Forum menu
It's not just cyclists.
Once, the vehicle that I was following was hit, head on, by a car coming the other way, which had swerved across the road.
It was a real mess, and the driver of the swerving car was bleeding heavily, and trapped in the car. The driver of the car that I'd been following, got out of the car herself, but sat on the floor, leaning against her car.
I made sure she was (relatively) ok, before going to comfort the other driver until the emergency services arrived.
Luckily, it was only a 2 minute drive from the Police depot in Goldstone, so help was there pretty quickly.
During the whole time, I was the only person, out of the dozens of vehicles halted by the incident, who got out to help.
When the police started taking statements, it turned out that the driver of the car behind the swerving car was a nurse - who just sat there and did nothing
Serious WTF moment.
.
Genuine question.
Is part of this to do with the fear of liability? The sort of "what if I help and it all goes wrong?"
Or is it that people just freeze in the moment, they're completely clueless - no training in any sort of "crisis management"?
Possibly a fear that it's some kind of prank or crime against them? Everyone has seen the social media posts about not stopping to help a lone person on a back road in case a dozen blokes jump out of the dark and mug you - is that a factor?
Or is it just many people really are genuinely too selfish to care about anyone else?
I don't know myself, be interesting to find out. The only time I've ever experienced something similar was when I hit a pedestrian in Deansgate - she ran straight out in front of me without looking. I was sent flying; she got up, looked at me lying on the floor and ****ed off sharpish. No-one cared about me lying there, no-one came to help me up or pick up the bike...
As a counter to the OP I had a better experience. Going down a hill on the road bike, front blows out straight on to the rim, I wobble but eventually high side at 30mph and slide down the road. Driver behind stopped as did others rang ambulance and then local took the bike in and gave me a blanket, people waited with me for 40 mins until the local police driving by stopped and took over until the ambulance turned up.
Some people drive by, some don't. Some will go out of their way to help someone in trouble some won't.
Or is it that people just freeze in the moment, they’re completely clueless – no training in any sort of “crisis management”?
It's this. What Iain Banks referred to as an OCP - Outside Context Problem. Something that happens that is not part of what you can deal with from your own experience, so you just don't know what to do and ignore it.
The people who stop and help will probably people who've been called on in their jobs or lives to step in and take control of situations - not necessarily emergencies but even professional situations. I see it at work - a room full of people going 'er, dunno what to do' or staring at their phones, then someone stands up and goes 'right, this is what we're going to do'.
Is part of this to do with the fear of liability? The sort of “what if I help and it all goes wrong?”
There is generally some variation of the Good Samaritan laws that cover that, so I can't really see it.
in their jobs or lives to step in and take control of situations – not necessarily emergencies but even professional situations
It's more about personality. Both the empathy, or whatever you ean to call it, and calmness to see what needs doing and do it, even if you don't know what to do.
I'm 4 for 4 on CPR, first occasion was when I was a teenager. There is no amount of training or lateral experience that can truly prepare you for that. You just do it.
It’s more about personality. Both the empathy, or whatever you ean to call it, and calmness to see what needs doing and do it, even if you don’t know what to do.
Yeah, true, people who tend towards sorting things out and stepping in end up doing it for work, which reinforces the situation. Several times as a youth, say 18 years old I found myself struggling to know what to do in admittedly minor situations. Some woman in the station dropped a load of shopping, and we just sort of stood there unsure if she'd want the help or would rather us stay out of her business. She angrily informed us that it was the former in the end, but it takes experience sometimes.
18 years old I found myself struggling to know what to do in admittedly minor situations
As you say wxperience. Also people have different degrees of confidence/ comfort/ outgoingingness, for lack of a better word, to offer help whenever and to not be affected if you get told to bugger off. I certainly had that more and younger than most of my mates and I think as you do more in life you develop more.
On my commute into London a few years ago I came into a roundabout in Richmond Park with a bit too much speed. It had rained briefly following a long dry spell. Bike slid out and I hit my head on the deck (very grateful for the helmet that day). Picked myself up and walked to the side of the road and a lovely lady who had been behind me pulled over in her car to ask if I was OK. Yes, this was in London. Restored my faith in the human race.
There are both good people and inconsiderate people out there and they use all forms of transport.
IME people have always come to my aid after a crash. Once knocked myself unconscious in Epping Forest and two kindly ladies lay a blanket over me and waited until the ambulance came. They even took my bike home with them so I could pick it up after leaving hospital.
On the other hand a client of mine told me the reason he was late for his appointment was because he had helped an old man who had tripped and smashed his face up while crossing the road at a crossing. The two cars in front of my client had simply driven round the Poor old chap while he lay bleeding on the road!
It's funny how up in arms some people on here get about stereotyping, yet they find it perfectly OK to stereotype all drivers as selfish [insert pejorative noun].
JP
My last two crashes whilst commuting on the road have resulted in drivers stopping and asking if I was ok. The first was a heavy tumble on the tram tracks here in Sheffield. The woman driving behind me actually pulled over to see how I was, even offering a lift to minor injuries.
The second was on a roundabout, and a bloke slowed right down, asked if I was ok. I told him I was fine and he went on his way.
They aren't all shit.
Genuine question.
Is part of this to do with the fear of liability?
In the case of the nurse in the post above yours probably yes. there is a myth built up around this that makes nurses frightened to intervene. Its complete bollox but its a pervasive myth
A nurse friend of mine did step in when a lad crashed a moped in London as she was driving home.
He had a bad head injury and died in her arms.
I know for sure that all my nurse friends would have done the same. Does it make any difference that they are all Irish though?
Some nurses do not buy the myth and some have enough morals to ignore it.
I stop if I see someone injured. Always. You can actually get into serious professional bother if you do not. However this myth exists that if you intervene and the person dies or is left with a injury you could be sued. Its utter bolloxs but for some weird reason it persists and I have heard nurse tutors spreading it.
Agreed
Car crash outside my house . 3 dead , rushed out to see if I could do anything , but the severity ( spade into neck ) meant not even Jesus could save the poor man
Told my mum, she said ' You could only have made it worse' .
Really , whats worse than being killed to death by a folding spade being launched into your neck as your car decellerates from 60mph to 0 in 1 second?
And why have zero faith in me as a person not to be able to help in a first aid situation if its an arterial bleed
but this is partly down the negatiivity and can't do attitude that was impresssed upon us by both my mum and dad
My last crash my chain jumped under high load away from the lights, cue OTB and face to tarmac. 2 strangers immediately stopped and helped me looked for my tooth (some of it turned out to be in my beard) followed by 5 separate people from work, made quite the mess of the traffic!
Was nice until the guy who was hassling me away from the lights started repeating to all and sundry that he hadn't touched me...
It is all down to people being arseholes.
Yesterday afternoon I was driving with my kids in the car near me. We were following someone in a Merc. We went around a right angle blind corner in a 30mph limit. The limit carries on for about 200 yards after the corner. You cannot safely go around the corner at more than about 15mph. The car slowed for the corner appropriately but about 100 yards further on there was an elderly man crossing the road. I can only guess that the Merc driver somehow felt he was being impeded as he sped up to 30mph and sounded his horn at the pedestrian when he then had to slow down.
Credit to the old boy, though, he just gave the driver a look of contempt and carried on.
My daughter said “why did that car beep at the man crossing the road?”
She doesn’t know ‘that word’ yet, so I couldn’t answer accurately.