People who don't stop to help!

This morning on my way into work there is a car accident right in front of me. The car rear ends an 18 wheeler going approximately 40mph at an intersection and it looks pretty bad so I pull over to the side of the road and run back to the car and I see a lady and her baby (thankfully in a car seat) and I call 911.
From the time it took me to pull over and get out of my car I saw at least 5 other vehicles drive by without stopping.

Why not just stop and see if there's anything they can do to help? What if I didn't have a phone to call 911?

It makes me sad for humanity sometimes. I am just thankful that no one was seriously hurt.

nobody trusts anybody anymore (double negative??) ....

Sign O' The Times

When I lived in North Dakota for the military, the state had a law that you could be ticketed if you were caught not stopping to help a stranded person

hard to use but good idea

-Kyo

I live on the third floor of a busy street so i am used to the occasional argument or loud discussions what have you.
One day i was lying in bed and i heard an argument going on outside but i didnt think much of it, then as my mind is off in book world i notice that the argument has turned to level much more frantic than just an argument.
I booked it to my window and looked out and some guy in a construction vest (no offence construction guys im not stereotyping ya) anyway this guy in a construction vest was tossing this woman around. Took me a second to register it and as i was pulling out my window i heard a HUUUUGGGGEEEE screeeeetttcchhhhhh. I look back out the window and some guy had slammed on the breaks in his giant SUV and he came storming out with a bat.
He was screaming "Get the ____ away form her, i mean it, thats a lady man ill ______ smack ya." and he put the woman in his car and drove off.
I was flabergasted, the guy he chased away was massive and this looked like an asnwer the phone kinda guy 9-5. He could have drove by but he made the choice to stop and put himself in harms way (i live in a rough area)
I immediatly went to my mirror and wrote the only quote that has stayed up the whole time.
"In the world that i wanna live in, we stop the car."

reply to post by Hack28


Thats ironic you have that story.
The last time I helped a woman from being abused physically the guy stormed my apartment and I had to beat him with a baseball bat.
Thankfully the guy was under investigation for spousal abuse so the cops were really easy with me...I never even got charged and was never put in handcuffs.
It also helped that he ran inside my apartment...thats fair game to use reasonable force.
They said if I would have continued after he was on the ground then that would have been another story.

Would I do it again??
Absolutely.

As for the OP
We are living in the me me me generation where alot of people only think of themselves.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


I blame with peoples lifes being to much a race, race to work race home. Its like a trance.
People are scared to stop their life incase they loose their jobs and nice warm feeling of not caring.

If i saw a situation i hope i would stop and help in anyway i can.
I'll only know on the day....

Originally posted by Hack28
"In the world that i wanna live in, we stop the car."

That's a great story and an awesome quote.

reply to post by DrumsRfun


I also get a kick out of the fact the were both canadian, had we been furhter south im sure we could replace the bats for guns. I have a bat in my car, bats are hilarious.
Seriously though your the man for sticking up for a woman, like Cyrus once said men who abuse women are somewhere between a cockroach and that white substance you get in the corner of your mouth when your really thirsty.

It could be, that the people saw there was already someone there helping, calling, so figured it was handled?

Just a thought to throw out there. Personally, I stop if I don't see the person on the phone, or somebody else isn't already stopped....

But, my distrust of humanity does find me armed with a stun gun (which looks stealthily like a cell phone, 1 million volts...), when I approach...just in case...

reply to post by Hack28


Believe it or not it gets weirder.
That was the second time in my life I used a bat to beat someone abusing women.
The first time landed me in jail but in the end I beat the charges.
I beat someone who raped a friend of mine and I went too far.
She was too scared to press charges so he got away with it.I didn't

Part 2 of my experience is he came back a few months later.Thankfully I wasn't here.
He came back with a gun and pulled it out in front of a few people in my building and they called the cops on him.
They caught him running down an alley but he ditched the gun by the time they got him.He was out the next day as usual.

Basically he came back to get some of his belongings but was scared I was gonna beat him again so he brought it for protection.

I agree with you tho...if I had a gun he would have been dead and possibly so would I.

When it comes to letting the police do their jobs...sometimes I prefer my way.Their little investigation did nothing to stop what was happening and i think even they were happy about it.
The girl was covered in bruises and some the size of a basketball.
She had a small mark across the bridge of her nose that looked like a piece of shoe tred.

I will say it again.
Would i do it again??
Absolutely...sometimes the law is the biggest crackhead I have ever seen.

In the end I take my hat off to the police for telling me to correct what I just said by saying the right thing which they worded for me so they had no reason to charge me.
With a prior conviction for an assualt with a weapon (baseball bat) that could have gone VERY badly.
It seems even they knew it was the right thing to do.
I also didn't go as far as i did the last time and the difference was he ran in my apt...the other time I invited the guy over and locked the door and had my way with him.
Thankfully the police saw the difference.

Sorry if this is too much information.
Thats my experience.

reply to post by Gazrok


welldone i would do the samething.

some times jail and karma is not enough.

lets hope i never need to do anything like what you did, but i would.

EDIT: Should be a reply to the above poster...

[edit on 21-1-2010 by Gazrok]

reply to post by DrumsRfun


Not at all!!
Cops are people too and they hateee Rapists, as do criminals its a weird sub hierachy for criminals. Bottom anything against kids and just above them rapists, they have a rough go in prison.
I respect you in fact for having the testicular fortitude to do something in vengeance.
Im from a woman dominated family so im inheritanly protective of women, and most of my friends are females. If anyone ever touched any of them seriously like that id loose my mind. Normal things have occured like fights and i took a football helmet to some guys head for a bit but ive never had anyone in my life been sexually assualted. Id loose it.
Im glad you didnt get charged, i vote for good guy of the year!

Originally posted by thecrow001
If i saw a situation i hope i would stop and help in anyway i can.
I'll only know on the day....

In retrospect I had the same thoughts. You honestly never know how you will react until it happens to you. I'm relieved that my automatic reaction was to stop when just driving on could have been the easier solution.

reply to post by Anjin


I think i would have the right reaction, even if its out your way and a hassle i think if that was me would i want a person to come and see me or drive on by.

Karma karma karma

The people who didn't stop to help could've been considering liability issues. I've heard of people suing people who stopped to help them because, in doing so, they made the situation worse. Cold thing to do, in my opinion, but you are legally responsible for any damage you cause, even when rendering aid.


TA

[edit on 21-1-2010 by TheAssociate]

I am one of the few officers in my area who will stop to check on someone off duty, all of the others are worried about getting sued as has happened in the past.

Secure

Originally posted by Signals
nobody trusts anybody anymore (double negative??) ....

Sign O' The Times

'
It's because of ...

Idiot Judges
Moronic Lawyers
Imbecilic Juries

Supposedly there are 'good Samaritan' laws protecting helpers, but that doesn't prevent $$$ hungry lawyers from convincing 'victims' to sue everybody who was involved with the accident, even if the were only trying to help.

Originally posted by wookiee
Supposedly there are 'good Samaritan' laws protecting helpers, but that doesn't prevent $$$ hungry lawyers from convincing 'victims' to sue everybody who was involved with the accident, even if the were only trying to help.

This especially applies to off duty emergency services personnel.


Secure

reply to post by xXxtremelySecure


What state are you in? My ex a retired Fire Chief was on duty basically 24/7, when he was a Firefighter and Paramedic he had to stop at a scene of an accident when off duty, my children and myself were with him a couple of times, in both cases the victims would have more than likely died if we hadn't stopped as the cars caught on fire in both cases and the people trapped and he pulled them out.

Godd for you xXxtremelySecure, great handle for you.

reply to post by Aquarius1


I live in VA, I still stop to check on people if they are on the side of the road or have their hazard lights on but most of the other officers write it off as a bad rookie habit...

Secure