Why are people so unwilling to help

El Gordo

I was pretty grateful after I had a biggish crash in Scotland and a guy (an off duty paramedic as luck would have it) parked his car across the A9 to protect me and came to help me out.

Last year, when it was icy, a guy came off his motorbike in front of me at some lights. Probably as a result of the Scottish experience I positioned my car to keep him safe and went to help (mostly with lifting the bike back up - he was fine). Some tool in the car behind kept beeping his horn in protest about been held up though!

As someone said, you make the decision to help before the incident occurs.

thecrofter

Reading the thread on the Tour Ride I did a couple of weeks ago someone reported stopping with a puncture. A fellow cyclist stopped and helped with a spare innnertube for which he charged him a fiver :shock:

andrewlwood

thecrofter wrote:

Reading the thread on the Tour Ride I did a couple of weeks ago someone reported stopping with a puncture. A fellow cyclist stopped and helped with a spare innnertube for which he charged him a fiver :shock:

I think that's probably fair enough, no? There's a difference between helping someone in a fix and doling out free inner tubes. Not like he charged them a fiver for a lift to a hospital either.

thecrofter

andrewlwood wrote:

thecrofter wrote:

Reading the thread on the Tour Ride I did a couple of weeks ago someone reported stopping with a puncture. A fellow cyclist stopped and helped with a spare innnertube for which he charged him a fiver :shock:

I think that's probably fair enough, no? There's a difference between helping someone in a fix and doling out free inner tubes. Not like he charged them a fiver for a lift to a hospital either.

I take your point, it would just never have occurred to me to charge someone. As several people have already said it's nice to believe in karma

Keith1983

I have made selfless efforts to help people. Twice this backfired. Once I offered a pregnant woman my seat on a train, turns out she was just fat! The other time a lady on her own was in a layby with a puncture and didn't have a clue what to do, I pulled up in my car and got out. I asked her if she was ok to be faced with " I have pepper spray and I know how to use it" Seriously? As said before some people just don't want to be helped.

clarkey cat

I asked a guy checking over his bike late one night if he needed a hand. He called me a C*** and then got on his bike and chased me for about a mile and telling me his mates were up ahead and they were going to knife me. I punched him in the face while riding and gave him a battering in a petrol station forecourt but he punched me back and now I have a scar on my cheek from his sovereign.
I think he was on drugs but I dont ask anyone if they need help anymore.

dilemna

When I was knocked down and lying in the middle of the road under my bike, the driver of the first car to pass, Audi I think, blew the horn, shouted "Get out the f****g road!" as he drove around me and sped off.

London is a tricky one as there are so many crooks, scammers and thugs trying to assault or steal from you.

Basically if you go out on a bike without spare tubes and tools to mend a puncture you are taking the risk of being stranded and asking for trouble ..................................

Kieran_Burns

Keith1983 wrote:

I have made selfless efforts to help people. Twice this backfired. Once I offered a pregnant woman my seat on a train, turns out she was just fat! The other time a lady on her own was in a layby with a puncture and didn't have a clue what to do, I pulled up in my car and got out. I asked her if she was ok to be faced with " I have pepper spray and I know how to use it" Seriously? As said before some people just don't want to be helped.

To be fair, I did keep checking where I kept mine when you called 'round to pick up the old frame

Kieran_Burns

I once drove past an RTA with a lady lying in the road near a chicken-chaser with a guy holding her head steady. There WAS a crowd of people all looking and not actually doing anything, so I stopped, walked back and asked if I could help as I was a first aider.

The guy holding her head turned out to be an off-duty fireman who was basically worrying about the most important bit he knew for a conscious casualty and was waiting for the Ambulance.

I just clicked into casualty treatment mode and went through all the steps. (I even checked in the manual afterwards and realised I got it right) I introduced myself, asked the questions, did the top to toe (found a broken ankle) treated her for shock (one of the crowd lived right next to the scene, so I got them to fetch blankets), raised her good foot, supported the broken ankle, checked her pulse, kept her chatting and relaxed.

When the Ambulance turned up, the VERY first thing they said was "Okay, who's the First Aider?"

I did the handover, shook hands and left.

A couple of days later the Lady in the accident had an article in Derby Telegraph thanking the people who came to her rescue.

I've had various incidents over the years when my First Aid at Work certificate has come in handy but that one (and the guy who had Brain surgery - don't ask) sticks in my mind the most.You can't understand how it feels to help someone like that.

merkin

I was once left injured and dazed after an accident and remember a lady who came over and just sat talking to me while I was waiting for the ambulance. I have no idea who she was and to this day I am very thankful to her. It made a huge difference. I am also grateful to a witness who left his details as the driver who caused the accident gave a very different version of events to what actually happened and the police officer attending believed everything he said. Without my witness I would have taken the blame.

mudcow007

I normally shout "you ok" when passing a cyclist who are pushing a bike or have stopped an looking at tyres etc their response is always the same...

a blank look followed by a suspicious sounds "yeah fine thanks"

an i would always stop if someone was on the deck regardless of if there was already someone there...just manners i think?

stuj15

mudcow007 wrote:

I normally shout "you ok" when passing a cyclist who are pushing a bike or have stopped an looking at tyres etc their response is always the same...

Same here. I saw the aftermath of an off between a BMC roadie and a BSO this morning in Stratford. The roadie had a huge graze/cut on his knee and was re-straightening his bars. I asked if he was okay and he said that the BSO was weaving in/out of traffic and didn't look. I said 'Ok, do you need any tools?" and left him to it when he said he was okay. To be honest he was not in the best of moods - as I wouldn't be either.

The BSO didn't look that badly damaged and certainly the rider was okay - which is always the way.

Last week on the same stretch of road on the way home I saw a guy standing on the pavement holding his arm out in front of him, massive road rash on his elbow. Bike had a buckled front wheel so looked to have been a vehicle collision. Again I asked if he was okay and did he need to call anyone etc. I got a polite 'Thanks I'm okay'.

I can't see why anyone wouldn't stop to check to see if you were okay after an off to be honest. I certainly appreciated it from the peds/cyclists on my ones.

SaintMark

I always slow down and try to get a good look if I see another biker that might need help, as long as they don't look like they're setting up to mug me. I've had to walk home a few times myself over the years so I think it's the decent thing for a fellow biker. Away from town out MTBing I would always stop. I have a couple of notable memories of doing this, one was meeting a couple of young lads halfway up High Street in the Lake District on Raleigh hybrids with a broken chain and no tools or gear, I got them on their way with my chain tool, but this is my favourite:

I was riding to work last year when I saw a bike laying on the deck. When I got closer a bloke staggered out of the bushes covered in blood. He was clearly in shock so I called an ambulance and waited with him until they arrived, they patched him up then I walked with him to where he worked as he'd smashed his glasses.

I found out that he was from central Europe, German I think, where they usually have the front/rear brakes on the other side of the bars. Turns out he'd been wiping a big bogey off his face with one hand when he grabbed a handful of front brake by mistake with the other and pinged himself face first into the ground... me and the ambulance crew had to stifle our laughter when he told us, but we kept making each other laugh despite the massive gashes on his face caused by the broken specs. He was a nice guy and once over the shock I think he felt a bit daft, anyway he was very grateful that I'd stopped!

fossyant

I generally do ask, but if they look like they know what they are doing I'll carry on. I even stopped one sunday after some guy asked if I had a pump - he was on a knackered MTB BSO. Unfortunately, the tube was too gone to hold air - my pump was probably more expensive than his bike.

This week I pulled up at lights next to a regular. Said morning. She said her back wheel didn't feel right, looked at it and said it was a bit low on air. She'd fixed a puncture the day before, but she now felt the wheel was wobbly - I didn't offer to fix the bike as it was still perfectly rideable and I had a meeting 10 miles away that I had to be at.

Now, some may think this a bit mean, but the lady is a regular proper commuter - rugged hybrid, proper kit etc. etc.

I did however take one look at the tyres and thought "no bloody chance, Marathon Plus - not with my tyre levers they won't get them off - the pedro's are at home - I'd be there all day" :?

Oh and she was perfectly OK the next day I passed her.

fossyant

In the event of an accident, many folk won't bother.

I was left in the middle of a busy roundabout. The driver driver that hit me didn't even get out of her car.

The only person that bothered to check was a passing taxi driver, quite some time later. Was probably after a fare from me to take me and the bike home !

anarab

I find it really sad that people don't stop, especially after an accident.
I came off my bike at speed going downhill on a dangerous corner beside Beecraigs Park in West Lothian. I ended up "glued" to the road (I had 4 broken ribs, punctured lung. broken collar and shoulder bones and a badly bashed up shoulder).
A couple on bikes that I had just passed stopped made sure I was OK and controlled the traffic. Within minutes 3 other people stopped, covered me in blankets, phoned for an ambulance etc. One bloke went away and returned in a van to take my bashed up bike to return it when I left hospital.
During thefirst half hour I was on the road waiting on the morphine to kick in before being moved to the stretcher countless cars passing asked if there was anything they could do. For the second half hour when the paramedic blocked the road people who had their journeys interrupted did the same.
It was remarkable and made the pain and discomfort bearable. I'm glad I live where I do.

jamesco

On Friday evening I had a big wipeout turning off Tottenham Court Rd. after a metal offcut punctured my front tyre (Marathon Plus!!! Who'd believe that could happen!) The cyclists behind me and a guy on a scooter stopped to check everything was okay, which was really nice.

Later, when replacing the inner-tube, a bloke walking by said "at least it's not raining" - nice to have a laugh when you're feeling sore

The Rookie

When I went down at Cannock at the weekend, despite being in a group of 4 of us, a fair few stopped to ask if I was OK, did we need help, it mus much appreciated if if I felt at the time I should be fine, later turns out what I thought was a small bump and graze was actually a hole where the brake lever had gone into my upper arm by 20mm.....

8 days on and I hope to be back on the commuter this week (Wed or Thursday, at least by then (unlike finishing off at Cannock) I won't need to lift my left hand up onto the bars with my right!

Simon

Torvid

Went down almost 2 weeks ago car behind me carried on people in the street walked past and was left to sort myself out with a water bottle and what was left of my top.

However I will always stop and check someone is okay if no emrgency services are scene, and if i see someone with bike trouble i'll stop.

Karma works even if it's just the good feeling you get from knowning you did teh right thing.

scrumpydave

Wrath Rob wrote:

The bystander effect is pretty powerful. I was on a crowded commuter train (the days before I re-discovered the joys of the bike) and a lady kept banging into me, pretty hard. I gently pushed back but when this kept on going I turned around to say something, only to be confronted by what I can only describe as a zombie. The poor lady was on the verge of fainting, and as I sad "Are you alright?" she collapsed to the floor. I tried to catch her but she was a dead weight. I checked she was breathing and then looked around at the rest of the commuters who were either reading their papers or staring. The closest one was a guy sat on a seat next to us, so a curt "Can you kindly offer your seat and give me a hand?" had the desired effect and gave me someone to help pick her up. Shortly after she started to come round and was obviously pretty freaked out to find herself in a seat (yes, I know, on a packed train!) when she had been standing. After asking around, someone offered some water. The train pulled into a station and everyone else then simply buggered off. Fortunately a guard came past and fetched a proper first aider.

No-one else helped.

On the bike, if I see somoene struggling I'll offer help. If its a woman dressed like the Girls in Lycra thread, I'll stop even if she's got all the tools and is pretty much finished

Good on you for helping but for future reference if you see someone faint you shouldn't try to support them or sit them up. They have just suffered a loss of blood pressure reducing blood flow to the brain. By falling down their head goes low and the blood returns even if the pressure doesn't immediately increase. If you keep their head high you slow down the return of blood to the brain.

I'm no doctor so happy to be corrected. I remember being told this after a fainting incident of my own when I was a kid.

That aside I think it's important to offer help when you see someone in trouble. I think driving/riding away from the scene of an accident is pretty poor form.

bails87

I'm no doctor so happy to be corrected

I assume you mean "try to catch them, but don't sit them up when they're blacked out"? I'd agree with that, probably best to try to stop them smacking their head on the floor though

I had a very similar thing, I was walking past a shop and there was an old woman standing against the edge of the doorway, I saw the glazed over look, just as I said "are you okay" she toppled over (must be something about those words!). I did my best to grab her and stop her hititng the floor with any real force. A few other people saw it happen and came over to help while I went to grab the (first aid trained?) police officer that I'd walked past a few seconds earlier. I left them to it, she seemed to be coming round, so I think it was just a 'regular' faint.

Unlike the old guy I saw collapse at a motorway service station. He shuffled in with the 'about to faint' look in his face, went down, hitting his head on the floor as he fell. (I had to give a statement to the manager afterwards, the guy had pulled over an 'on display' folding chair when he fell, and she seemed more concerned about me saying he'd pulled it over, rather than tripped over it, than anything else.) A rugby team was going past as it happened, and their phsyio came over and did some first aid, other people were grabbing blankets for him too, but I'm guessing from the fact that the paramedics were doing CPR for a good 20 minutes before they stretchered him off that it didn't end well

velocestrapture

I stopped to check on a guy yesterday who took a flyer over the front of his MTB.

B/f and I were doing laps of RP on the road, this guy, on what was obviously a brand new Specialized MTB (seriously new, the casette was still completely shiny) tried to pass a couple of joggers going along the path. A combination of him hitting a small drainage ditch and probably grabbing a handful of his front brake saw him do a complete flip and land on the back of his neck with the bike on top of him. He was obviously not badly injured but quite sore and dazed as he was sitting on the ground rubbing his head. b/f and I stopped but had to wait for cars to pass before we could cross the road to check he was ok, all the while the two joggers just stood about 3 ft away staring at him but not even bothering to ask him if he was ok.

CakeyPirate

msmancunia wrote:

I would probably drive on as well, as I am not able to offer first aid and too many cooks spoil the broth...

So learn some first aid. Every employer has to have a qualified first aider at work - if you volunteer they pay for you to learn and you have a new skill into the bargain. I've needed it in three or four serious situations; it's a good feeling when you know what to do. It's better than watching someone die, knowing that if you'd spent three or four days on a course, or even done a quick St John's Ambulance thing, that you may have been able to make a difference.

Scares the shit out of me, but id have to stop and help. Even if my help is limited to the bleeding ( :roll: ) obvious. Or just chatting whilst waiting for someone who knows wtf to do to turn up.

Ive hurt myself quite badly a couple of times and I have one or two favours to pass forwards.

unixnerd

A mate and I were driving in Aberdeen when we saw a guy lying on the pavement with one or two folk next to him. My mate is a Red Cross volunteer and fully qualified so we stopped and helped the guy until the ambulance came.

Turns out he was a foreign student and had been knocked off his bike by a chav in a road rage attack then thumped by him. One of the guys there was the local college janitor, he mentioned the cctv camera pointing directly at us and I believe the guy was jailed.