Do you stop and offer assistance when you see someone stranded on the side of the road with the hood of their car up?...or when ya see a lady struggling to change a flat tire?

A few days ago, the granddaughter and I were outside when we noticed an older, slightly overweight woman walking up our dirt road, away from her car, which had a flat tire...
I asked her if she needed help....she said that her tire was flat and that she had a spare...but that her jack didn't work...
I suggested that she ask the guys, next door, at the Body Shop, to help her...assuming that a shop that deals with cars would have a working Jack she could use.
I told her that, if they couldn't help her, she should let me known.
Well...the Body Shop guys sent her to the tire shop at the next turn off the highway....about the distance of two blocks...
When she explained her situation to the Tire Shop guys, they told her that she would need to have her car towed to their business....or for her to bring the flat tire to them!
IF SHE COULD GET THE TIRE OFF, SHE WOULDN'T HAVE NEEDED HELP!
After a while, I had noticed that she had returned to her car and was unloading the large bags of dog food she had stowed in the cargo area....so she could access the spare tire.
The granddaughter and I walked down and asked if she got some help....
"No!"....even AAA had left her on hold for 10 minutes....she was pretty frustrated!
She also had a freshly spayed dog in a crate in her car....she had picked up the dog from the vet in the city and was headed home....at least 50 miles further past my house...when her tire had gone flat.
So....the granddaughter and I walked back to our house and got our floor jack and dragged it down the dirt road and offered what help I could give.
There is NO WAY that the guys at the Body Shop didn't see...or HEAR...me dragging that thing down the road!
After a small struggle, we got the car lifted and the tire replaced....
After the job was finished we discussed how surprising it was that 2 different businesses with big, strong men, couldn't offer her any help....but that I (a 54 year old woman, weighing in at 130 pounds) was the only person to offer her any assistance!
She was pretty disgusted with "men!" by the time she headed back out on the road!
I live in a mountain community....long distances between neighbors and businesses....
I had thought that "Mountain Folk" looked out for each other!
I guess I was wrong!
I feel somewhat empowered in knowing that I could do something for someone in need!
I'm pretty disappointed in the guys at the Body Shop, next door!
How would they feel if it was their mother that was stranded and no-one would help her?
I think it's good for the soul to offer help to those in need.

The lady was so grateful!! ...."I just don't know how to thank you! ...I have no money!"
I told her that it didn't cost me anything to help her out....there was no need to pay me!

.....I'm still mad at the guys next door! ....I half expect that they watched and laughed while "the two old women" changed the flat tire!
.....Do I sound bitter? Stuff like this makes me feel bitter!
I'm just glad that the woman was able to continue her trip home with her dog!
Yay ME!

These days, people, especially businesses, don't want to help anyone unless they're being paid to do so. That's one of the reasons the world is going to hell quickly. I help out whenever I'm able. I don't like to see someone in need with no one helping.

I'm glad to see that someone helped - miffed that others were so resistant, but I'm glad you were able to help!

Usually when I see a situation like that, it's not safe for me to try and help. I live near Los Angeles; traffic is a nightmare and most of the time, if I tried to stop to help everyone with a broken-down engine or a blown-out tire I'd probably end up causing an accident rather than actually helping.

But when I can stop, I do.

Actually, I recently had an incident. I was driving to do some errands, and at the intersection in front of me, a guy realized in the middle of the intersection that he was supposed to turn there...and rammed right into the car next to him, flipping it onto its side.

Tons of people rushed to help, so there was little I actually had to do, but I still pulled over and got out of my car to help get the driver of the flipped car to safety.

The driver who missed his turn was a complete douche. He was quick to try and blame the other driver even though he was the one who made an illegal turn without signalling. Probably thought he could get away with it because she was an Asian woman; you know the stereotypes about both Asians and women driving...I hope he was charged with reckless driving and if he's still on the road his insurance is charging him through the nose now.

But luckily, everyone else was great. No one was seriously injured, and emergency responders came quickly.

The ironic thing was, this happened on the very day I got my CPR/first aid certification renewed.

Yay for you, izzy! I would expect nothing less from you.Thats just how you roll. A credit to the human race! Boo on body shop guys. Really boo. # Heres some giant marshmallow pillows to lob at them # creepazoids

Originally Posted by Inzanebraned

Do you stop and offer assistance when you see someone stranded on the side of the road with the hood of their car up?...or when ya see a lady struggling to change a flat tire?

A few days ago, the granddaughter and I were outside when we noticed an older, slightly overweight woman walking up our dirt road, away from her car, which had a flat tire...
I asked her if she needed help....she said that her tire was flat and that she had a spare...but that her jack didn't work...
I suggested that she ask the guys, next door, at the Body Shop, to help her...assuming that a shop that deals with cars would have a working Jack she could use.
I told her that, if they couldn't help her, she should let me known.
Well...the Body Shop guys sent her to the tire shop at the next turn off the highway....about the distance of two blocks...
When she explained her situation to the Tire Shop guys, they told her that she would need to have her car towed to their business....or for her to bring the flat tire to them!
IF SHE COULD GET THE TIRE OFF, SHE WOULDN'T HAVE NEEDED HELP!
After a while, I had noticed that she had returned to her car and was unloading the large bags of dog food she had stowed in the cargo area....so she could access the spare tire.
The granddaughter and I walked down and asked if she got some help....
"No!"....even AAA had left her on hold for 10 minutes....she was pretty frustrated!
She also had a freshly spayed dog in a crate in her car....she had picked up the dog from the vet in the city and was headed home....at least 50 miles further past my house...when her tire had gone flat.
So....the granddaughter and I walked back to our house and got our floor jack and dragged it down the dirt road and offered what help I could give.
There is NO WAY that the guys at the Body Shop didn't see...or HEAR...me dragging that thing down the road!
After a small struggle, we got the car lifted and the tire replaced....
After the job was finished we discussed how surprising it was that 2 different businesses with big, strong men, couldn't offer her any help....but that I (a 54 year old woman, weighing in at 130 pounds) was the only person to offer her any assistance!
She was pretty disgusted with "men!" by the time she headed back out on the road!
I live in a mountain community....long distances between neighbors and businesses....
I had thought that "Mountain Folk" looked out for each other!
I guess I was wrong!
I feel somewhat empowered in knowing that I could do something for someone in need!
I'm pretty disappointed in the guys at the Body Shop, next door!
How would they feel if it was their mother that was stranded and no-one would help her?
I think it's good for the soul to offer help to those in need.

The lady was so grateful!! ...."I just don't know how to thank you! ...I have no money!"
I told her that it didn't cost me anything to help her out....there was no need to pay me!

.....I'm still mad at the guys next door! ....I half expect that they watched and laughed while "the two old women" changed the flat tire!
.....Do I sound bitter? Stuff like this makes me feel bitter!
I'm just glad that the woman was able to continue her trip home with her dog!
Yay ME!

Like you didn't know auto mechanics&related types r sexist scum. 😕

I have had the poor misfortune to have been stranded on the road....more than a few times!
Let me regale you with the tale of one of the many incidences!

It was hunting season, many, many, many years ago...long before cell phone use was common....
The Hubby (at the time), his friend, my teenaged daughter and I had all gone tent-camping in an attempt to bring home some fresh venison, so the station-wagon had to be "Tetris-ized" to fit all our gear and 4 occupants...
I drove.
After a fruitless and cold weekend, we had repacked the car to head home...everybody squeezed in...
I drove about a mile on the dirt road before I realized that the passenger, front tire was flat!
We stopped...and UNpacked the car to get to the spare tire...and replaced the flat...put the flat into the car...and RE-packed the car...and headed out, again.
Another mile or so, I realized that the same tire was flat, also!!
Well...we had no real choice but to drive...ever so slowly, *thump thump thump thumpthumpthump thump thump* until we could find an available phone...
We were out in the middle of Nowhere, Colorado!....back in the day when businesses closed at night...and it was a Sundays to boot!
After what seemed to be many hours of creeping along, we happened upon a restaurant/bar that was open!...with lots of patrons!
SURELY someone, here, could help us!
My daughter and I went in...asked if there were any service stations in the area..
"No. Wanna use the phone?"
I called the local sheriff to explain our dilemma...and to compound matters, my return to Denver, post-haste, was priority because my special-needs daughter was at a respite-care giver's house and we were already late to pick her up...and I feared they would assume she was abandoned and call the authorities...
The sheriff offered to come to where we were and drive us and our tire to the nearest service station.
My daughter and I waited inside the restaurant...to stay warm...while the guys UN-packed the car to get the tire that hadn't been driven on out of the car.
I had no money for food...I scraped up some change to buy the daughter a hot chocolate...while the patrons only stared at us and offered not a lick of assistance!
The sheriff arrived and daughter and I ...and the tire....rode with the sheriff to Eagle, where the service station attendant had been called in, by the sheriff, to repair our tire, was waiting.
The sheriff had other duties to attend to, so daughter and I were left with the service attendant to drive us and our repaired tire the hour-long trip back to our car, in his tow truck.
The night drive was beautiful, both directions...the moon was bright and lots of wildlife was visible in the meadows...
We returned to the car...a credit card transaction from Hubby's friend gained us re-possession of said tire...
Service guy promptly left!....no assistance offered!
Daughter and stepped inside the restaurant...was received by silent, sympathetic smiles....no offers for a free cup of coffee or anything!
The guys finished replacing the tire...and RE-re-packed the car...
When Hubby had come inside to tell daughter and me that we could leave, his friend stretched out in the back seat...taking all the available space...and fell into a comatose-like sleep!...forcing daughter to share the bucket-seat with her step-dad for the 3 hour drive home!
I guess that having paid for the tire service entitled this "friend" to occupy the whole back seat, solo!
Oh well...we all got home...contacted the care givers...we picked Sarah up as the sun began to rise, weary and worn out!
The care givers were very sympathetic!...they didn't even bother to charge us for the extra time they had put in....and respite care doesn't come cheap!
Of all the people that we came into contact with during this misadventure, it was the SHERIFF who stood out in the "Good Samaritan" department!
It took him an hour to arrive and an hour to drive us to Eagle....and he was sympathetic and pleasant about it!
He went out of his way to call the emergency number for the service attendant...and made sure that we had a ride back to our car.
NObody else offered any assistance without expecting payment!
....to a WOMAN with a teenaged GIRL!
Maybe they expected us to be "decoys" while the guys, outside, ransacked and stole everything not nailed down....I dunno!
Twas a harrowing...and enlightening...experience!

Hi izzy! What a long, harrowing weekend! And no fruit of human kindness:(

Thank God for people like you. I think that was very nice of you to do. I try to help people whenever i can too. As for the dumb body shop guys they probably would or have gotten what they deserve. Karma probably came back to them. If i were you ill find there company online or on face book and post what happened lol

I try to help whenever I can.
It's the Christian thing to do.