![FROM THE BOSTON GLOBE:
All too often, the congested roads of Greater Boston conspire with the vagaries of childbirth to leave a mother-to-be in a car on the roadside at one of life’s most critical moments. A hard-bitten state trooper shows up and morphs into a highway midwife, clearing the newborn’s nose and mouth, cutting the cord, and sometimes even saving a life.
This is not one of those stories.
Jennifer Davis was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Nov. 18, her contractions just 3 minutes apart. Her husband, John, was trying to appear calm for his wife’s sake, driving in the breakdown lane of Route 2. They pulled up behind a state trooper to ask whether they could continue using the lane to reach the next exit, near Alewife Station.
Not only did the trooper say no, he gave them a $100 citation for driving in the breakdown lane, made them wait for their citation while he finished writing someone else’s ticket, and even seemed to ask for proof of pregnancy, Jennifer Davis said.
[Read the rest of the article here.]
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OKAY, LISTEN.
Giving birth is scary and intense and all that, it’s true, and being stuck in traffic is infuriating and frustrating and all that, and surely the combination of the two events can lead anyone to decide to break a teeny, tiny little law like ‘DON’T DRIVE IN THE EMERGENCY LANE UNLESS YOU ARE AN EMERGENCY VEHICLE’. That makes sense, right? Right. So obvs the trooper fucked this one up pretty seriously, right? Yeah, no.
Let’s review the facts.
1. The trooper did not SAY ‘Okay, let’s see it,’ about the pregnant woman’s belly.Even she admits that she made an assumption. (Remember, assume, ass, you, me. Or in this case, Jennifer Davis.)
2. The Davises live in Dracut, 30 miles from Mount Auburn, the hospital at which they insisted on having the kid.
3. There are FIVE OTHER HOSPITALS between their home in Dracut and Mount Auburn.
4. They pulled up BEHIND the trooper who ultimately issued the citation, as he was assisting a disabled vehicle in the emergency lane — as he was using the emergency lane for its intended purpose — and told him THEY needed the lane more.
5. The trooper offered — at least TWICE — an ambulance to get them through the traffic safely and quickly. They declined. According to the woman: “I told him, ‘My contractions are about 3 minutes apart. We just want to get off this exit.’ We thought it would save us a little time.” So it wasn’t urgent enough for an ambulance, but it was too urgent to wait a few minutes so that the trooper could finish up with the other vehicle?
6. “In hindsight, the couple believe the trooper was trying to save them time by mailing the citation, rather than making them wait while he wrote it up.”
7. The kid wasn’t born for another five hours after the stop. And it was fine.
LOOK. WE’RE NOT TRYING TO SAY THE COP DID THE RIGHT THING.
What we’re trying to say is: Use birth control and NONE OF THIS WILL EVER HAPPEN TO YOU. Especially not the part with the birthing of a baby. Eesh.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/rBCvJrlMxh4nw85tGHTbB3Qzo1_500.jpg)
FROM THE BOSTON GLOBE:
All too often, the congested roads of Greater Boston conspire with the vagaries of childbirth to leave a mother-to-be in a car on the roadside at one of life’s most critical moments. A hard-bitten state trooper shows up and morphs into a highway midwife, clearing the newborn’s nose and mouth, cutting the cord, and sometimes even saving a life.
This is not one of those stories.
Jennifer Davis was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Nov. 18, her contractions just 3 minutes apart. Her husband, John, was trying to appear calm for his wife’s sake, driving in the breakdown lane of Route 2. They pulled up behind a state trooper to ask whether they could continue using the lane to reach the next exit, near Alewife Station.
Not only did the trooper say no, he gave them a $100 citation for driving in the breakdown lane, made them wait for their citation while he finished writing someone else’s ticket, and even seemed to ask for proof of pregnancy, Jennifer Davis said.
[Read the rest of the article here.]
—
OKAY, LISTEN.
Giving birth is scary and intense and all that, it’s true, and being stuck in traffic is infuriating and frustrating and all that, and surely the combination of the two events can lead anyone to decide to break a teeny, tiny little law like ‘DON’T DRIVE IN THE EMERGENCY LANE UNLESS YOU ARE AN EMERGENCY VEHICLE’. That makes sense, right? Right. So obvs the trooper fucked this one up pretty seriously, right? Yeah, no.
Let’s review the facts.
1. The trooper did not SAY ‘Okay, let’s see it,’ about the pregnant woman’s belly.Even she admits that she made an assumption. (Remember, assume, ass, you, me. Or in this case, Jennifer Davis.)
2. The Davises live in Dracut, 30 miles from Mount Auburn, the hospital at which they insisted on having the kid.
3. There are FIVE OTHER HOSPITALS between their home in Dracut and Mount Auburn.
4. They pulled up BEHIND the trooper who ultimately issued the citation, as he was assisting a disabled vehicle in the emergency lane — as he was using the emergency lane for its intended purpose — and told him THEY needed the lane more.
5. The trooper offered — at least TWICE — an ambulance to get them through the traffic safely and quickly. They declined. According to the woman: “I told him, ‘My contractions are about 3 minutes apart. We just want to get off this exit.’ We thought it would save us a little time.” So it wasn’t urgent enough for an ambulance, but it was too urgent to wait a few minutes so that the trooper could finish up with the other vehicle?
6. “In hindsight, the couple believe the trooper was trying to save them time by mailing the citation, rather than making them wait while he wrote it up.”
7. The kid wasn’t born for another five hours after the stop. And it was fine.
LOOK. WE’RE NOT TRYING TO SAY THE COP DID THE RIGHT THING.
What we’re trying to say is: Use birth control and NONE OF THIS WILL EVER HAPPEN TO YOU. Especially not the part with the birthing of a baby. Eesh.
