September 4, 2026 • 33 mins
**Taking Back Our Roadways: A Conversation About Safety and Surveillance**
Are you tired of feeling like you're living in a war zone on our roads? The speaker is passionate about taking back our roadways from reckless drivers, drunks, and druggies who put innocent lives in danger. In this episode, he's joined by a former police chief and a caller who shares a personal story about the devastating consequences of texting and driving.
The conversation delves into the harsh reality of our roadways, where people are more concerned with their own safety than with the safety of others. The speaker argues that high-tech enforcement is the only way to effectively take back our roadways, citing the success of dash cams and the need for accountability. He's joined by a caller who shares a personal story about the dangers of texting and driving, and a former police chief who shares his experiences with the DUI Enforcement Squad.
The discussion touches on the importance of holding our civil servants accountable for their actions, and the need for better enforcement on our roads. The speaker also explores the idea of making texting and driving a felony, and the need for a more serious approach to addressing the issue. With the help of his guests, he breaks down the complexities of the issue and offers a clear call to action.
If you're concerned about the safety of our roadways and the lives of those around you, this episode is a must-listen. Join the conversation and hear the speaker's passionate argument for taking back our roadways and making our roads safer for everyone.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Can't wait for kickoff tonight. And then CSU, very psyched
for that. Jim Morrow, one of my favorite college coaches
in the last 20 years. And they got a lot
of good things going at CSU. So you combine Jim
Morrow with that great stadium and other advantages they have
and great things ahead. So excited about that. Now on
the life and death stuff, which we tend to focus
(00:22):
on a bunch on this show, we're talking today about
something really existential to you and your family. and that is, hey,
is it time that we take our streets back, that
we take the streets back from the killers, the reckless drivers,
the drunks, the druggies, all these people who don't care
about your kid's life, let alone yours, and just say, no,
(00:45):
we are not going to surrender our streets and our safety. Now,
if we're going to do that, then it's going to
take a war. It's going to take money. It's going
to take some sacrifice. I think the only way it
can be accomplished in this era, an era where the
left in this state is controlled by the left in
most places, where the left has undermined law enforcement, the
(01:05):
only way it's going to be doable is through high tech.
And I think that tech is probably advisable even in
red states because I think it can accomplish what we
need to do to protect your kids and your family,
all of us, in a much safer and more cost-effective way.
And if you've got a better idea, great. And if
you think we should just, no, just let this be
(01:27):
the new normal. Let's have that conversation as well. I
think that's suicidal, literally, but let's have that conversation. We've
had jam lines, many, many texts on this. I want
to get to those. And listen, I get the tension.
I get the tension because nobody wants a surveillance state.
I love, one of my true joys in life is
going out on the open road and just driving, especially
(01:47):
when you get into the wide open and just driving
and And just enjoying that peace. And Amy and I
driving up to Boulder last weekend for a wedding. I
love that. I love that. But the reality of our
roadways today is they're thunderdome. They are a killing field.
And if we're not willing to take decisive steps to
(02:08):
get a grip on it, and I think we can.
I think we should all be able to agree that
when it comes to a surveillance state, okay, where do
you have a reasonable expectation of privacy? We know what
the law says, but forget the law for a second.
Where do you think you should have a reasonable expectation
of privacy? Do you think that extends to our roadways?
(02:29):
I'd love your thoughts on that, particularly if you're one
of the many people texting me. Here's one of my favorites.
Let me find this here. And I just love the
creativity of this texture. I mean that sincerely. D-A-N-5-7-7-3-9. Dan,
when the fire chief becomes the mayor, there'll be a
fire hydrant on every corner. When the lawyer becomes the mayor,
there will be surveillance camera on every corner. I don't
(02:51):
follow that one. Why would a lawyer want a surveillance camera?
I just don't follow it, but I appreciate the creativity there.
And then part of the conversation has turned to dash cams.
I don't expect that'll be controversial, but just my recommending
everybody gets one. And I want them for everybody in
our family. I'm surprised how difficult it's been to get
(03:14):
them in each of our vehicles. And you don't want
to blow up a worm to your wiring or anything else.
But I thought this shouldn't be that tough. But please
do go get one. I'm telling you, as a guy,
43 years in my job, I hope to do another
43 as representing people seriously injured or the survivors of
those killed by reckless drivers. And I'm telling you, not all,
(03:35):
of course, but there are a large number of people
who do horrible things on our roadways who then lie
about it. And it'd be so nice if you had
a dash cam and you just had everything there on tape.
My hope for you is that you never need it.
And I also think it's a great kind of self-deterrence,
just speaking for myself, and I consider myself a very
(03:56):
safe driver, but I'm still only human. And I think
that it's just a nice reminder. Got a dash cam there.
It's all on tape.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
303-713-8255, D-A-N-57739.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Texter says, Dan, how is using technology to prevent a
car from doing things any more of a loss of
freedom than a speed limit that says you can't? I
think the answer to that would be, from the folks
who don't want the tech, would be now you're being
constantly watched. Now you're being, when it's just a speed
limit sign, it's kind of the honor system because these days,
(04:33):
I don't think there's one person listening to this show
right now who really is concerned they're going to get
a ticket if they speed. unless they can just see
one of the rare speed traps up ahead. And don't
blame law enforcement for that. It's not their fault. They
want to enforce the law. It's the left that's undermining
law enforcement, underfunding, and then in other ways. But yeah,
(04:54):
so it's just the idea that, holy cow. And I mean,
think about it. And I've had to ask myself this
question as well. Is it worth it to me? Is
this trade-off worth it to me to know that hey,
if I happen to go X over the speed limit
in that particular jurisdiction and set that as the enforcement line,
(05:14):
then I'm going to get a ticket. Am I willing
to pay that price? And I am. And I am.
I'm willing to pay that price so that my kids
are safer on the roads. I'm willing to pay that
price so my wife is safer. I'm willing to pay
that price so I'm safer. And another big reason I'm
willing to pay that price, just as a man, I'm
(05:34):
not willing to sit back And surrender. And surrender our roadways.
Because you see them every day. And it's one of
the things that set me off today. You see them
every day. You see these punks out there. You see
these killers. You see these people who don't care at
all about your kids' lives. And they're just, you know,
(05:54):
doing all this crazy stuff on our roads. You see
that all the time. I don't want to surrender to them.
No sane, self-respecting society should surrender to them. I started
the show by talking about I was taking a loved
one back from Sky Ridge Hospital this morning. Fragile condition.
Driving very carefully. And then all of a sudden, and
(06:16):
this one in the afternoon, there's a lot of traffic.
All of a sudden, I get three SUVs, three of them.
They're drag racing northbound on I-25. And guess what? There's
a lot of traffic on I-25. If it was empty,
the drag racing would be dangerous. But it's not empty.
There's still drag racing going. They're not slowing down. They're
just weaving in between vehicles where there's very little to
(06:39):
no room to weave. And you know, you're seeing this
sort of thing all the time. It is out of
control out there. So you tell me, are you willing
to just accept it the way it is? And if not,
is there a better fix than what I'm talking about here?
If so, I really would love to hear it. Dan,
most new vehicles have at least one camera. Nicer cars
(07:01):
have 360 cam coverage. Why hasn't the auto industry incorporated
recording ability, SD card slot for the recording? You know,
Tesla does a great job with that. I don't have
a Tesla, but Tesla does a great job with that.
I represent a lot of people who have been in
big wrecks in a Tesla. They've been very crash worthy.
But then we get all this video. Because Tesla has
(07:23):
all this video from all these different angles. So, yeah, obviously,
you would love to see more and more vehicles have it.
And I'm not going to go down this rabbit hole,
but one of the things I had originally on the
docket for today was Ford now is intending to make
and sell 100,000, $ 30, 000 pickup trucks each year, electric, which
(07:46):
is the point of the story, why it ties in here.
And I got to tell you, I'm the guy who's
always said, I'm never getting an electric car. You know,
the roar of the engine, all of that, that's so
huge to me. And a big part of me is
still that way. But I got to tell you, my
wife's been test driving an electric car. And this thing
is amazing. I mean, and I'm a guy, I'm a
(08:08):
performance guy. I love high performing cars. I have since
I started as a, I was both a caddy and
a car parker at a country club in Chicago. And
that's how I got to drive some high-performance cars when
I would park them at night. And I know you say, well,
how hard can you drive a car when you're parking
it at night? Pretty darn hard. If you were working
(08:31):
at the country club I was, which conveniently had this very,
very long lot where late at night it would turn
into like a mini drag strip. So that's how I
kind of got hooked on performance. And so I'm all
about performance when I'm driving. And because of the kind
of work I do, safety. I'm telling you, this electric
car she's been demoing is a high performer. But, yeah,
(08:56):
the electric cars tend to have a lot of cameras,
which is cool. And I bet you Ford wins with
that strategy because you make that pickup truck affordable enough.
And I think electric cars can be made better, more
affordably in some ways. You make that affordable enough, you
(09:17):
introduce a whole lot of new people to electric, and
you may get a lot of converts just for the performance,
let alone the idea of just having a gas station
at your own house. Is this a metaphor? Dan, have
you ever stirred a little pancake syrup in your peanut butter,
you know, on a saucer? Never done that. I'm pretty
(09:40):
sure it'd be straight to ER on a blood sugar
thing with that one. Dan, I'd recommend at least getting
a basic dash cam for about $ 200. You can install
yourself and won't void any warranties. It won't be top
of line, but it will give you front and back video.
That's from Alexa. Thank you for that, Alexa. I'll look
into it. I'm still determined just to have the dealership
(10:01):
put him in on all of our cars, but that
has not gone so well for me so far. Dan,
you already know the answer. The native Coloradans have allowed
leftists to invade every part of this state. Weak men
and lovers everywhere. You know, it really... It really is
terrible the way the left has undermined law enforcement in
(10:23):
this state. And it just makes me respect everybody in
law enforcement because think about it. I mean, my dad
was a cop for 30 years in Chicago, and that
was a hard job. But back in Chicago, the mayor
loved the cops. The law-abiding people loved the cops. The
job had tremendous public respect. I was so proud going
(10:44):
to school every day. And, hey, you know, my dad's
a cop. My dad had come to get me at school.
I was so proud. That's a really big deal. And
these days, you know, cops are treated so unfairly. Politicians
would throw them under the bus in a heartbeat. Laws
are stacked against cops. I mean, it just makes you
respect even more the people who do that job. But
(11:05):
how much longer are people going to be willing to
do it? You're on the Dan Kaplan Show. But we
were calling for CU to hire Prime on this show
before it was even a dream anywhere. And thank God
he came to CU. It's been tremendous for the school.
And I hope he stays as long as he wants to.
(11:27):
He's a winner. He's won here. He will win here again. 303-713-8255, DAN-57739.
If you just joined us, talking about one of the
most important things to you that we could talk about.
And that is, are we surrendering our roadways?
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Or are we going to take them back? Because you
know right now they're a killing field. And there are
all sorts of people out there right now who do
not care if they kill your family. And are we men?
Are we women? Or are we mice? I think this
is a moment of testing for us. And I think
we can take our roadways back if we use TAC.
I think as a practical matter, the left undermines law enforcement.
(12:05):
We're not going to be able to flood the roadways
with law enforcement and have them enforced effectively. And also...
Tech's the better option because the killers, the bad guys
and gals have figured out that if they're willing to
go 110, 20, 30, 40, there's not going to be
a high-speed chase because of the danger involved in that.
(12:26):
But with tech, they can't outrun the tech. So I
do think the time has come. We have to take
back our roadways that way. Troy, you're on the Dan
Kaplan Show.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Welcome. Hey, Dan. You know, I kind of like the
idea of using tech to, you know, police, but I
get worried.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
We have flock cameras.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
We get, you know, I know where you're coming from
with distracted drivers. Alcohol and marijuana and cell phones are
just the beginning, you know. Before all that tech, it
was mom reaching over the backseat to slap the kid
for misbehaving in the backseat.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
And that hurt.
Speaker 6 (13:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
So are you familiar with three felonies a day?
Speaker 4 (13:19):
No.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Okay, so there's a book that is out there, and
it was written several years ago about how the judicial
system has become– So set up that no matter every day,
the average American is committing three felonies a day.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Oh, I don't buy that for a second, Troy. I
don't commit any felonies. Do you commit any felonies?
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Well, no. Look at the book.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
No, no, no. I don't need to see the book, Troy.
Do you commit any felonies at all? I don't commit
any felonies at all. Let alone three a day.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Have you ripped off the tag of your mattress?
Speaker 1 (14:01):
No.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Dan, you've been in the system long enough to know
that if a good prosecutor really wanted to get you,
they would find three felonies that they could apply to you.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
I never lie to my audience, so let me put
it this way. I have never intentionally ripped the tag
off my mattress. But, no, Troy, I reject that premise.
I do not commit felonies.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
Well, that gets to the point.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
No, you're missing the point. If a malicious prosecutor really
wanted to come after you, do you believe that they
could charge you with three felonies every day?
Speaker 1 (14:45):
No, I don't. Give me some examples. It sounds like
a great title to sell a book. Back it up
or pack it up, my friend, Troy. Give me some
real-world examples. Okay, so.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
As an FFL, I'll give you an example. Do you
believe that people that are smoking marijuana are purchasing firearms
in the state of Colorado?
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Do you believe that? I do. They have committed a felony.
Speaker 6 (15:13):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Interesting recent Supreme Court case on that, but okay.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
No, no.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
That's one example.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
What I'm saying is— I don't smoke marijuana.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
In current law— Okay.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
In current law, are they committing a felony?
Speaker 7 (15:27):
Yeah, Troy.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Can we broaden this point out? Because we're getting circular now.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
I don't commit felonies.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Well, no, broaden the point out is because— No, the
broadening point I'm pointing out is because when they fill
out the 4473, the 4473 says, are you currently a
marijuana user?
Speaker 5 (15:45):
Can you apply this to.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Our– Okay, so Dan, I think my point is if
you lie on a federal form, you've committed a felony.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Troy, can you please apply it to our roadway issue today? Well,
how does it.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
Apply to that?
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Okay, so– Well, the roadway to the issues that you
have today are that, you.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
Know, people are consuming alcohol.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
If you consume alcohol, are you impaired?
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Well, Troy, if you get to a certain level, and
I do have to hit this hard break. Listen, our
topic today is we know. Our roadways now are being
taken over by criminals. They're being taken over by reckless drivers,
by drag racers, by drunks, by druggies, and they are
(16:37):
putting your life and your family's life in danger. The
question is, are we just going to lay down and
accept that, surrender, or are we going to try to
take our roads back? And if we're going to try
to take our roads back, what's the best way? And
I've been talking about the harsh reality that probably the
only way is high-tech enforcement. If I'm missing something and
(17:00):
there's another way, tell me. I get the point that
Troy's concerned that then you may get greedy officials who
are trying to get every dollar they can out of
every driver and they start strictly enforcing the law. That
is a legitimate concern. So my question to you is,
if it got to that extreme.
(17:23):
Would it be worth it to you? Would the trade-off
be worth it to you that your children are going
to be measurably safer on the roadway, your wife, yourself?
Would that be worth it to you? You tell me.
You're on the Dan Kaplan Show.
Speaker 6 (17:42):
And I suggest respectfully that the soft instruction that you
gave them saying at the sidebar, can you listen to
the law as I instruct you, does not focus on
the issue. It is the question is not sufficient enough.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
This is so interesting. And, you know, I don't do
criminal law. I do catastrophic injury and death cases for victims.
But I've covered a lot of big criminal cases in
America and I've covered them on national TV. And I
have a pretty good instinct, I think, for these criminal
law issues and trials. And I've never seen anything like
this where it's clear now from the note sent to
the judge that, You've got 11 out of 12 jurors
(18:21):
who want to acquit the woman who strangled her three
kids to death. And then the defense is that she
couldn't form the requisite intent. You know, she was out
of her mind because of postpartum depression. And I'm not
second guessing any jury. I didn't watch that trial. I
haven't been in the courtroom. But you got this one holdout.
(18:42):
So now you've got the foreperson apparently telling the court
that the holdout is will not follow the law on
the reasonable doubt instruction. Now, you've got two different things
going here. If you've got the person holding out because
they understand the law, they're applying the law, and they
(19:02):
reach a different conclusion, that's one thing. If you've got
a holdout who's saying, oh, no, I understand this instruction
is the law on reasonable doubt, but I'm just not
willing to follow it, Then you've got another thing, and
that chair is going to get removed. And at that point,
there would be an acquittal. So it'll be interesting to
see what happens in the morning there. 303-713-8255. Maria Bartiromo
(19:28):
out at Fox. One of her all-time fun interviews was
of Maria Bartiromo. Let me ask the boss, who's helping
out today, because we've got producers all over the country now,
including Shannon, who's off with the sea of buffs tonight.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Boss.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Do we have archives? And if so, how far back
do they go? Like, could I go pull up our
Maria Bartiri? interview from 15 years ago? No, not anymore.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Really?
Speaker 5 (19:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (19:54):
I mean, all these servers and, you know, they don't
like to stuff things up. Not that I would stuff
it up. I'm sure it's incredibly worth saving. But no,
that's a deep hole.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Or the shootout I had with Bill Maher on this show.
Could we? Pull that up. That's probably 10 years ago.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
No. However, I would recommend to all young broadcasters like yourself, Dan,
that is audio you should save yourself. Never trust a
station to save things appropriately.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
You've been in this business a long time. Pretty busy
at that time. How about Ellen Dershowitz? Because we blew
out spots for an hour because he and I were
going at it so hard. But that was probably 20
years ago.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
So no ruck.
Speaker 7 (20:35):
These are incredible moments and very tough lessons for young
broadcasters to know.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
They'd never trust a station to save your great material.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
Unfortunately, that is not the case. But those sound like
excellent moments. I wish you did have them.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Over my next 30 years, I'll save them all.
Speaker 7 (20:50):
Yeah, starting now.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Starting now. That's right. For your next big step. My
next 30 years.
Speaker 7 (20:55):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Me and Tim McGraw. Yeah. That was a great Tim
McGraw song, my next 30 years. 303-713-8255, D-A-N-5-7-7-3-9. You know,
and I don't mean to be presumptuous. As Chris Berman said,
we're all day-to-day, minute-to-minute. I'm grateful for every day I
have on this planet. But I'm sitting here right now
feeling like I'd love to go another 30. I think
(21:18):
management's sitting there thinking, another 30 minutes? Yeah, maybe we
could do that. All righty. Ted, great calls all day.
We're talking about something so near and dear to you.
And that is, are we going to keep surrendering our
roadways the way we have? Because, you know, we have surrendered.
Don't blame the cops. It's not their fault. It's the
fault of the politicians who undermine the cops. But the
roadways have been surrendered. And the bad guys and gals
(21:41):
have no fear of enforcement. And they run the roadways.
And they're killing a lot of innocent people and terrorizing
a lot of innocent people. And are we going to
fight back and take them back? If so, how? And
I suggest it can only be done to the max
with high-tech enforcement. So that's where the conversation has started.
Let's work in Jim. Jim tells us retired law enforcement.
(22:03):
You're on the Dan Kaplan Show. Welcome, Jim. Well, Dan, hi.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
It's Jim Collier. The chief.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Former chief. Well, thank you, sir. It's an honor. How
are you?
Speaker 4 (22:15):
I'm well, sir. I hope you and your family are good, too.
I want to tell you that my first assignment as
a brand-new sergeant was in charge of a unit called
the DUI Enforcement Squad. And we had two, five officer
teams that went out and did nothing but hunt down
drunk drivers and process those that were arrested by the
(22:38):
officers on the street. And I would bet that we
process between 100 and 125 or 30 a month.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
And that unit does not exist anymore.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Why not?
Speaker 4 (22:52):
I can't tell you, but I also have a good
friend that was on the job with me that has
a relative on the job that tells him he has
not made a traffic stop in two years.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
And I think I know the answer, but tell folks why.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Well, the problem is, and I don't know this for
a fact, but only what I'm told is is that
when you make a traffic stop, you have to have
a cover car to come and verify what's what and
who's who. And that's insanity. You know, these people in
Denver have taken running a red light into just a
(23:30):
normal course of driving, normal course of business.
Speaker 7 (23:32):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
It is so reckless. And so, you know, I just
don't even go to Denver. It's crazy. And your advice
to your family to stop driving When the light turns
green and proceed with caution, that's the best advice I
could give anybody.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Amen, Chief. Yeah, and we talk about it all the
time around the dinner table. Do not go when the
light turns green. Look both ways when the light turns
green because so many people are running reds. And I
think I told you the story. I know I told
it on air of our daughter, Caroline, who was sitting
at a light. It turned green. She did not go.
And a semi blew that light at probably 75 to
(24:08):
85 miles an hour. We have it on video.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
You know, I got smacked in the police car while
I was still on duty. And I started through the intersection,
and the truck I was next to, the light turned green,
and he jammed on his brace. I thought, boy, something's wrong.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
But I didn't get stopped in time, and I got smacked. Oh, man.
And I asked the girl that was driving, I said,
what happened? She said, well, the other car spread the light,
and that's how.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
We were all going to. Oh, my Lord. You know, Chief,
one thing I've never understood is why cities, if they
say they care about their law enforcement, Why they don't
get insurance policies that would pay the officers and their
families very, very well for all these injuries they suffer
behind the wheel because they're out there doing dangerous work
(25:00):
and they get hit by drunk drivers all the time.
Police get hit by drunk drivers all the time. We
represent a bunch of them. Why don't they just buy
these big uninsured motorist policies to protect those guys and gals?
Because very often those drunks don't have much.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
I've personally been hit in a police car by three
drunk drivers. And one of them put me up on
a lady's porch. I mean, I couldn't even get out
of the car. Oh, man.
Speaker 5 (25:25):
But I don't know. I think it's a matter of priorities.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
I don't really think much of law enforcement anymore. It's
too bad. It's okay.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
But I love what I did. And I got a
quick question for you.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
I've had some challenge coins made. If I would drop
them by your office, would you accept it?
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Oh, are you kidding me, Chief? It would be a
tremendous honor. I'd love to, but just let me know
when you're going to be around, so. I'm sure I'm there.
I start a trial a week from Monday, so I'll
be in court for quite a bit. But I would
love to see it. I would really be grateful.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Well, this coin has a message that I think you'll appreciate.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Sure, I will.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
My best to your family.
Speaker 7 (26:06):
Thank you, sir.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
You too.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Thank you. Always great to hear from the chief, Chief
Jim Collier. 303-713-8255, DAN-57739. Let's go to Adam here on
the Dan Kaplan Show, 15 minutes away from Buffs kicking
off their season opener. How are you doing, Adam?
Speaker 5 (26:23):
I'm doing great. Wasn't a dream, as you would say.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Wonderful. There's plenty of room.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
So I am 100% with.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
You that we need better enforcement on the streets. I
see motorcyclists acting like fools and cars driving just like insanity.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
And I'm sure you would agree with me, the.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
the proper remedy would be that we have more law
enforcement out on the roads. Now, unfortunately, under our circumstances
right now, I don't think that's what we're going to
get anytime soon, sadly.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Right.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
And that's troublesome.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
Right.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
But the flock cameras and the rest of it, all.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
The super high-tech.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Stuff, my biggest concern on that is how does that
get reined in so it doesn't get into an overreach
situation where– people where the law enforcement agencies are able.
Speaker 5 (27:46):
To track people just for the sake of tracking them.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
What a great question, Adam. And that'll send us into
our break because it's a very legitimate concern. And the
first thing I would tell you is if we go
down this road, just like any other road we go
down to protect ourselves as a society, there will be overreach.
There will be abuse. It's part of every human process.
You look at anything you like in our city, state, nation,
(28:15):
and you can look at that entity, that system, whatever,
and you will find abuse somewhere in it. So then
the challenge for us is to minimize that as much
as possible and to enforce our constitutional rights as much
as possible. But I'll never look you in the eye
and say that anything is going to be totally devoid
of abuse. The question, big picture, obviously, for all of
(28:37):
us is, is it worth the tradeoff? Because right now,
what are the downsides of having surrendered our roadways to
the criminals? What are the downsides? You know what they are.
There are a lot of dead bodies, a lot of
broken bodies. There's a lot of danger on the roadway
every single day that we don't have to tolerate. There'll
always be some danger. It's the nature of having vehicles.
(28:58):
But we're probably tolerating right now 10 to 20 times
the danger we need to. So that's going to be
the tradeoff. And what do you think? Are you willing
to make that right now? You're on the Dan Kaplan Show.
To the criminals, if we're going to take them back,
how do we do it? I'm suggesting that it has
(29:20):
to be high-tech based for lots of different reasons that
I've laid out. Dan says a texter, southbound Santa Fe
at Dartmouth, the speed limit is 55, and two cars
just went flying by racing in and out of traffic
at about 80. Thank you, texter. We all see that
almost every day, right? I described what happened to me
this morning. but you see it almost every day. And
(29:43):
then this one. Damn drivers on cell phones are far
more dangerous than moderately excessive speeding. Every major interstate in
the country sees speeds of 75 to 100 with less
issue than texting. Let's break that down. Let's start with
the texting. It should be a felony. What I tell juries,
and I try all sorts of cases, right, where somebody
(30:05):
is killed or seriously injured somebody because they were driving blindfolded.
And that's the way I describe it to a jury
because it's true. When somebody decides, for example, to take
their eyes off the road to text and they are
still driving, they have made a decision to drive blindfolded.
(30:25):
What sane society would fail to say? that driving blindfolded
is a felony. Would you have any qualms right now
with passing a law that says if somebody decides to
put a blindfold on and drive a motor vehicle, that's
a felony? You would not hesitate to say that should
(30:46):
be a felony. So why shouldn't texting be a felony?
It is driving blindfolded. Just like first-time DUIs should be
a felony. We are directly contradicting the message here. When
we say accurately that driving while under the influence of
alcohol kills doesn't matter if it's your first time or
your thousandth driving under the instance of drugs kills. Same thing. Well,
(31:12):
if that's true and it is, then why isn't it
a felony? When we make it a misdemeanor, we're contradicting
that message and we're putting all of us in more danger.
I just don't get this.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
And I know I'm probably a little more sensitive to
it than most people because this is what I've done
for 43 years is represent victims. But you're in that
danger every day. These are equal opportunity destroyers out there.
Why do we put up with it? I don't get that.
And I think it's time to change that. I think
it's time. And the only way it's going to change
is in a big way. We know the little incremental stuff.
(31:49):
It has not worked. So I don't know where this
one came from. Dan, if you take your wife's mail
out of your mailbox, it is a felony. It was
an earlier caller saying he believes we all commit three
felonies a day or some author did. Dave, do you
think that's true? That if you take your wife's mail
out of the mailbox, say just to bring it into
the house, that it's a felony? If so, I will
(32:14):
make her get her own mail. I'm a multiple offender.
Speaker 7 (32:20):
I'm always out getting mail in different Amazon packages. So,
you know, Dan, I might use that. She can go
get her own packages, but I don't believe so.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Well, all the mail's for her. I can't remember the
last time I got anything in the mail.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
That is true.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (32:35):
As with Amazon packages.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Yeah. This one, Dan, why don't we just hold our
civil servants accountable for their actions? All the laws are
in place to hold criminals accountable. Listen, I understand we
have traffic laws in the books. Here's the problem. Law
enforcement has been undermined by the left. They're not funded
well enough. They're not supported well enough. So you have
almost no enforcement on our roadways. And it doesn't matter
(33:01):
that we have the laws on the books if we
don't have the mechanism in place first to tell all
those dangerous drivers that there's a real chance that they're
going to get caught and prosecuted if they violate the law.
Right now, they think there's no chance, and they're acting
like it. So if we use tech, and what it
would involve is essentially everything we do on our major
(33:22):
roadways is going to be recorded. And the level of
tech exists to capture plates and to follow up and
everything else, and you could adjust the laws as you
needed to to prosecute the more serious crimes. Would it
be worth that tradeoff to you for the safety for
your kids, for your spouse, for yourself? And we'll continue
(33:43):
this conversation that this is not going away. Right now,
I'm going to go out, get in the car. You're
probably in the car now. We're both going to be
in a whole lot more.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
Danger than we should be.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
It's time to take our roads back. Dave, thanks so
much for the help. Catch you tomorrow on the Dan
Kaplan Show.
Can't wait for kickoff tonight. And then CSU, very psyched
for that. Jim Morrow, one of my favorite college coaches
in the last 20 years. And they got a lot
of good things going at CSU. So you combine Jim
Morrow with that great stadium and other advantages they have
and great things ahead. So excited about that. Now on
the life and death stuff, which we tend to focus
(00:22):
on a bunch on this show, we're talking today about
something really existential to you and your family. and that is, hey,
is it time that we take our streets back, that
we take the streets back from the killers, the reckless drivers,
the drunks, the druggies, all these people who don't care
about your kid's life, let alone yours, and just say, no,
(00:45):
we are not going to surrender our streets and our safety. Now,
if we're going to do that, then it's going to
take a war. It's going to take money. It's going
to take some sacrifice. I think the only way it
can be accomplished in this era, an era where the
left in this state is controlled by the left in
most places, where the left has undermined law enforcement, the
(01:05):
only way it's going to be doable is through high tech.
And I think that tech is probably advisable even in
red states because I think it can accomplish what we
need to do to protect your kids and your family,
all of us, in a much safer and more cost-effective way.
And if you've got a better idea, great. And if
you think we should just, no, just let this be
(01:27):
the new normal. Let's have that conversation as well. I
think that's suicidal, literally, but let's have that conversation. We've
had jam lines, many, many texts on this. I want
to get to those. And listen, I get the tension.
I get the tension because nobody wants a surveillance state.
I love, one of my true joys in life is
going out on the open road and just driving, especially
(01:47):
when you get into the wide open and just driving
and And just enjoying that peace. And Amy and I
driving up to Boulder last weekend for a wedding. I
love that. I love that. But the reality of our
roadways today is they're thunderdome. They are a killing field.
And if we're not willing to take decisive steps to
(02:08):
get a grip on it, and I think we can.
I think we should all be able to agree that
when it comes to a surveillance state, okay, where do
you have a reasonable expectation of privacy? We know what
the law says, but forget the law for a second.
Where do you think you should have a reasonable expectation
of privacy? Do you think that extends to our roadways?
(02:29):
I'd love your thoughts on that, particularly if you're one
of the many people texting me. Here's one of my favorites.
Let me find this here. And I just love the
creativity of this texture. I mean that sincerely. D-A-N-5-7-7-3-9. Dan,
when the fire chief becomes the mayor, there'll be a
fire hydrant on every corner. When the lawyer becomes the mayor,
there will be surveillance camera on every corner. I don't
(02:51):
follow that one. Why would a lawyer want a surveillance camera?
I just don't follow it, but I appreciate the creativity there.
And then part of the conversation has turned to dash cams.
I don't expect that'll be controversial, but just my recommending
everybody gets one. And I want them for everybody in
our family. I'm surprised how difficult it's been to get
(03:14):
them in each of our vehicles. And you don't want
to blow up a worm to your wiring or anything else.
But I thought this shouldn't be that tough. But please
do go get one. I'm telling you, as a guy,
43 years in my job, I hope to do another
43 as representing people seriously injured or the survivors of
those killed by reckless drivers. And I'm telling you, not all,
(03:35):
of course, but there are a large number of people
who do horrible things on our roadways who then lie
about it. And it'd be so nice if you had
a dash cam and you just had everything there on tape.
My hope for you is that you never need it.
And I also think it's a great kind of self-deterrence,
just speaking for myself, and I consider myself a very
(03:56):
safe driver, but I'm still only human. And I think
that it's just a nice reminder. Got a dash cam there.
It's all on tape.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
303-713-8255, D-A-N-57739.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Texter says, Dan, how is using technology to prevent a
car from doing things any more of a loss of
freedom than a speed limit that says you can't? I
think the answer to that would be, from the folks
who don't want the tech, would be now you're being
constantly watched. Now you're being, when it's just a speed
limit sign, it's kind of the honor system because these days,
(04:33):
I don't think there's one person listening to this show
right now who really is concerned they're going to get
a ticket if they speed. unless they can just see
one of the rare speed traps up ahead. And don't
blame law enforcement for that. It's not their fault. They
want to enforce the law. It's the left that's undermining
law enforcement, underfunding, and then in other ways. But yeah,
(04:54):
so it's just the idea that, holy cow. And I mean,
think about it. And I've had to ask myself this
question as well. Is it worth it to me? Is
this trade-off worth it to me to know that hey,
if I happen to go X over the speed limit
in that particular jurisdiction and set that as the enforcement line,
(05:14):
then I'm going to get a ticket. Am I willing
to pay that price? And I am. And I am.
I'm willing to pay that price so that my kids
are safer on the roads. I'm willing to pay that
price so my wife is safer. I'm willing to pay
that price so I'm safer. And another big reason I'm
willing to pay that price, just as a man, I'm
(05:34):
not willing to sit back And surrender. And surrender our roadways.
Because you see them every day. And it's one of
the things that set me off today. You see them
every day. You see these punks out there. You see
these killers. You see these people who don't care at
all about your kids' lives. And they're just, you know,
(05:54):
doing all this crazy stuff on our roads. You see
that all the time. I don't want to surrender to them.
No sane, self-respecting society should surrender to them. I started
the show by talking about I was taking a loved
one back from Sky Ridge Hospital this morning. Fragile condition.
Driving very carefully. And then all of a sudden, and
(06:16):
this one in the afternoon, there's a lot of traffic.
All of a sudden, I get three SUVs, three of them.
They're drag racing northbound on I-25. And guess what? There's
a lot of traffic on I-25. If it was empty,
the drag racing would be dangerous. But it's not empty.
There's still drag racing going. They're not slowing down. They're
just weaving in between vehicles where there's very little to
(06:39):
no room to weave. And you know, you're seeing this
sort of thing all the time. It is out of
control out there. So you tell me, are you willing
to just accept it the way it is? And if not,
is there a better fix than what I'm talking about here?
If so, I really would love to hear it. Dan,
most new vehicles have at least one camera. Nicer cars
(07:01):
have 360 cam coverage. Why hasn't the auto industry incorporated
recording ability, SD card slot for the recording? You know,
Tesla does a great job with that. I don't have
a Tesla, but Tesla does a great job with that.
I represent a lot of people who have been in
big wrecks in a Tesla. They've been very crash worthy.
But then we get all this video. Because Tesla has
(07:23):
all this video from all these different angles. So, yeah, obviously,
you would love to see more and more vehicles have it.
And I'm not going to go down this rabbit hole,
but one of the things I had originally on the
docket for today was Ford now is intending to make
and sell 100,000, $ 30, 000 pickup trucks each year, electric, which
(07:46):
is the point of the story, why it ties in here.
And I got to tell you, I'm the guy who's
always said, I'm never getting an electric car. You know,
the roar of the engine, all of that, that's so
huge to me. And a big part of me is
still that way. But I got to tell you, my
wife's been test driving an electric car. And this thing
is amazing. I mean, and I'm a guy, I'm a
(08:08):
performance guy. I love high performing cars. I have since
I started as a, I was both a caddy and
a car parker at a country club in Chicago. And
that's how I got to drive some high-performance cars when
I would park them at night. And I know you say, well,
how hard can you drive a car when you're parking
it at night? Pretty darn hard. If you were working
(08:31):
at the country club I was, which conveniently had this very,
very long lot where late at night it would turn
into like a mini drag strip. So that's how I
kind of got hooked on performance. And so I'm all
about performance when I'm driving. And because of the kind
of work I do, safety. I'm telling you, this electric
car she's been demoing is a high performer. But, yeah,
(08:56):
the electric cars tend to have a lot of cameras,
which is cool. And I bet you Ford wins with
that strategy because you make that pickup truck affordable enough.
And I think electric cars can be made better, more
affordably in some ways. You make that affordable enough, you
(09:17):
introduce a whole lot of new people to electric, and
you may get a lot of converts just for the performance,
let alone the idea of just having a gas station
at your own house. Is this a metaphor? Dan, have
you ever stirred a little pancake syrup in your peanut butter,
you know, on a saucer? Never done that. I'm pretty
(09:40):
sure it'd be straight to ER on a blood sugar
thing with that one. Dan, I'd recommend at least getting
a basic dash cam for about $ 200. You can install
yourself and won't void any warranties. It won't be top
of line, but it will give you front and back video.
That's from Alexa. Thank you for that, Alexa. I'll look
into it. I'm still determined just to have the dealership
(10:01):
put him in on all of our cars, but that
has not gone so well for me so far. Dan,
you already know the answer. The native Coloradans have allowed
leftists to invade every part of this state. Weak men
and lovers everywhere. You know, it really... It really is
terrible the way the left has undermined law enforcement in
(10:23):
this state. And it just makes me respect everybody in
law enforcement because think about it. I mean, my dad
was a cop for 30 years in Chicago, and that
was a hard job. But back in Chicago, the mayor
loved the cops. The law-abiding people loved the cops. The
job had tremendous public respect. I was so proud going
(10:44):
to school every day. And, hey, you know, my dad's
a cop. My dad had come to get me at school.
I was so proud. That's a really big deal. And
these days, you know, cops are treated so unfairly. Politicians
would throw them under the bus in a heartbeat. Laws
are stacked against cops. I mean, it just makes you
respect even more the people who do that job. But
(11:05):
how much longer are people going to be willing to
do it? You're on the Dan Kaplan Show. But we
were calling for CU to hire Prime on this show
before it was even a dream anywhere. And thank God
he came to CU. It's been tremendous for the school.
And I hope he stays as long as he wants to.
(11:27):
He's a winner. He's won here. He will win here again. 303-713-8255, DAN-57739.
If you just joined us, talking about one of the
most important things to you that we could talk about.
And that is, are we surrendering our roadways?
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Or are we going to take them back? Because you
know right now they're a killing field. And there are
all sorts of people out there right now who do
not care if they kill your family. And are we men?
Are we women? Or are we mice? I think this
is a moment of testing for us. And I think
we can take our roadways back if we use TAC.
I think as a practical matter, the left undermines law enforcement.
(12:05):
We're not going to be able to flood the roadways
with law enforcement and have them enforced effectively. And also...
Tech's the better option because the killers, the bad guys
and gals have figured out that if they're willing to
go 110, 20, 30, 40, there's not going to be
a high-speed chase because of the danger involved in that.
(12:26):
But with tech, they can't outrun the tech. So I
do think the time has come. We have to take
back our roadways that way. Troy, you're on the Dan
Kaplan Show.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Welcome. Hey, Dan. You know, I kind of like the
idea of using tech to, you know, police, but I
get worried.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
We have flock cameras.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
We get, you know, I know where you're coming from
with distracted drivers. Alcohol and marijuana and cell phones are
just the beginning, you know. Before all that tech, it
was mom reaching over the backseat to slap the kid
for misbehaving in the backseat.
Speaker 5 (13:11):
And that hurt.
Speaker 6 (13:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
So are you familiar with three felonies a day?
Speaker 4 (13:19):
No.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Okay, so there's a book that is out there, and
it was written several years ago about how the judicial
system has become– So set up that no matter every day,
the average American is committing three felonies a day.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Oh, I don't buy that for a second, Troy. I
don't commit any felonies. Do you commit any felonies?
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Well, no. Look at the book.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
No, no, no. I don't need to see the book, Troy.
Do you commit any felonies at all? I don't commit
any felonies at all. Let alone three a day.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Have you ripped off the tag of your mattress?
Speaker 1 (14:01):
No.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Dan, you've been in the system long enough to know
that if a good prosecutor really wanted to get you,
they would find three felonies that they could apply to you.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
I never lie to my audience, so let me put
it this way. I have never intentionally ripped the tag
off my mattress. But, no, Troy, I reject that premise.
I do not commit felonies.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
Well, that gets to the point.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
No, you're missing the point. If a malicious prosecutor really
wanted to come after you, do you believe that they
could charge you with three felonies every day?
Speaker 1 (14:45):
No, I don't. Give me some examples. It sounds like
a great title to sell a book. Back it up
or pack it up, my friend, Troy. Give me some
real-world examples. Okay, so.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
As an FFL, I'll give you an example. Do you
believe that people that are smoking marijuana are purchasing firearms
in the state of Colorado?
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Do you believe that? I do. They have committed a felony.
Speaker 6 (15:13):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Interesting recent Supreme Court case on that, but okay.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
No, no.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
That's one example.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
What I'm saying is— I don't smoke marijuana.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
In current law— Okay.
Speaker 2 (15:25):
In current law, are they committing a felony?
Speaker 7 (15:27):
Yeah, Troy.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
Can we broaden this point out? Because we're getting circular now.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
I don't commit felonies.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Well, no, broaden the point out is because— No, the
broadening point I'm pointing out is because when they fill
out the 4473, the 4473 says, are you currently a
marijuana user?
Speaker 5 (15:45):
Can you apply this to.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
Our– Okay, so Dan, I think my point is if
you lie on a federal form, you've committed a felony.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Troy, can you please apply it to our roadway issue today? Well,
how does it.
Speaker 5 (15:59):
Apply to that?
Speaker 2 (15:59):
Okay, so– Well, the roadway to the issues that you
have today are that, you.
Speaker 5 (16:08):
Know, people are consuming alcohol.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
If you consume alcohol, are you impaired?
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Well, Troy, if you get to a certain level, and
I do have to hit this hard break. Listen, our
topic today is we know. Our roadways now are being
taken over by criminals. They're being taken over by reckless drivers,
by drag racers, by drunks, by druggies, and they are
(16:37):
putting your life and your family's life in danger. The
question is, are we just going to lay down and
accept that, surrender, or are we going to try to
take our roads back? And if we're going to try
to take our roads back, what's the best way? And
I've been talking about the harsh reality that probably the
only way is high-tech enforcement. If I'm missing something and
(17:00):
there's another way, tell me. I get the point that
Troy's concerned that then you may get greedy officials who
are trying to get every dollar they can out of
every driver and they start strictly enforcing the law. That
is a legitimate concern. So my question to you is,
if it got to that extreme.
(17:23):
Would it be worth it to you? Would the trade-off
be worth it to you that your children are going
to be measurably safer on the roadway, your wife, yourself?
Would that be worth it to you? You tell me.
You're on the Dan Kaplan Show.
Speaker 6 (17:42):
And I suggest respectfully that the soft instruction that you
gave them saying at the sidebar, can you listen to
the law as I instruct you, does not focus on
the issue. It is the question is not sufficient enough.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
This is so interesting. And, you know, I don't do
criminal law. I do catastrophic injury and death cases for victims.
But I've covered a lot of big criminal cases in
America and I've covered them on national TV. And I
have a pretty good instinct, I think, for these criminal
law issues and trials. And I've never seen anything like
this where it's clear now from the note sent to
the judge that, You've got 11 out of 12 jurors
(18:21):
who want to acquit the woman who strangled her three
kids to death. And then the defense is that she
couldn't form the requisite intent. You know, she was out
of her mind because of postpartum depression. And I'm not
second guessing any jury. I didn't watch that trial. I
haven't been in the courtroom. But you got this one holdout.
(18:42):
So now you've got the foreperson apparently telling the court
that the holdout is will not follow the law on
the reasonable doubt instruction. Now, you've got two different things
going here. If you've got the person holding out because
they understand the law, they're applying the law, and they
(19:02):
reach a different conclusion, that's one thing. If you've got
a holdout who's saying, oh, no, I understand this instruction
is the law on reasonable doubt, but I'm just not
willing to follow it, Then you've got another thing, and
that chair is going to get removed. And at that point,
there would be an acquittal. So it'll be interesting to
see what happens in the morning there. 303-713-8255. Maria Bartiromo
(19:28):
out at Fox. One of her all-time fun interviews was
of Maria Bartiromo. Let me ask the boss, who's helping
out today, because we've got producers all over the country now,
including Shannon, who's off with the sea of buffs tonight.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Boss.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Do we have archives? And if so, how far back
do they go? Like, could I go pull up our
Maria Bartiri? interview from 15 years ago? No, not anymore.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Really?
Speaker 5 (19:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (19:54):
I mean, all these servers and, you know, they don't
like to stuff things up. Not that I would stuff
it up. I'm sure it's incredibly worth saving. But no,
that's a deep hole.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Or the shootout I had with Bill Maher on this show.
Could we? Pull that up. That's probably 10 years ago.
Speaker 7 (20:11):
No. However, I would recommend to all young broadcasters like yourself, Dan,
that is audio you should save yourself. Never trust a
station to save things appropriately.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
You've been in this business a long time. Pretty busy
at that time. How about Ellen Dershowitz? Because we blew
out spots for an hour because he and I were
going at it so hard. But that was probably 20
years ago.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
So no ruck.
Speaker 7 (20:35):
These are incredible moments and very tough lessons for young
broadcasters to know.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
They'd never trust a station to save your great material.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
Unfortunately, that is not the case. But those sound like
excellent moments. I wish you did have them.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Over my next 30 years, I'll save them all.
Speaker 7 (20:50):
Yeah, starting now.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
Starting now. That's right. For your next big step. My
next 30 years.
Speaker 7 (20:55):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
Me and Tim McGraw. Yeah. That was a great Tim
McGraw song, my next 30 years. 303-713-8255, D-A-N-5-7-7-3-9. You know,
and I don't mean to be presumptuous. As Chris Berman said,
we're all day-to-day, minute-to-minute. I'm grateful for every day I
have on this planet. But I'm sitting here right now
feeling like I'd love to go another 30. I think
(21:18):
management's sitting there thinking, another 30 minutes? Yeah, maybe we
could do that. All righty. Ted, great calls all day.
We're talking about something so near and dear to you.
And that is, are we going to keep surrendering our
roadways the way we have? Because, you know, we have surrendered.
Don't blame the cops. It's not their fault. It's the
fault of the politicians who undermine the cops. But the
roadways have been surrendered. And the bad guys and gals
(21:41):
have no fear of enforcement. And they run the roadways.
And they're killing a lot of innocent people and terrorizing
a lot of innocent people. And are we going to
fight back and take them back? If so, how? And
I suggest it can only be done to the max
with high-tech enforcement. So that's where the conversation has started.
Let's work in Jim. Jim tells us retired law enforcement.
(22:03):
You're on the Dan Kaplan Show. Welcome, Jim. Well, Dan, hi.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
It's Jim Collier. The chief.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
Former chief. Well, thank you, sir. It's an honor. How
are you?
Speaker 4 (22:15):
I'm well, sir. I hope you and your family are good, too.
I want to tell you that my first assignment as
a brand-new sergeant was in charge of a unit called
the DUI Enforcement Squad. And we had two, five officer
teams that went out and did nothing but hunt down
drunk drivers and process those that were arrested by the
(22:38):
officers on the street. And I would bet that we
process between 100 and 125 or 30 a month.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
And that unit does not exist anymore.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Why not?
Speaker 4 (22:52):
I can't tell you, but I also have a good
friend that was on the job with me that has
a relative on the job that tells him he has
not made a traffic stop in two years.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
And I think I know the answer, but tell folks why.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Well, the problem is, and I don't know this for
a fact, but only what I'm told is is that
when you make a traffic stop, you have to have
a cover car to come and verify what's what and
who's who. And that's insanity. You know, these people in
Denver have taken running a red light into just a
(23:30):
normal course of driving, normal course of business.
Speaker 7 (23:32):
That's right.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
It is so reckless. And so, you know, I just
don't even go to Denver. It's crazy. And your advice
to your family to stop driving When the light turns
green and proceed with caution, that's the best advice I
could give anybody.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
Amen, Chief. Yeah, and we talk about it all the
time around the dinner table. Do not go when the
light turns green. Look both ways when the light turns
green because so many people are running reds. And I
think I told you the story. I know I told
it on air of our daughter, Caroline, who was sitting
at a light. It turned green. She did not go.
And a semi blew that light at probably 75 to
(24:08):
85 miles an hour. We have it on video.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
You know, I got smacked in the police car while
I was still on duty. And I started through the intersection,
and the truck I was next to, the light turned green,
and he jammed on his brace. I thought, boy, something's wrong.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:26):
But I didn't get stopped in time, and I got smacked. Oh, man.
And I asked the girl that was driving, I said,
what happened? She said, well, the other car spread the light,
and that's how.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
We were all going to. Oh, my Lord. You know, Chief,
one thing I've never understood is why cities, if they
say they care about their law enforcement, Why they don't
get insurance policies that would pay the officers and their
families very, very well for all these injuries they suffer
behind the wheel because they're out there doing dangerous work
(25:00):
and they get hit by drunk drivers all the time.
Police get hit by drunk drivers all the time. We
represent a bunch of them. Why don't they just buy
these big uninsured motorist policies to protect those guys and gals?
Because very often those drunks don't have much.
Speaker 4 (25:15):
I've personally been hit in a police car by three
drunk drivers. And one of them put me up on
a lady's porch. I mean, I couldn't even get out
of the car. Oh, man.
Speaker 5 (25:25):
But I don't know. I think it's a matter of priorities.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
I don't really think much of law enforcement anymore. It's
too bad. It's okay.
Speaker 5 (25:35):
But I love what I did. And I got a
quick question for you.
Speaker 4 (25:38):
I've had some challenge coins made. If I would drop
them by your office, would you accept it?
Speaker 1 (25:43):
Oh, are you kidding me, Chief? It would be a
tremendous honor. I'd love to, but just let me know
when you're going to be around, so. I'm sure I'm there.
I start a trial a week from Monday, so I'll
be in court for quite a bit. But I would
love to see it. I would really be grateful.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Well, this coin has a message that I think you'll appreciate.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
Sure, I will.
Speaker 4 (26:03):
My best to your family.
Speaker 7 (26:06):
Thank you, sir.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
You too.
Speaker 1 (26:07):
Thank you. Always great to hear from the chief, Chief
Jim Collier. 303-713-8255, DAN-57739. Let's go to Adam here on
the Dan Kaplan Show, 15 minutes away from Buffs kicking
off their season opener. How are you doing, Adam?
Speaker 5 (26:23):
I'm doing great. Wasn't a dream, as you would say.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Wonderful. There's plenty of room.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
So I am 100% with.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
You that we need better enforcement on the streets. I
see motorcyclists acting like fools and cars driving just like insanity.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
And I'm sure you would agree with me, the.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
the proper remedy would be that we have more law
enforcement out on the roads. Now, unfortunately, under our circumstances
right now, I don't think that's what we're going to
get anytime soon, sadly.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Right.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
And that's troublesome.
Speaker 6 (27:15):
Right.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
But the flock cameras and the rest of it, all.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
The super high-tech.
Speaker 3 (27:27):
Stuff, my biggest concern on that is how does that
get reined in so it doesn't get into an overreach
situation where– people where the law enforcement agencies are able.
Speaker 5 (27:46):
To track people just for the sake of tracking them.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
What a great question, Adam. And that'll send us into
our break because it's a very legitimate concern. And the
first thing I would tell you is if we go
down this road, just like any other road we go
down to protect ourselves as a society, there will be overreach.
There will be abuse. It's part of every human process.
You look at anything you like in our city, state, nation,
(28:15):
and you can look at that entity, that system, whatever,
and you will find abuse somewhere in it. So then
the challenge for us is to minimize that as much
as possible and to enforce our constitutional rights as much
as possible. But I'll never look you in the eye
and say that anything is going to be totally devoid
of abuse. The question, big picture, obviously, for all of
(28:37):
us is, is it worth the tradeoff? Because right now,
what are the downsides of having surrendered our roadways to
the criminals? What are the downsides? You know what they are.
There are a lot of dead bodies, a lot of
broken bodies. There's a lot of danger on the roadway
every single day that we don't have to tolerate. There'll
always be some danger. It's the nature of having vehicles.
(28:58):
But we're probably tolerating right now 10 to 20 times
the danger we need to. So that's going to be
the tradeoff. And what do you think? Are you willing
to make that right now? You're on the Dan Kaplan Show.
To the criminals, if we're going to take them back,
how do we do it? I'm suggesting that it has
(29:20):
to be high-tech based for lots of different reasons that
I've laid out. Dan says a texter, southbound Santa Fe
at Dartmouth, the speed limit is 55, and two cars
just went flying by racing in and out of traffic
at about 80. Thank you, texter. We all see that
almost every day, right? I described what happened to me
this morning. but you see it almost every day. And
(29:43):
then this one. Damn drivers on cell phones are far
more dangerous than moderately excessive speeding. Every major interstate in
the country sees speeds of 75 to 100 with less
issue than texting. Let's break that down. Let's start with
the texting. It should be a felony. What I tell juries,
and I try all sorts of cases, right, where somebody
(30:05):
is killed or seriously injured somebody because they were driving blindfolded.
And that's the way I describe it to a jury
because it's true. When somebody decides, for example, to take
their eyes off the road to text and they are
still driving, they have made a decision to drive blindfolded.
(30:25):
What sane society would fail to say? that driving blindfolded
is a felony. Would you have any qualms right now
with passing a law that says if somebody decides to
put a blindfold on and drive a motor vehicle, that's
a felony? You would not hesitate to say that should
(30:46):
be a felony. So why shouldn't texting be a felony?
It is driving blindfolded. Just like first-time DUIs should be
a felony. We are directly contradicting the message here. When
we say accurately that driving while under the influence of
alcohol kills doesn't matter if it's your first time or
your thousandth driving under the instance of drugs kills. Same thing. Well,
(31:12):
if that's true and it is, then why isn't it
a felony? When we make it a misdemeanor, we're contradicting
that message and we're putting all of us in more danger.
I just don't get this.
Speaker 4 (31:25):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
And I know I'm probably a little more sensitive to
it than most people because this is what I've done
for 43 years is represent victims. But you're in that
danger every day. These are equal opportunity destroyers out there.
Why do we put up with it? I don't get that.
And I think it's time to change that. I think
it's time. And the only way it's going to change
is in a big way. We know the little incremental stuff.
(31:49):
It has not worked. So I don't know where this
one came from. Dan, if you take your wife's mail
out of your mailbox, it is a felony. It was
an earlier caller saying he believes we all commit three
felonies a day or some author did. Dave, do you
think that's true? That if you take your wife's mail
out of the mailbox, say just to bring it into
the house, that it's a felony? If so, I will
(32:14):
make her get her own mail. I'm a multiple offender.
Speaker 7 (32:20):
I'm always out getting mail in different Amazon packages. So,
you know, Dan, I might use that. She can go
get her own packages, but I don't believe so.
Speaker 1 (32:28):
Well, all the mail's for her. I can't remember the
last time I got anything in the mail.
Speaker 4 (32:33):
That is true.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (32:35):
As with Amazon packages.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Yeah. This one, Dan, why don't we just hold our
civil servants accountable for their actions? All the laws are
in place to hold criminals accountable. Listen, I understand we
have traffic laws in the books. Here's the problem. Law
enforcement has been undermined by the left. They're not funded
well enough. They're not supported well enough. So you have
almost no enforcement on our roadways. And it doesn't matter
(33:01):
that we have the laws on the books if we
don't have the mechanism in place first to tell all
those dangerous drivers that there's a real chance that they're
going to get caught and prosecuted if they violate the law.
Right now, they think there's no chance, and they're acting
like it. So if we use tech, and what it
would involve is essentially everything we do on our major
(33:22):
roadways is going to be recorded. And the level of
tech exists to capture plates and to follow up and
everything else, and you could adjust the laws as you
needed to to prosecute the more serious crimes. Would it
be worth that tradeoff to you for the safety for
your kids, for your spouse, for yourself? And we'll continue
(33:43):
this conversation that this is not going away. Right now,
I'm going to go out, get in the car. You're
probably in the car now. We're both going to be
in a whole lot more.
Speaker 5 (33:51):
Danger than we should be.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
It's time to take our roads back. Dave, thanks so
much for the help. Catch you tomorrow on the Dan
Kaplan Show.
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