Got stuck at a red light and I can’t believe how mean people have become

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you ever stop and offer to help people whose car has broken down on the road OP?

Yes I do. In fact I have a jumper and a portable tire inflator and have helped many people with it. If I can help I want to. My battery was so damaged it couldn’t take a jump. I even carry a tourniquet kit in my first aid box I hope to God I never have to use after I watched a story of a woman who was dragged by her own car in Louisiana by car thieves and her arm was pulled off and she bled out and died.

[Anonymous]

I once fell on an escalator at Union Station on my way home from work and badly injured my leg, and people stepped *over* me to get around me.

But also we live in a city where there are people everywhere who need help. People who are homeless, hungry, have mental health problems. I do think it makes people cynical and oblivious.

And also I think someone in your situation (and mine) has more resources to address their issue than a lot of people I see daily who obviously need help, and who I don't help. When I fell, I limped home bleeding and took a shower and at a meal in my apartment, and the next day I went to the doctor and they were able to drain what turned out to be a hematoma (never fall down on an escalator if you can help it). I was fine. So are you. Yes, it would be nice if we lived in a society where people helped each other more, but at least we are part of the fortunate group with the means to help ourselves.

[Anonymous]

Two people asked. But frankly I get weirded out when they do could be predators.
OP I hope you were not sitting in your car. You can get badly hurt. Get out of the car and away from traffic. Yeah it's hot but better than in a car hit by a truck.

[Anonymous]

I agree, op, and I am sorry.

I was in Old Town last week driving up a street. A guy was attempting to jaywalk and got mad at me because I made him wait and kept driving. From my rearview, I could see him holding up his middle finger and cursing, even though he was legally in the wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 90-minute wait on Friday during rush hour with two different people asking to help and you think people are mean?

yes. Hundreds of cars passed by. Only 2 people tried to help. And this was after I was after I was pushed to the side of the road. Waiting in a car with no power means no ac and no ability to charge your phone.

Too much consumption of social media and sad news. I believe objectively we are safer now than 30 years ago. But hearing horror stories of people being killed after trying to help someone make lots of people think twice.

And generally, we are just isolated. No one helps anyone or asks anyone for anything. Even simple things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two people asked. But frankly I get weirded out when they do could be predators.
OP I hope you were not sitting in your car. You can get badly hurt. Get out of the car and away from traffic. Yeah it's hot but better than in a car hit by a truck.

from men's perspective, that's probably one of the main reasons for hesitant to pull over. I'd more comfortable pulling over if guy's car breaks down

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry, OP. I'm a woman and if I saw a woman on the side of the road I would have absolutely stopped and asked if you needed anything. My husband probably would have as well as long as it was daylight and he could do so without appearing threatening (he's 6'2" and muscular).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two people asked. But frankly I get weirded out when they do could be predators.
OP I hope you were not sitting in your car. You can get badly hurt. Get out of the car and away from traffic. Yeah it's hot but better than in a car hit by a truck.

As a large white male with facial hair, I don't approach stranded women on the side of the road.

Your advice is contrary to the experts'. The metal shell of the car is safer than sitting on a guardrail.

[Anonymous]

OP I got you. My new car died on Rockville Pike. I was at a stop light and it just wouldn't go. I was in the lane second from the curb on the right. Put my hazards on but literally couldn't get out to get to the side because people were so aggressive honking and driving next to me. So many people were screaming at me like I had some control over it. I was called every name in the book! Finally a very nice guy in the right lane stopped, blocked the traffic with his truck. Got me out to the side and flipped a bunch of people off. I waited for AAA tow and continued to listen to people scream at my car.

It was a battery problem.

[Anonymous]

Consider yourself lucky you didn't get attacked and beaten or mugged.

[Anonymous]

You don't sit on a guardrail! You get on the other side well away from it.

[Anonymous]

I’m really sorry that happened to you, OP. It must have been a stressful, physically uncomfortable, really inconvenient experience even without hecklers screaming at you. Obviously, you did nothing wrong and didn’t deserve any criticism. I hope your car is repaired and you can relax tonight. Try to focus more on the people who showed kindness than the miserable ones who couldn’t control their tempers. My father always stopped to help people in need. He ended up in some crazy situations because he always put himself out there. He even stopped to help first responders a couple times. There are people like him in the world.

[Anonymous]

Whenever we pass someone on the side of the road like that I always say, "We should see if they need help," and my family will be like, "NO!!!!!" as if that's insane. I'm sorry, OP. Not everyone sucks but a lot of people are very afraid of each other.

[Anonymous]

I'm really sorry, OP. I had a similar experience one dark winter evening when I turned left at an intersection and came upon a deer hit by someone else. I couldn't move out of my lane because everyone was whizzing past me. Everyone on my lane honked at me, since they couldn't see the obstacle and couldn't understand why I'd stopped. A nasty person from the adjoining lane rolled down their window and told me that after hitting that deer, I could at least move out of the way. In the moment, I was so stressed, I couldn't even tell him that *I* hadn't hit the deer, and that *he was literally blocking my way out*! It was so stressful.

Treat yourself to a nice relaxing evening, OP. You need to recover.

[Anonymous]

In this age of ubiquitous cell phones, most people just assume that folks sitting on the side of the road have called for help and are just waiting. It does totally suck that you didnt get more help when your were stuck in the middle of the road and were trying yo move your car. Sorry OP.