Stop and ask!

[screenman]

Just google "have a go hero" and waste your own time

Yep done that.

 

[jonny jeez]

Scared of what though, lending a helping hand is not being a have a go hero.

We are scared of so many things these days.

Robery, assault, wrongful charges, insurance scams, just read some of the comment on here and see how fearful people were that their assistance could gave gone wrong, being in a car alone..with a drunk person not knowing if they would turn nasty or even claim that you assaulted or abducted them, some even suggest they would not act the same today

And these are just drunks...now consider those that go out with the intention of doing you harm.

We read too much about how life goes wrong...because life going right isn't interesting, its hardly a surprise we all live in fear.

 

[velovoice]

But the point surely is that there ARE ways to help that do not involve putting yourself at risk?!! So many stories already on this thread show that. The cautionary tales all have one thing in common: the Good Samaritan helped or tried to but did not look out for himself at the same time.

 

[growingvegetables]

But the point surely is that there ARE ways to help that do not involve putting yourself at risk?!!

First principle of any First Aid - check out your own safety! And proceed ......... do summat.

 

[jonny jeez]

I had an incident where I came across a couple of young teenagers and a broken derailleur

They were already late home so used my mobile to explain situation, but still had several miles to go so I removed the offending derailleur, shortened chain to make a single speed put all the parts in a bag and off they went

Two days later started getting phone calls from the father demanding I pay for a new derailleur, chain and the costs of fitting

All sorts of threats, and in the end it was only sorted because I contacted the bike shop doing the repair and got a written statement that nothing I had done had caused any damage or on any way increased the cost of the repair

Despicable.

 

[screenman]

@screenman fair enough you help but even you drove past a couple of times before assessing the situation realising it was a woman in need then helped, so even if the fears are irrational and mostly unfounded which I believe they are, there's nothing wrong in being cautious, we live in a world of perpetual fear caused by the media and 24 hour news channels, we fear people, we fear the food and drinks we consume, we fear everything, but thats the world we now live in.
some help, some don't, some pick and choose who they help.

No fear here for most of those things, there again I do not read newspapers.

 

[steven1988]

A few years back I passed an old bloke probably mid 70s pushing his mobility scooter into the village, down the edge of a national speed limit road.

Of course I stopped loaded the scooter into the boot and drove him home which was just around the corner from me. Once in the car he explained were he had broken down, it was a good 3 miles from where I came across him.

How many people must have passed him in that time too rapped up in there own world's to help.

 

[screenman]

something I found interesting about this thread was/is the demographic of those that people helped, children, teenagers, women and old people but not a lot of men, maybe subconsciously we are actually a lot more cautious that we believe ourselves to be.

I have helped more guys than the others you list. I think I come across more in need due to the amount of time I spend on the road. Or in the case of helping cyclist the time I spend in the garden and workshop as they back onto a busy off road cycle track.

 

[jefmcg]

I was with my partner and another couple walking down a busy Kensington street on a Friday or Saturday night. We were walking past 2 men fighting when my friend suddenly leaves the us to intervene. After the initial shock, I look again at the men and realise it's not a fight. One of the men is on the ground with his hands over his head, and the other man is pummelling his head. My friend is fearless but tiny, so she's not going to break this up on her own. Our guys are not fighters, but because they are men if they joined in it would escalate things but as we were women ,we may get hit once but no one is going to beat us up on a crowded street. This thought process only took a second or two, and I joined her and between the two of us we were able to momentarily separate the men ,then a bouncer came out of a pub and properly broke it up. By then a crowd had gathered. It's amazing how the optics of a street brawl change when a couple of middle class women intervene.

So I will step up for men or women who need it.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I was with my partner and another couple walking down a busy Kensington street on a Friday or Saturday night. We were walking past 2 men fighting when my friend suddenly leaves the us to intervene. After the initial shock, I look again at the men and realise it's not a fight. One of the men is on the ground with his hands over his head, and the other man is pummelling his head

I thought Kensington was posh? This sort of hoodlum behaviour would be uncommon even in Accrington!

 

[jefmcg]

I thought Kensington was posh? This sort of hoodlum behaviour would be uncommon even in Accrington!

As you are learning in the other thread, there are no entrance criteria for even the poshest parts of London. Bad things can happen even in the nicest suburbs, especially once you add alcohol.

I was robbed in knightsbridge and attacked in Toorak, the knightsbridge of Melbourne.

 

[jonny jeez]

I have helped more guys than the others you list. I think I come across more in need due to the amount of time I spend on the road. Or in the case of helping cyclist the time I spend in the garden and workshop as they back onto a busy off road cycle track.

Perhaps this is the rub.

You are more exposed to people, both in need and not and have experience of both.

Many people don't, they just get on their train, see the same passengers and are never challenged. When they are, they don't know what to do, how risky it could be or how to ensure that they are safe, so just carry on by....feeling guilt and doubt but also feeling safe.

I would be guessing but I reckon ex and current service, police, emergency staff are more likely to stop and help than most people.

 

[lutonloony]

As you are learning in the other thread, there are no entrance criteria for even the poshest parts of London. Bad things can happen even in the nicest suburbs, especially once you add alcohol.

I was robbed in knightsbridge and attacked in Toorak, the knightsbridge of Melbourne.

I too was robbed in knightsbridge. £5.50 for an orange juice!!

 

[jefmcg]

I too was robbed in knightsbridge. £5.50 for an orange juice!!

Phone, camera, cash, credit cards, irreplaceable leather bag. Added up to about £600.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Riding home from work one night I saw a a guy beating up an Asian guy in his early 20s. They were in the middle of a busy road, traffic stopped, people staring but doing nothing.

As he started stamping on the victim's head I jumped in and pulled him away, calling for bystanders to get the police. As I held him in a neck and arm lock, I was punched hard on the back of the head.. by an idiot trying to help me! He was aiming for the scumbag and got me instead.