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Wouldn't 911 be a better outlet for this than writing a note?

Note to Back Bay motorist: Don't kill little kids

Mister Jon spotted this note on a car parked in the Back Bay this morning.

Meanwhile, Penny Cherubino ran across a car that was only parked one way in the Back Bay.

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Comments

Is there imminent danger or immediate need for assistance? NO. Call the business number instead. Stupid 911 calls are put on the media for good reason - it ties up operators who could be handling a real emergency.

The note is personal and strongly worded, so possibly effective. On the other hand, I have been left several post cards, likely written by a cat lady, complaining that my cat goes outdoors. My cat looks both ways and has been crossing Mass Ave for 13 years now. My cat ignored the note.

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For better or worse, Boston Police actually want us Bostonians to call 911 for stuff that people in other places would be told not to (although they finally did break down and set up a separate number to report loud parties).

My question was related to my assumption (possibly wrong) that the note writer saw the car in question nearly plow into some kids. If that were indeed the case, why not call 911 right away rather than taking the time to compose a note?

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"They finally did break down and set up a separate number to report loud parties."

They did? Oh, crap, now I feel really really bad all over again. Anyway, what's the number?

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That's untrue. As BPD will tell you, 911 is the number for all incidents requiring police response, not just emergencies. That includes reports of "past crimes." See http://www.bpdnews.com/about/emergency-911. Reporting a near vehicular homicide would be well within the parameters of 911 and hardly "stupid."

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911 is exactly who to call in Boston. They ask you whether this is an emergency, and then log and document the report. It's how police get information, how they become aware of recurring issues, how neighborhoods get resources assigned. In short it's used to gather statistics.

As for the loud party line, budget cuts have killed that project. There may still be a number but there isn't an assigned "party line" team to take care of it anymore so it goes into the larger 911 pile.

Last if you use a cell phone to call something into Boston police, call 617-343-4911--calling regular 911 gets rounted to the Staties in Framingham who then have to reroute it to Boston if that's where you identify your problem to be. Using the prior number could save you a valuable 20 seconds...

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Or was the guy driving through a playground? If the kids were in the street, not in a crosswalk, and/or crossing against the light, then it is not the driver's fault IMO. Teach your kids to look both ways and not to play in the street.

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You asked the questions, and got on the soapbox, but I missed the part where you gave the answers to the questions..... if you don't have step 2 there's no reason to go to step 3.

So I guess, can it.

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Step 3 doesn't follow anything. It's separate, and valid advice. But thanks for playing.

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One might as well have said "A penny saved is a penny earned." Both are valid and neither may be at all appropriate.

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If you're going to drive a multi-ton vehicle through a densely populated area it's really not at all unreasonable to expect you to be aware of what's around you.

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..If you're going to play around multi-ton vehicles that are driving down a roadway (where they belong), then it's not at all unreasonable to expect kids to stay out of the street unattended. I can't say whose fault this particular instance was (and neither can you), but cars belong in the street, kids belong out of the street, unless crossing. Maybe they were in a crosswalk and crossign with the walk signal, and the driver blew through the light. Or maybe the driver was driving perfectly reasonably, and a kid darted into the street and/or the parent wasn't paying attention. You don't know.

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The car is the bigger threat, the pedestrians were there first, so the car should yield.

Maybe then the driver would legally be in the right? But I don't really care- morally, if my car hits someone they're dead, if they run into my stopped car the worst that can happen is some scuffed paint.

If you can't handle driving in a city move to the suburbs or take the T. Period.

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Idiotic nonsense argument without validity.

Pedestrians predate trains. Trains predate cars.
Cars yield to trains. Your argument would be that trains need to stop for pedestrians at road/sidewalk crossings with trains. Since trains tremendously outweigh either, I suppose trains should stop for everything.

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That's why we try to give trains dedicated rights-of-way (the street-running E isn't a great idea but probably still better than just a bus). Trolleys are designed to be able to stop when they need to- when trains aren't able to stop but need to cross traffic we require gates and warnings specifically because of the high risk.

Similarly, I don't think pedestrians should play around the highway, which is an exception for cars and are well-separated to make it clear. But mixed traffic is different.

I'm not saying a person should run out into a street! I'm just saying when they do a driver should be alert enough to stop for someone darting out in front of them- and yes, I say the same for a train. Sometimes a train crashes into a car- and I would hope the T does a full investigation of why the driver was unable to stop. (They probably don't. This is unfortunate, and contributes to the culture of cars vs. trains that you so immediately jumped to)

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No harm, no foul.

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If the driver was just being an arsehole (as opposed to being obviously drunk, for example), calling the police might not have been very productive. The public shaming of the note on the car however, along with pointing out that the neighbors are watching might be more effective.

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that's a BMW.

Many were the days I questioned my belief that 90% of your BMW drivers are assholes as being somewhat prejudiced, then someone in a 535 blows by the old lady I stopped for in the crosswalk and that thought goes away real quick.

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I was about halfway across St Botolph one day last month when some car rolls through the stop sign at the crosswalk and nearly over my foot, if I hadn't pulled it back. The driver leaned out the window and said "oh, I didn't see you" then went on.

I bet you can guess what brand of car that was.

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How To Drive Like A Douche

Or is there a test during the test drive?

If you don't drive like a complete ass they make the financing unavailable or can't deliver a car in your color for 18 months.

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Imho, in terms of being the preferred transportation system of certified dbags.

That said, an English friend told me a joke years ago that I always remember--What's the difference between a hedgehog and a BMW? With the hedgehog, the pricks are on the outside.

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Take it some someone that actually works with the BPD.

There are 2 numbers to call for police assistance (calling the district when you are looking for a officer will not help you).

You have the "non-emergency" line which is 617-343-4911,and you have the traditional 9-1-1.

If you call 9-1-1 and that call hits off a cell tower listed in Boston, you will get the Boston 9-1-1 dispatch center 90%+ of the time and very rarely will you get the state police now.

If you call the 4911 number, it still goes directly to the exact same person you would get if you called 9-1-1. So, 9-1-1 operators handle both the true emergency lines, and the "non-emergency" lines. That would mostly be due to the fact people love to call the non-emergency line, with actual emergencies.

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