TL;DR - I wouldn't say you can't be a good Samaritan anymore, but for sure you have to be smarter about it. You can't just rush in anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GordonBlue
it sucks the fact you can't be a good Samaritan any more.
I don't stop to help anyone and haven't for years.
almost every day you read of something like this. or the same situation but a car jacking or robbery instead of being assaulted.
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/loc...-edmonton-rcmp
A teen girl suffered assault injuries after being flagged down by a man who appeared to be a stranded motorist west of Edmonton, say RCMP.
the advice in the article is the best advice.
"Police urge drivers not to stop for strangers on the road. Instead, Good Samaritans should pull over in a safe location and call local police."
I don't take the chance any more. I just call the cops.
I know someone who tried to stop an assault a couple of years ago. all it got him was a bad beating when the guy turned on him too. I'm not a tough guy with fighting skills. I have to think of being there for my daughter instead of trying to be a hero. |
Stuff like this sucks, but it won't stop me from trying to help. However, I think for me the key is figuring out how to be smart in how to offer help rather than not helping. A situation like this with no one around, I'd help to offer to call someone if the guy's phone isn't working or something, but I wouldn't get out or give the dude a ride. I'd also drive past the guy first, then circle back after weighing the options. I wouldn't stop immediately on instinct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
I almost won't stop to help unless I'm in a well populated area or a area with traffic. Which is sad because its usually the people who aren't in those spots that are in the most trouble. IE highway late at night.
I've found that for the most part most of the assistance that I provide are for things like dead batteries in parking lots for example.
I had car problems a couple of weeks ago at Safeways and this old gent was extremely happy to lend a hand though we couldn't get my car started
re frozen gas line.
|
I do something similar. You just never know at times with things like this. What I've been doing for years is to offer two things at max, calling someone to help on the person's behalf (ie: Tow truck) assuming part of the trouble is a dead phone or offer to drive to the next service station and bring back a jerry can of gas. I won't drive the person or hop out to help.
The sole caveat I think I'd do though is if someone has gotten stuck in a basic snow bank or something. I generally trust that this is a legit situation and will stop to help dig/push the person out. But at most I'd just help call a tow truck and maybe offer to help nab some food or something.
In the city with higher traffic, yeah, I'll often help. Digging people out/helping to push a stuck car, boosting a car (USB jump starter is fricken awesome and easy for this), quick lift to the service station for someone walking with a jerry can and not expecting a lift etc.
I also keep my eye out for seniors that could use a helping hand. When we had a ton of accumulation, I saw a gent with a cane struggling to pull his walker out of his trunk, so I approached him and asked if he wanted help to pull it out of his SUV, he seemed surprised I approached him and was grateful for the offer. I also saw an old lady (70s/80s?) struggling to carry a bunch of grocery bags. I approached her to ask if she was ok and after a short chat, I asked if he'd like help to carry the groceries a few blocks to her place instead of just lending my phone to call her daughter to pick her up (she was going to call her daughter to come help but forgot her cell phone). Or offering to buy homeless or people who spend a lot of time outdoors in the super cold weather, a hot drink. It's just a few bucks, but a warm drink goes a long way when it's freezing outside.
Intervening in a fight isn't something I'd do though unless I knew at least one of the parties involved. There was a situation that I do regret not doing anything though even after a few years... I was at a Dollarama a dude was screaming all sorts of crap at a cashier because the posted price and the scanned price was $0.50 different and there was no manager around to override to fix the pricing. I really should have piped up and just asked if it was necessary to be a jerk to the cashier, but my wife was with me and I was kinda worried this guy would actually start a fight if I said anything. Seems small in the grand scheme of things and I think I made the right call, but it still eats at me because I think I could/should have done something.
Sorry for the rambling...
