Woman In Labor Gets Traffic Ticket

[crokett]

on her way to the hospital.

Heavy traffic, they were driving in the breakdown lane. They'd been stopped by a couple other troopers who let them go after hearing the situation. The last one gave them a ticket.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/mas...ket_delivered/

Yes, she and her husband were breaking the law but with the gridlock up there I think what they were doing was reasonable, given the circumstances. Also with all the traffic I'm not sure if an ambulance would have helped.

[JR]

Wow. A traffic citation in Boston. Will wonders never cease?

JR

[GoFish104]

Our youngest daughter is in a wheelchair. She recently had a cop threaten her w/ a jaywalking ticket. Only after she took the officer to the nearest crosswalk & pointed out that a wheelchair could not get off the curb did he relent. Gotta tell you I feel a lot safer knowing I won't be run over by a maniac in a wheelchair. Jack

[Alex Franke]

Wow.

A friend of mine made an illegal U-turn in the middle of the road early one morning because his wife was in labor -- make that giving birth -- in the back seat. He had missed his turn. He got pulled over immediately and stuck his head out the window to yell "my wife's having a baby in the back seat!" The cop turned his lights back on, drove up, said "follow me," and escorted them to the birth center. They got there just in time to cut the cord.

One of my greatest fears with both of our kids was not getting there in time... Clearly that Boston cop had no children of his own.

[cgallery]

The first tropper should have provided a police escort.

What the heck is this world coming to?

[Uncle Cracker]

When the letter of the law gets in the way of the spirit of the law, then stupid things are gonna happen. I do realize that an alternative outcome could have befallen them (the guy could have run over somebody in the pull-off lane) but there still should have been some slack provided here.

[bfrikken]

This is one of those non-stories that the press just loves to report, especially tabloid rags like the Herald (the "other paper" in Boston, if you don't read The Globe.)

Obviously, none of you have driven in the greater Boston area during rush hour. Unless things have changed since I moved away 10 years ago, it's legal to drive in the breakdown lane during rush hour, but only on route 128 (the inner belt that circles the city.) Let me tell you, it turns the simple exercises of entering and exiting the highway into a real adventure. And because drivers are used to utilizing that lane on 128, many think it perfectly normal to do so on the other limited access arteries. Troopers definitely have their hands full at that time of day.

Mount Auburn Hospital is quite a hike from Dracut without traffic (which only happens between 1:00 and 5:00 AM.) They were just asking for trouble. I appreciate the fact that you don't try to tell your wife where she should have her baby. But that calls for extraordinary planning, and a willingness to accept the consequences if things should go awry.

That headline, "In rush-hour labor, ticket delivered" sure beats "Woman in labor killed in breakdown lane mishap."

(BTW, do you suppose the 6 speeding tickets had anything to do with the trooper's actions?)

I'm not sure if you are arguing that she should have gotten a ticket? If so, I don't get your argument. She's in labor. That's all the argument they should need. Especially after being let go by two previous troopers.

Like one comment above, the first should have provided an escort.

[Ed62]

She's in labor. That's all the argument they should need. Especially after being let go by two previous troopers.

Like one comment above, the first should have provided an escort.

I'm in complete agreement with that.

Ed

[dbhost]

Wah, wah, wah....

You wanna see traffic? Come to Houston!

[cbrown]

Note also that the baby was born . . . five hours later. This was not someone about to give birth in the back seat.

Even as a Boston-area resident who's driven my wife to the hospital for a similar purpose four times now, I can't muster too much sympathy.

Chris

[shoottx]

Wah, wah, wah....

You wanna see traffic? Come to Houston!

Sorry this is where the home state loses. Traffic in Boston makes Houstons problems look like sale days at the mall.

[dbhost]

Americas worst traffic.

Boston doesn't even make the list. Houston is second only to Los Angeles.

I've driven in Boston, Houston, L.A., Chicago, Portland (Oregon), Seattle, Phoenix etc..

L.A. is hands down the worst. Boston, at least you have a choice of public transportation. Houston Metro is a freaking joke...

[JR]

L.A. is hands down the worst. Boston, at least you have a choice of public transportation. Houston Metro is a freaking joke...

All true. It's the Boston drivers that make life grim. They ARE the worst, according the JR informal poll of many American cities.

JR

[buckeye95]

I had a cop tell me once that the vast majority of the time he would not take a chance running a civilian medical "escort" with lights and sirens due to liability concerns. Even if he did it with the best of intentions, if there was an accident he knew he would surely be a defendant in a lawsuit (unfortunately, with our litigous society). He preferred to call a medic to the scene.

Pete

[gjat]

I wonder what the attitude was of the couple when they were stopped the third time. The article also states the trooper was writing another ticket, so did they zoom up on the trooper? Did they blow the horn at the trooper? The article said he made the woman open her coat to prove she was pregnant, so it doesn't sound like she was laying back in obvious physical stress.

I've been in the roadway electrical / signal business for more than a couple of decades. It's extremely dangerous to drive in the emergency lane because other traffic doesn't expect you there, plus you run the risk of ticking off some nut job that's been sitting there for 20 minutes and sees you coming up in his side view mirror. I've seen way too many accidents and close calls while working on the side of the road with barricades, signs, and flags. I would bet my paycheck the couple are a couple of jerks that believe the world should make way for their convenience.

BTW. My crews spent a few months in Houston after Ike. We would agree that Houston has the worse traffic I've ever experienced and the most convoluted and ineffective government organizations I've ever encountered.