What would you do in this situation?

I was on my way home from Target after just purchasing a River Rock LED Lantern when i see this guy pulled over in a not-so-well lit parking lot looking under the hood of his car. He had no under-the-hood light and was obviously not equipped with any illumination tool.

Now becuase i've become a CPFer i know better than to leave the house without the proper night time visual equipment so before i left the house i took a Surefire G2 and my Pila GL4 with me (just in case).

Anyway, back to my story..... As i pass by this guy i'm wondering should i stop and render aid because i have several lighting options to help this guy out in his quest to repair his vehicle. I did not stop.

It seems like i run into these situations quite frequently. Just last night i saw a guy in a parking lot looking at the drivers side door of a vehicle for sale in the parking lot. I though to myself, "Self", this guy can't really see what he's looking at in the dark but with the proper illumination he could.

So my big question is this: If you see a situation at night time that could be aided by illumination do you/have you/would you consider stopping to render whatever aid you can or is it the age old situation of "safety first"?

A lot of people probably wouldn't stop just because of walking into an unknown situation. And just because we get gratification out being able to use one or more illumination tools at night i also realize you have to be smart about the application.

So for each of you (and you law enforcement types please chime in too), what would YOU do in this situation?



iNDiGLo

That's a tough call. If you were pretty certain of your safety and could afford to do so, just stop by long enough to hand him the loaded RR Lantern and go buy another. That way you do your good deed, you stay safe, and don't have to worry about having to "help" with the problem or concern yourself about messing up your new light.

-LT

I would pull up next to him, roll down the window just enough to communicate, and ask if he needed someone called. Never taking the car out of drive. Even if I felt secure enough to offer assistance outside the vehicle, I would get the G23 out of my BOB, and put it on first.

Not an easy call, it would depend on many factors: location would be one the demeanor of the person would be another. If my son was with me I would be less inclined to stop. If the wife and son were there then she would drive and I would get out they would stay in the car and drive down a few feet so they are not too close I take less percautions when I am alone.
Topper

1 month ago I stopped for a disabled motorist on the shoulder of the highway. The driver explained that he was out of gas and had a friend on his way to help. The driver was just as pleasant and polite as any person you would bump into at your local grocery store.

Five minutes later I found out the car was stolen.

Be cautious and only stop for people you feel are really in distress.




Note: Arrest was made with no problem.

Tough call, this is why all states should have conceal and carry laws allowing law abiding citizens like us to carry.

I would have had my compact .357 on me so there would have been no worry.

I guess I'm not law abiding when you think about it!

I myself have come across a few situations in the past. I say first to listen to your gut instinct. Then another would be to weigh out the factors... with my own safety of course being the most important.

It's truly a sad day we live in, that we are afraid to help someone in need due to the minority of those who would choose to violate trust, integrity, & honesty...

Too often we hear in the news, exactly the situation as you have described which resulted in an assault, robbery, rape, murder, etc...

Indeed a hard call that only one could personally make in that situation. I've been scammed a couple times in the past by the most "honest & friendly" folks . Would NEVER have believed it at the time.

Hmmmm, carry a few of those keychain LEDs to give away in times of need? Maybe be on the cellphone when stopping to assist and be ready to speed off if need be?

I'm certainly very cautious in today's world!!

Depends on the area. I always stop to check and see if people need help here. But being in the middle of nowhere with a dead vehicle can be a pretty harsh ordeal.

There are a couple times when I shoulda kept driving as it seems those with vehicle problems are ones who have problems in general.

I suggest that the only sin is to do nothing when someone appears to need some significant help.

-> I submit that the very LEAST you can do call your local non-emergency police line. Typically, a police/highway department vehicle will be dispatched for a motorist assist in fairly short order.

If their vehicle problem is genuine, then they'll still be there when professional help arrives.

You can't get caught in a malevolent person's trap if all you do is slow down a tiny bit to get a vehicle description (e.g., "Blue Ford Pickup, Missouri License Plate 123, One Male Occupant") then make your phone call. Use 911 if you have to.

-> However, I bet that you, like me, have stopped in the past and probably will do so again. I know I will. The last people I stopped for (on my own time) I ended up driving to the airport so they wouldn't miss their early morning vacation flight. I think their luggage was still smoking after being pulled from a vehicle on fire.

Just use the simple "twice" rule with your built-in "bulls$%@ detector": If you have to look twice, or question the situation twice, GET AWAY and get some help.

Don't look to be the hero . . . the true hero is the one who never thinks he deserves the medal.

-> Just my 2 cents. Like any opinion, kindly take it with a grain of salt.

Regards,

V

Hello iNDiGLo,

I have been brought up to be ready to render aid when possible and as long as it is safe and prudent to do so.

I usually approach with a cell phone in hand ready to call 911 if my gut instincts are wrong. I pay close attention to the surroundings and if something doesn't feel right, I leave.

Over the years, I have helped quite a few people, and been helped a few times as well.

Tom

We stopped last spring, on the Interstate in KS, in the middle of the night, with a minivan full of kids, in the middle of a huge driving rainstorm to aid a guy who was trying to change a flat on the roadside without any lights. Hubby got out w/his Maxfire, and helped the guy, I stayed in the van with the kids and my 'friend Dan' and did talk to the KHP's about sending assistance but it was hard to tell them exactly where we were--they don't use GPS coords, and they also don't reference those numbers you see printed on all bridges/overpasses... aargh!

All was fine & guy was happy for the help.

As long as I felt it was safe, I'd stop and offer help if I could. This is the exact reason why I carry a cheapie Eveready 2D light. I could at the very least give the guy that light and he could see what he's doing. But if it felt unsafe to get out, I would roll down the window a bit and offer to call the police for him.

SilverFox said:

Hello iNDiGLo,

I have been brought up to be ready to render aid when possible and as long as it is safe and prudent to do so. ....

Click to expand...

Same here Tom. I am always "ready to render assistance" and most times over the years that readiness has translated into action; however, there's been a few times when I slowed-down, quickly surveyed the situation, assessed the risk and deemed it to be excessive.

Interestingly enough, our provincial police here in Ontario advise motorists NOT to stop and offer assistance to a stranded motorist. They advise that the appropriate course of action is to report the stranded motorist's location to them. Further, if one is a stranted motorist and someone stops to offer assistance, they advise that you should only roll down the window a crack, and the only assistance that you should request is that they contact police.

Can't tell you for sure, as I wasn't there.

I stand ready to help, but it takes pretty special circumstances for me to stop!

Don't get me wrong! I want to help my fellow person just like anybody else . However, in this time and age the best thing to do is call for help. When help does arrive, the individual can accept it or decline it. There are way too many stories of people getting burned for trying to do the right thing.

As a wise man once said, "speak softly and carry a gun".