon Highway 22 from most of the rest of the town. Oregonians who have driven from Salem to Detroit Lake or Bend may know this place as the junction with a roadside restaurant called The Gingerbread House. (I recommend their Elk Burgers.) Pausing at the highway to wait for a break in the traffic, we saw that a Marion County Sheriff Department deputy was parked there clocking traffic coming into the 45 MPH speed zone in which Mehama is located. This isn't a "speed trap" -- there's a solid safety reason for putting a speed zone here: Besides having a small town astride the highway, it's also the junction with Oregon Highway 226, and people have a tendency to otherwise pick up speed on this three-mile straightaway before heading up the canyon, making the place dangerous. There's a flashing yellow warning light at the junction, but no traffic light -- presumably not quite enough fatalities to justify the expense.

We saw what I considered an amazing sight. Cars were slowing down for the speed zone, except for one big black pickup truck, which tore around the slowing vehicles and passed them in the two-way turn lane. We watched in open-mouthed amazement as the driver roared through town at what I estimate was at least twenty miles over the speed limit, breaking several other traffic laws as well.

The deputy looked stunned for a moment, then shook his head and climbed into his cruiser and quickly headed off after the apparent madman, lights a-flashing. You can see a mile or so in each direction at this point, and we could see that the pickup truck was already slowing and pulling over as the sheriff chased him down. (A good thing, that; highway 22 narrows and starts to wind not too far east of here and a chase could be very dangerous.)

Frankly, I was delighted to see this. I've seen so many examples of stupid driving of this nature, with fools deciding that traffic laws don't really apply to them, that it's a real pleasure to see someone get caught. This wasn't slightly exceeding the speed limit or having a tail-light burnt out, or even forgetting to renew your vehicle registration; this was blatantly ignoring safety and the law and recklessly endangering other drivers, not to mention two pedestrians (Lisa and me) waiting to cross the road at the intersection. I hope the traffic court makes an example of this idiot.

Comments

[yourbob.livejournal.com]

[minor carrot missing from Gingerbread House link in yer post]

Unfortunately the only time I've really seen this kind of "justice" done was when the speeding/dodging/reckless car ended up in the middle of 101 entangled with another car, a couple miles after he whizzed around me. I would have loved to have stopped and explained to the attending officers what I had seen, but they weren't there yet (and other people were there helping already).

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Formatting error fixed; thank you. And I added a few additional details as well.

[yourbob.livejournal.com]

ELK BURGERS!!!!!!
Want.
I enjoy bison and ostrich burgers. Have only eaten elk as sausage though.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Elk is good, as I knew from the days when members of my family would hunt them and share some of the take with my grandparents with whom I lived. You can buy elk at the Golden Gate Meat Company at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Cheryl found this and buys a couple when she passes through. That doesn't you a whole lot of good, unfortunately.

[yourbob.livejournal.com]

I'll get some eventually! No worries.

And that cat icon looks nothing like you.

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

Ah, but it is a picture of the Fabulous Hunting Cat (cattus myfanwi) that found the elk burgers and other fine food, including some of the best cheese I've ever eaten, at the markets at the Ferry Building.

[eackerman.livejournal.com]

I saw justice like this once. I was stopped in a school zone when a car pulled out from behind me, crossed the double yellow lines into the oncoming traffic lane, roared up to the intersection far in excess of the 20 mph school speed and got into the left hand turn lane.

All in front of the cop in the cross street monitoring school traffic.

The cop was on him like white on rice. All of us in the slow moving line applauded.