Friday, December 5, 2008

Isn't labor itself enough to worry about?

Did you all see the latest from Boston.com? A state trooper gave a couple a $100 ticket after they drove in the breakdown lane. Normally I am all about making people obey the sanctity of the breakdown lane. I used to hate to see those f&*%!rs zipping by while stuck in traffic over the Borne Bridge. But this couple had a great excuse: she was in labor. And her contractions were 3 minutes apart! I don't know much about labor yet but that seems close.

Boston's traffic has not noticeably improved with the completion of the Big Dig so I can understand why they felt the need to drive in the breakdown lane.

The best part? The trooper didn't believe she was pregnant and demanded to see her belly. Who the heck allowed this guy to get into uniform?

Um, not only is DH responsible for getting me good drugs during labor, he is also responsible for getting me there as quick as humanly possible. If that means breaking some laws, then so be it. I guess what I question is why the state trooper didn't help the couple with an escort to the hospital, not even to mention the $100 fine! My dad used to get escorts when he rushed to the hospital to perform an emergency surgery. Just because labor is more common than a liver transplant it doesn't mean it doesn't deserve the same level of respect.

The couple claims they won't file a complaint against the trooper. I guess they are filled with love after having the baby. But if that trooper kept me from having pain meds faster, I would file!

5 comments:

Mommy, Esq. said...

Crazy!

H said...

Having seen them on the local news here, and the fact that they aren't filing a complaint, leads me to think there may be a little more to the story. They were also on Route 3, which has notorious traffic, and is not Big Dig related. I still think it sucks and the cop was looking to fill his ticket quota, but that's just my opinion.

Scott Sweeney said...

I shall refrain from any specific comments about the judgement of cops in general, but this one just takes the cake. Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for the conversation when he pulled them over....
"license and registration, sir"
"officer, we're about to have a baby; quite literally in fact, can you help us out?"
"sir, I think I asked a pretty straightfoward question-license and registration...NOW!"
I'm fairly sure it descended into the land of ludicrous from there...

Anonymous said...

Being 8 days away from my due date, I want this guy's balls in a vise and then we can talk about next steps.
Who are these people who announce that they won't seek legal relief? Isn't this America? Let's not make rash decisions before the epidural wears off...

Anonymous said...

Having had 2 babies (one that almost decided to deliver himself IN THE CAR) I am actually not siding with the couple on this one. Granted, the cop was an ass for demanding she prove she was pregnant, and not helping them when they clearly asked for help. But the fact remains that they broke the law by speeding and driving on the shoulder, and for that they certainly deserve a ticket. If the situation were that much of an emergency, well, that's what 911 is for folks.