What would you do?

[Immortality]

Calling for assistance is more than most would do, I do remember a thread on here some time ago from another member who stopped to help someone and was assaulted.

Makes you think twice.

 

[JMP]

Minux has said that he would have driven by and called the police. That's fine in theory but the police are usually flat out on Saturday nights and could have taken hours to reach the scene. The car was stopped in the middle of the lane on a narrow, unlit country road so there was a potential traffic hazard which had already existed for an unknown period (at least a quarter hour to my knowledge).

Understand your thinking but I'm instructed at work that my own safety comes first. You parked a reasonable distance away but what if someone came out the bushes with a gun? I just think about my family and my kids growing up without a dad and think stuff it, call the cops and keep driving.

 

[HERONVY]

exactly what you did.

+1 to that, better to let emergency services handle situations like that.

 

[Calaber]

Understand your thinking but I'm instructed at work that my own safety comes first. You parked a reasonable distance away but what if someone came out the bushes with a gun? I just think about my family and my kids growing up without a dad and think stuff it, call the cops and keep driving.

It was the possibility that there was someone lurking in the dark but as I said, the car had been there for quite a while, and I know that at least three vehicles had passed it between my first and second sighting, because they came from the same direction I had travelled and passed me whilst I was loading up with the papers at the pick up point. (In fact, I thought the third vehicle going past was the one in question, as it was a white Toyota ute). When I found the vehicle still sitting there, I reckoned that it had been too long for something suspicious to be going on. (If you were trying to set something up, would you stay there, on a cold night, in the bushes for an indeterminate period, waiting in the hope that someone would stop?)

I thought about it, but discounted the likelihood and took a punt. This time 'round, it was the real thing and not a set-up.

Would I do it again? Yeah, probably would. I can sleep easy at night knowing that others might not have been so caring.

 

[minux]

This is a common misconception. You cannot be sued for trying to help. Nor is it your legal requirement to render assistance. You have to do what you feel comfortable with.

Actually this is incorrect, if you fail to exercise reasonable care & skill in said act you are excluded from good Samaritan laws. Had just one beer? Excluded. On medication that affects performance etc? Excluded. Attempted CPR with no training prior? You could possibly be excluded.

 

[JMP]

It was the possibility that there was someone lurking in the dark but as I said, the car had been there for quite a while, and I know that at least three vehicles had passed it between my first and second sighting, because they came from the same direction I had travelled and passed me whilst I was loading up with the papers at the pick up point. (In fact, I thought the third vehicle going past was the one in question, as it was a white Toyota ute). When I found the vehicle still sitting there, I reckoned that it had been too long for something suspicious to be going on. (If you were trying to set something up, would you stay there, on a cold night, in the bushes for an indeterminate period, waiting in the hope that someone would stop?)

I thought about it, but discounted the likelihood and took a punt. This time 'round, it was the real thing and not a set-up.

Would I do it again? Yeah, probably would. I can sleep easy at night knowing that others might not have been so caring.

This may sound a bit out there but imagine if the guy was out doing something during that time and was returning to the car at the moment you pulled up, I see so many weird things now a days and there are far too many people out there in another world or high on some crap. I don't care too much as to what happens to me in life, I'm pretty easy going and take things as they come and if my time was up tomorrow then so be it but in saying that, I now always have that thing in the back of my mind about my kids growing up without their dad. My family will always come before strangers of even friends so as mentioned before I would call the cops whilst still driving past.

 

[Tasmaniak]

I would have drawn dicks on his face before calling emergency services...

Demonica... Defenceless woman... You're so pregnant.

 

[commodore665]

Calling for assistance is more than most would do, I do remember a thread on here some time ago from another member who stopped to help someone and was assaulted.

Makes you think twice.

Sadly, you are right , , it's a growing problem that a sadly decreasing number of people stop and give help , and a growing number , as you say lash out when you do try and help . My advice is , call the Police , Ambulance , or Fire , but stick around until they do arrive , giving any details is a huge help .

 

[Calaber]

The responses I have received in this thread are very interesting. I thought I might have scored some criticism for not doing more than just calling for the ambo's and hanging around till they arrived. I wondered if others here thought I could have done more, or even said they would have tried to revive/rescuscitate/arouse the bloke, but that hasn't happened. It's comforting to know that most of you agree with what I did, but isn't it worrying that the general perception is one of danger and potential risk, with the sort of things that happen these days?

Sad indictment on our society, isn't it?

 

[Calaber]

Actually this is incorrect, if you fail to exercise reasonable care & skill in said act you are excluded from good Samaritan laws. Had just one beer? Excluded. On medication that affects performance etc? Excluded. Attempted CPR with no training prior? You could possibly be excluded.

That supports my earlier statement. I'm pretty sure we were told about the legal implications during our First Aid course by the instructor.