Stopping to help others on the road

I was about to say you left something out by not having "Never stop to help" when I remembered I did stop to help a guy in the city last week. He needed a jump and I have cables in my truck, so I helped him out.

I do have to admit though that I don't stop to help people like I did 10 years ago. I haven't gotten any younger, and the state of our society hasn't gotten any better.

I would stop in all of these situations, but depending on the feeling I get once I check it out,may not get out of the car.

With the caddy parked on a rural road 2 things come to mind. living in this area it is likely that it would be a drug deal, or someone smoking pot, I would not get out, but I would pull up and see if they needed help, or were just up to no good.
Same kind of responce in the inner city situation, stop, asses the situation, then make my decision.

I'm willing to help anyone who actually needs it, but try not to put myself or the ones riding with me at risk in the process.

I'm with Grandpa. Almost never stop. Societal risks have got to high.

In my younger, more innocent days, I was more likely to stop for all but the inner city.

Paul

I stopped and helped a woman (20...25 years old???) who had a flat not to long ago. I would almost always help a woman who is stranded because a: I was raised that way and b: I would hope someone would be kind enough to help my wife in the event I could not get there. I would also help an older person (60's or older) because I was taught to respect my elders. I realize that in this day and age even those choices could get me in trouble but at the end of the day I would rather go through life looking for the good in people and defending myself if needed instead of going through life refusing to be a victim and becoming an old recluse that has passed most of life and it's lessons by just to keep out of harms way.

The poll options just don't quite fit my criteria.

I'll usually stop & help - IF I am armed, AND nothing seems fishy (that's as far as that can be described), AND nobody else is with me (don't want distractions, hostages, etc.).

I've been helped enough that I need to return the favor.

i dont stop
if it looks to be an emergency (or overly shady) i may call and report it to the local police so they can respond and assist (or inspect)

If it looks like an emergency, I will call the police. I pay their salaries, may as well put them to work.

Funny thread! Today I was on the beltway and passed a new Ferrari with a HUGE Black guy decked out like a pimp standing beside the car. I kept going.

I stop if it looks like I can help. I was pulled out of a snowbank this past winter. Many people stopped to help me.

I returned the favor by stopping to help two other people that were in snow banks. If it does not look like a set-up, I will stop.

My wife and I stopped to pick up a poor woman that had just gotten out of her vehicle and started to walk up the interstate. She was middle-aged, alone, and obviously not a threat. If it was a carload of gang bangers, I would probably go by.

Ever hear of Verna Stafford? http://markgribben.com/?p=217

In a rural area, I would almost always stop unless it looked like they had the situation under control.

In the city, well - almost everyone has a cellphone now. But out here where I am, cellphone service is very spotty or non-existent.

Country folk usually stop to help. The next car might be an hour or two or more

In some situations I stop, but I have to have a good feeling about it. I look around. If it's an older person or a young girl or a family I will stop. (Don't get the wrong idea on the young girl, I just know I won't hurt her and I don't know if the next person that passes by may) But I take in the area. For instance, is the car parked near bushes that someone could be hiding in? Are the windows tinted extremely dark and could hide an unknown inside the car. I'm one of the people who feel extremely guilty for not stopping. I've stopped at wrecks several times. I'm a mechanic, so I can help 9 times out of 10 or at least let them know that it can't be fixed on the side of the road. For example, Me and a guy I work with were on the way out of town for a job and noticed a young girl on the side of the road with a flat. She was trying to jack the car up. We got out to help and I looked at where she was jacking the car up at. She had the jack underneath the brake line that happened to run down the frame. So I moved the jack and changed the tire for her. I asked her where she was going and it was about 6 hours from where we were. I told her to stop and get her tire repaired first because the small spare tire wouldn't last(it already had considerable wear on it from previous use). She said thanks and we were on our way. She seemed like a nice young lady, but I truely feared for her safety. She was probably around 17 years old and was good looking, but she was wearing really skimpy clothes. I mean REALLY skimpy. I felt like we did a good thing that day, because I don't know what would have happened to her if someone with less morals would have stopped. Anyway, like I said I try to help people, but I need to feel good about it. I trust my instincts. Now, I have talked to my wife about what to do if she has a flat on the side of the road. First, call me. If I'm offshore call my dad or hers. If she can't get one of us, call my good friend. Pull over to the side of the road and wait. Make sure you are way out of the flow of traffic. Keep the engine running and put it in 4 wheel drive. If someone stops, wave them off. If they persist, drive away from them. I don't care what damage it does to the vehicle. I have a whole extra set of tires and rims. If she has a flat on a long road with very little traffic, I told her to put it in 4 wheel drive and go (slowly)until she reaches a populated area. My wife is a very smart person, just not strong enough to break the lugnuts loose. If she has engine problems, lock the doors and wave people off. Don't roll down the windows and don't get out. I know this sounds a bit paranoid, but I don't want to and couldn't go through the loss of her or my children.


Btw, One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was when our area got hit by a hurricane. Everyone was trying to leave town and alot of people were breaking down and running out of gas. It hurt my heart to keep driving past these people with their whole families sitting on the side of the road. But there was already reports of car theft and I had my family with me. There was no stations anywhere around us that had gas and most of the parts stores were boarded up and closed. (I had 6-5gallon gas cans full and a full tank) But I knew that if I stopped I would be endangering my family. It was truely a sad day for me.

if i stop to talk to someone, i keep my doors locked and leave my windows up 3/4 so i can talk to them. i'm not saying that i wouldn't park and get out. but mostly not.

I stop if they meet more than one of these criteria.

Is the person young?
Are the tires visibly flat or are there visible car problems?
Are they female?
Are they white? (yes, I know that sounds racist but we have a lot of trouble with the natives up here almost exclusively)
Is the weather poor?
Are there kids in the car?

If so, then, yes I stop

If they....
Have a cell phone to their head.
Have no visible car troubles
Have more than one person in the vehicle

Then I don't stop

I won't stop on a description of a vehicle.

If I can see the people I will stop if they seem reasonable.

I will sometimes stop.
Last winter we were in the middle of a blizzard and I saw hazzard lights in the ditch which woudnt have surprised me because the roads were bad. the thing that caught my attention was that they were vertical. I figured someone was in big trouble so I stopped. Me and a friend helped get a man, woman and very small baby out of the car and once they were all out we got in my truck to keep warm while the HP took their sweet time getting out there. Everyone made it out ok so I was happy.

I never even once thought about them being a threat. I could see from the situation that they were obviously in need of some assistance so i helped without a second thought.

I know it was a bit rash but things could have gone alot differently if i hadnt stopped. And I wouldn't have been able to sleep well If i had heard that three people had frozen to death when I could have helped them.

My favorite "stop" was about a year ago, along I-5 right along the hill next to Boeing Field on the south side of Seattle. I saw a guy standing next to a Honda CB-750 SOHC from the mid 70s. I like old bikes, own a few, and know that one. I got off at the next exit, circled all the way back (10 minutes), then pulled up behind him to shield him. It was late, dark, and another biker on a cool bike deserved attention.

He said he had an ignition problem, and was calling a tow truck. I asked him how he knew that, and he said it was because he bought the bike the week before, it had been hard to start each day, and was told the ignition was modified. I looked it over, and it was clear it had aftermarket coils and an electronic igntiion, but nothing crazy. I asked to try to start it, and heard it was clearly out of fuel. I rocked the tank and check the petcock, and it had been on "R." I asked him about that and he insisted he thought it was OK on fuel.

I got him to promise NOT to call a to truck until I got back. I went to the next exit, pulled into a 7-11, bought 2 liters of sprite, poured it out and put 2 liters of gas into the container. Drove the circuit back to him, put the gas in, and started his bike. He about melted - in embarrassment and thanks. He offered me his business card (owned a surf and clothing shop on the beach), and told me to come by and get whatever I wanted. I of course never did - you just do good where you can and you know you can - on a busy expressway, rural road, or downtown, at night - do your best.

If it's something I can help with, like getting a car unstuck in snow, I usually stop. I don't know much about cars other than how to change a flat or fill up fluids, so if there is a real break down, I can't do much other than stand there and offer my cell phone if they don't have one.

My rule.

I go by a personal rule that doesn't fit in any of your categories. I'll stop and assist if there are kids with them. An adult is capable of waiting around until a HWY patrol cruises around or the tow truck they called on their cell phone. Kids get antsy quickly and I'll help the parents stay sane by getting them back on the road if I can.

Last time I pulled over to help it was a motorhome on the side of the road with a couple kids running around and dad had his head stuck under the hood, steam rolling around him. Hoseclamp had come loose, spewing coolant all over. He'd fixed the clamp, but no coolant to get back up and running. I'd just happened to have changed the waterpump in my truck and had a few gallons behind the seat "just in case". I'd like to think it went to a good cause.

I'll stop in a handful of circumstances.

If I am out in the middle of nowhere, I will give a person a ride.

I will stop almost always in a city if I have someone with me, and I don't have a scheduled time or place to be.

I will sometimes stop in the city alone based on my assessment of the situation.

Always if there looks like injuries.

Always in bad weather.

Never if that little voice gives me a warning. I'll call the local tow or police for them though.

I did forget one thing. It's the desert here. In the summer, we've donated the drinks in our cooler to stranded families before, who were waiting for tow trucks. We always carry plenty extra (it's the desert), and some people don't carry enough (they forget it's the desert).

It's called situational awareness

Each senario can be a yes / no depends...

I will always slow and look whenever I see a breakdown, and my response can be anything from a stop and help, to someone you dial a 911 on and speed up to get distance from.

The old car in the city for example could be a 80 year old lady or your kid with a friend, so you need to at least look and decide what to do.

My husband stopped last year for an elderly woman whose car had broken down in a rural area. She was walking slowly on a narrow two-lane road with no shoulders and had gotten about 100 feet from the car. The next town was five miles up the road. Yeah, she got a lift.