26 July, 2009

What Would You Have Done?

I went to a local pub on Friday night to catch up with the dads from the primary school my sons attended. We get together about once a month and there's a lot of local football and cricket crossover so it's a long-standing friendship group and all very convivial. The pub even has a nightclub attached to it, so it's occasionally squirmingly funny if we step out the front door of the bar for a smoke and somebody spots their underage daughter in the queue.

I'd arrived late and had to park a fair way away. I was walking head down into a chilly northerly when I saw a late model Holden accelerate hard into a left turn off the main road I was walking along. The bang followed quickly. The driver had lost control of the car when he'd hit the cobbled bluestone guttering between the main road and the street he'd just turned into. I didn't actually see the impact but when I drew level with him I could see he'd T-boned a parked car. No-one was in it but if someone had been they might have suffered an injury. If anyone had been crossing the street it might have been worse.

He walked towards the main road shaking his head, swearing loudly and exaggerating his reaction in that way the young, drunk and attention-seeking seem to always do. Some of his nightclub contemporaries were starting to gather.

I walked just close enough to get his registration number and that of the car he'd hit, dialled 000 and asked for police. I gave them all the details. I was about half way through my description of the event when they asked me what state I was calling from. This threw me out a little as I'd assumed I was talking to someone in Victoria.

I thought the young bloke had done something pretty stupid and that if he'd ended up reversing and pissing off, the owner of the parked car would be out of pocket. So I rang to make sure there was a record of what happened. And also in the hope that whatever consequences were visited upon the driver, they might act as a deterrent against any future behaviour of a similarly stupid nature.

I continued on to the pub but only stayed about an hour. When I left, the Holden was just being taken away by tow-truck and the young driver was helping police with their enquiries.

Look, as dilemmas go this is fairly pissy but I think I would have felt pretty bad afterward if I'd just kept walking and left it up to someone else. So what would you have done?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would have done the same. I have seen too many hits and no note left or a bogus note, or a note removed shortly after. Poor lad, I am sure there were a hundred reasons why it wasn't his fault. Snigger at seeing an underage daughter in nightclub queue.

iODyne said...

1. reminding evahbodee of yesterdays headline
'216 Hoons booked first day of blitz'

2. that fatality-free bingle may save him from the other kind later.

3. you are feeling like a dobber, but don't; I agree with Andrew

4. dialling 000 :
I did this* a week ago and was stunned to be asked "what State"; especially since Domino Pizza has the technology to know exactly where their callers are; why haven't Emergency Services?.
Oh that's right, they're NOT Emergency Services, they are in fact, absolutely NO Use in an emergency.

* while walking placid old dog we were attacked by mad pitbull.
Labrador impossible to pick up so all I could do was scream for help till nobody came. passing tradie saved the day by beating attacker off with a shovel.
It didnt go away and I rang cops with cellphone. pointless exercise.

Sorry the hoon took the edge off your guys night, I suppose the conversation was hijacked by the topic of Him as well.

Tony.T said...

Step 1. Photos.

Step 2. Blog.

mooiness said...

Would have done the same - calling the cops was the right thing to do. It could have been really worse, and the kid needs to learn his lesson.

JahTeh said...

I loathe drinking drivers especially young ones so you did the right thing, for you.

If you were Chopper Read, you probably would have beaten the crap out of the kid and taken his car to pieces and made him carry it home in a plastic bag.

But then you're such a softie, dream kisses and all.

Lad Litter said...

Andrew:
Yes, not too many misgivings about my conduct. The underage daughter usually gets a big laugh, especially when it's followed with: "Hang on, she's supposed to be studying at her friend's place..."

Marshall:
Is it just me or are there more and more people with meathead dogs around these days? They're a menace.

Tony:
Shit! Photos! I think I just failed my journalism entrance exam.

Mooiness:
Hopefully, a lesson learned and not to be repeated.

Jahteh:
Quite right. Australia's greatest living author would certainly have built some discipline into the encounter

Melanie Myers said...

No question, right thing. I'm becoming increasingly intolerant of loud, incondsiderate, attention seeking, stupid yoofs - drunk or no - hope he cops a big fat fine, too. I was ready to clobber a group of them on the train the other night. No one, including me had the guts to yell out, 'Grow up for fuck sake you stupid arse attention seeking piss heads!' Instead I waited it out til my stop and then slunk out of the adjoining carriage, rather than hover in their vicinity near the nearest door. When you wish serious harm upon this demographic, you know you're old.

Lad Litter said...

Blakkat:
A sure sign of age, that's for sure. My much younger self might have wished I'd found a way to be as "cool" as your train companions.

And to be completely fair to the hoon in my post, he didn't try to nick off. Many would have.

Some Chilean Woman said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

I just want to know what your friend did about his underage daughter...I would have flipped, but my daughter is only 5.

Lad Litter said...

SCW:
Welcome aboard. Love the landscape photos on your blog. Concern about the underage daughter is usually masked by the humour of the situation.

Madam Z said...

C'mon, Lad, did you really think any of your faithful readers would disagree with what you had done? Of course you did the right thing!

I hope the fellow has learned a lesson from this event, but I'm not optimistic. One of the worse things about alcohol consumption is the way it clouds one's judgement. Ask any drunk if he's okay to drive and he will say, "Of course!" He will also be offended that you asked and argumentative if you dispute his answer.

Lad Litter said...

MZ:
Right you are, Madam Z. It's close to a no-brainer. Not much of a drug, that alcohol.

Kath Lockett said...

I would have done exactly the same thing as you did.

Lad Litter said...

KL:
Thanks for coming over and having a look. That seems to be the general consensus. As dilemmas go, it's not Sophie's Choice by any means.