Sickening attitude of "It's not my problem"

[-Savage-]

Well folks.

Yesterday I riding through Newry going past one shopping centre on my way to another.

Plenty of traffic, plenty of pedestrians.

As I come up to a junction the lights are red so I wait rather than filter as I'm in no hurry. Lights turn green so I proceed through, but notice something odd.

There is a man lying on the footpath at the side of the road at the junction. Like right beside where the traffic was queued when the lights were red. people had crossed the road while the lights were red, so must have had to walk past him!

I go across the junction, and make a U-Turn where it's safe, come back across the junction and see two young lads with him, one on the phone. I slow down a bit and see that the man's not moving at all, he doesn't look like a typical drunkard and doesn't appear to be collapsed from drink etc.

I then find a spot to park up just 100 yards down the road, and as I'm walking up to then an ambulance comes past and up to the man. (We were very close to the hospital here.)

Now my point is this, why is it that all the drivers in their cars, and pedestrians who obviously must have seen this man didn't even stop to see if he was ok. Even if he was drunk as hell and collapsed he still may be in difficulties. Fair play to the two young lads.

I would ask those people who just ignored him what would they say if it was their father who was collapsed at the side of the road and people walked over him without even checking on him?

[/rant]
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My Bikes - - - Royal Enfield 500 with sidecar, VFR800, CBR600FX,
Peugeot Speedfight 100, Kymco Hipster 125, GSXR750K5, Jawa TS 350

[colin1]

Good thinking of the young lads to check the phone they just nicked works. They will probably be checking his credit cards later. Nice to see a bit of initiative.

All those other people going past when there was a free phone and credit cards, are just mugs.

Seriously though, it's herd mentality.

Psychologists have done experiments with this sort of thing, and the more other people there are around, the more people can think its not my problem, someone else will help, whereas those same people may help if there was no one else about.

However generally, people feel little emotional connection to people they don't know and so no obligation.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[-Savage-]

Obligatory MsPaint diagram, the green dots are people crossing at the traffic lights, the yellow is the man on the ground, the red are cars, and the blue is me.
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My Bikes - - - Royal Enfield 500 with sidecar, VFR800, CBR600FX,
Peugeot Speedfight 100, Kymco Hipster 125, GSXR750K5, Jawa TS 350

[Paxovasa]

[Flip]

I probably wouldn't have stopped either.

[colin1]

actually, i'm quite impressed with all the detail and effort put into that diagram.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[-Savage-]

[neatbik]

As Col said, its herd mentality.
When my wife had an accident in the car the amount of people that just swung round and carried on was unreal...

I always offer help if i see anyone in trouble - imo people who dont are selfish bastards.

[Hazylogic]

[Flip]

The majority of people that stop to help are nosey fuckers just looking for gossip.

One to help.
One to interfere.
Dozens to have a fuckin' good look and put it on pootube.

[-LG-]

I saw a person pushing a car off a roundabout yesterday, loads of cars going past, however none offered to help. Got out and gave them a hand.

[J0Al1]

[Flip]

[pa_broon74]

I stopped for a guy in Portobello who turned out to be shit faced, he'd tripped and head butted a kerb stone at some point and was lying in the gutter. I turned round and got him off the road, a young couple also stopped and phoned the police, by the time they got there he'd wandered off, we couldn't stop him. The police knoew who he was anyway and found him round the corner and took him home.

On another occassion, I saw a wee boy sitting on the path under the tree from which he'd just fallen, I stopped a bit up the road and came back to find a woman rubbing some sort of 'magic balm' she'd fished out of her massive hand bag into a wound on his scalp. I told her to stop as she was essentially rubbing an unknown substance to which the boy might be deathly allergic into an open gash. She became quite irate & offended that I questioned her actions.

He was fine though, eventually got up and his pals took him home.

That last time I went to help someone I got attacked by a gang of Poles, I tend to assess the risks a bit more these days.


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Didn't catch anything.

[TUG]

I'd give my
But tbh mate, it's not my problem...
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Haz ER-5, innit!

[Spit-Fire]

im inclined to help people in most cases,
my mum is one of them part time super(wo)man types,
so i guess it rubbed off on me.

that a working in retail as a teen
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they say the good die young... i say we just live faster

[The Original Muzza]

[Mister James]

[Phoenix]

Drunk people that are collapsed but still show vague signs of movement are pretty easy to identify, it's possible that he was drunk and that everyone else passing could clearly see this, but being on a bike you couldn't?

However, if someone is flat out and not moving then as long as the coast is clear or it's busy it's worth a look but i'd be wary about approaching anyone on the ground at night if it's quiet around or there some off looking people nearby, could be the result of a fight and you'll end up getting clobbered, better to just phone the police or ambulance from a safe distance if you're sure it looks bad.

[Mister James]

[dodgydog]

[WildGoose]

I stop quite a bit to help people wherever I can, though I have had quite a few negative experiences from doing so, I have started to evaluate it more now.

If you are witness to an RTA, and are close enough to help (it's rare, normally you are jammed half a mile back). I think you can do some good if you stop, in the worst case your action could mean the difference between life and death for a person involved.

Most of the time it's nowhere near as dramatic as this.

I have found it surprising how many people are just fucking rude and dimissive of your help offered. I did used to stop for broken down vehicles if they looked like they could use a hand or were in a difficult spot, such as miles from anywhere or in a dangerous spot (a blind corner/sliproad or something). Nine times out of ten they have been fucking rude, ungrateful or complain that I am somehow at fault.

I can appreciate that for your average middle class mechanically ignorant dimlo, breaking down is a stressful experience, but that is no reason to act the arrogant tosser when someone stops to help. Amazes me consistently how many wankers there are about, and confirms that as a species there is little hope for us.

So I decided a few months ago (if it is a vehicle) it's just going to be bikes now, and maybe a transit of a similar age (if not obviously a travelling sort). Fuck the rest.
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So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

[flat spot]

Sort of same thing happened to me a few weeks ago. Was walking through the town centre on a busy Saturday when I saw a bloke spazzing out on the floor with a woman kneeling over him holding his head and a young lad stood at his feet watching.

As I went over, everyone, and I mean everyone else just looked and walked past as if nothing was happening. Some sat on benches just yards away watching this guy flidding around.

I asked the woman if she needed help in anyway, and fortunately she said no. He was diabetic and just needed some food/drink to stop the fit. (which she was trying to give him).

OK so I left knowing at least I asked unlike the dozens of other twats who carried on with their shopping. I really do detest people.

[Resident Yank]

I am one of those who really thinks "man I should stop and help if I can." However, in the world we live in now it's not always safe to do so. As a young woman I find myself hesitant to stop at the side of the road for someone broken down, or approach someone on the side of a street. I don't know who they are or what they may do to me. In all honesty it would probably be fine 99% of the time, but it's a risk I don't find myself willing to take most of the time.
There is a TV show here in the U.S. that deals with that very thing. They use actors to create a situation then put unknowing people in that situation and see what they would do. Afterwards they interview the people to get their reasoning behind their actions. With women it is usually the same outcome, they were afraid for their own safety, or they felt like it was none of their business.
I don't feel that I have the "it's not my problem" attitude, I'm quite shy and cautious when it comes to most things, but I feel like if a situation were to arise where my help was needed I would step up. I was at a recycling center one day and an elderly woman tripped and fell to the ground. She had scraped up her head, hands and knees and couldn't get up. Her husband was very feeble and couldn't help her, so obviously I ran over to make sure the woman was ok, then helped her up and got her in her car.
There are many here in the US and probably all over the world who have that outlook, and it is quite sickening though.
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Snooping in from the US, don't kill me.

[hellkat]

This is one that confused me.

There was some sort of accident on The Highway (or whatever its called on the way to the Limehouse Link), so I wheedled my way thru the traffic to the front. And there was a car and ambulance, couple of plods. Traffic lined up both sides for maybe a half a mile.

But all the people on [motor]bikes (and scooters) were getting off their bikes and wheeling them across the pavement, all the while gawping at the whatevs in the accident. And then once clear of the accident, getting back on the bike and riding away.

I could see that whoever had been hurt was being boarded up and put onto the ambulance, so I just stayed put.

Does anyone else (on a bike) do that? I found it most disconcerting.

Surely you can have respect for someone being bundled off in an ambulance in [who knows what] a state, it was obviously not going to take more than about 5-10 minutes.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.