what's happened

fishingcinema

Not really a vent more of a niggle.

But today while in my living room trying to fix my christmas tree lights i kept hearing a bang that sounded like banging metal so looked out my window to find a car on the side of the road alight.

Cars had all stopped and people from the navy base a few doors down from my house were running up the road stopping the cars in both directions.

Then they came up the road with the occupants of the car who were in a bit of a state with shock.

lots of people had stopped and lots of people had either opened there windows in there house or came out for a look, no one had offered to call the fire brigade or police or offered the couple indoors, it was a bitter cold day today.

I asked the couple if they would like to come in and have a seat, the gentleman declined at first but i said i will leave my door open feel free to come and have a seat. 2 minuets later he and his wife came in i made them a cup of tea, sat them down and asked them if they needed to use the phone to call anybody.

The lady was very shaken and kept remembering things she had not managed to grab from the car, her bag with all her cards/bus pass/money she had taken out this morning the christmas cards she had just purchased, all there paperwork for the car. I said i know its horrible but as long as you are both ok that's the main thing. the rest can be replaced.

The fire brigade came and put the fire out, police came and took a statement and got the stuff that the couple had managed to grab from the car before the fire took hold, so we put it all in the back of the car and offered to take them home, when the fire men found there house keys in the burnt out shell and i scrubbed them up for them. The gent offered money (we did not accept) and they could not thank us enough, we simply said if we ever break down in your road we will give you a knock :0)

Now i do not consider myself to be that old (27) and must say that i am shocked that so many people stood and watched and did not act, what has happened to society now, does nobody think to offer a helping hand to someone in need anymore.

Bennifred

Well done fishingcinema - you must take pleasure in knowing you did the right thing, never mind that others didn't. :beer:
I hope there's someone like you around if I ever need help!

arcon5

You sound like such a nice person!

Usually in situations like this people assume somebody else has cone it. And more than often those leaving the house are having a nose at whats happening and not to offer assistance unfortunately. It's a shame, but its nice to know there are s ome exceptional people out there genuinely just looking to help!!

A big +1 to you!

browneyedbazzi

Well done to you for being so good to those poor people!

The sad truth is that often the more witnesses there are to something terrible, the less likely it is that anyone will stand up and help out...it's like the sense of responsibility is spread out across all the witnesses and the thinner it's spread, the less likely it will reach the threshold for an individual to act. Everyone thinks someone else will do the right thing so they don't have to. There are even worse examples of this sort of thing - including cases where groups of bystanders watched people be violently attacked and did nothing.

fishingcinema

Thanks for all your nice reply's

To be honest i did not stop to think shall i help or not, I just saw the elderly couple and wanted to get them in out out of the cold, and get them to sit down as the lady was very shaken, then you think they have just lost there car and belongings how will they get home, I am unsure if the fire brigade or police offer lifts home in cases like these so just offered. I also gave the lady my phone number and said you know where I live and you have my number if you need any help with anything getting things replaced ect i will gladly help you.

I do not know how people can just stand and watch really.

And to be honest we said to them you should also contact Renault to tell them what has happened and if there is anything that can be done as it was only a 05 plate car and the gent said it had been serviced regularly and there had been no problems before, but to be honest I do not think they will, they will probably just claim from there insurance.

So i have just contacted Renault (nicely) on there behalf as they probably do not know where to start and I do not think it will be fair for them to have to pay an excess on there insurance, loose there ncb and pay higher premiums next year on there insurance.

I will also pop round to check if they are ok and see if they would like me to help them with Renault and if they do not want to then that is ok with me.

Renault may or may not be able to help or do anything, but if they can it will be a bonus as the lady said oh no what are we going to do about a car, they were fully comp so should get a Courtesy car and then a pay out, but we all know the depreciation in cars they will not likely get that much.

As another poster mentioned re people standing by watching people get violently beaten up, I will confess I am a big wimp and only a little lady so would not be able to help out but I would certainly phone the police and make enough noise to hopefully scare them off :0)

choille

Basically there are gawkers & doers - you're a doer, you're the sort we all need in a tight spot.

We stopped the other week - car upside down in a ditch, dead deer in the middle of the road. Woman was miraculously okay, really shocked but okay. Got her sat down in the back of our car & dragged the deer off the road etc - others stopped, borrowed a phone so she could phone her hubby ( I know we don't usually carry a charged up mobile!)
Things all worked out.

Saw the woman's daughter last wek & asked after her Mum - she didn't know it was us that had stopped - we found out that some low life had nicked the woman's car battery - now they must have acted quick - gone down into the upturned car - beggars belief.

Should say there are three sorts - gawpers, doers & exploiters.........

fishingcinema

Sounds like you are a doer too, its nice to know that there are still some nice people around, and god forbid anything like that happens to me, I hope to think there will be another doer about to help me.

I does not hurt to help someone in need that's my theory.

How someone could have taken the poor lady's battery is beyond me, they obviously have no morals to be able to do that, and I do hope karma comes back about to bite that horrible individual in the butt.

choille wrote: »

Basically there are gawkers & doers - you're a doer, you're the sort we all need in a tight spot.

We stopped the other week - car upside down in a ditch, dead deer in the middle of the road. Woman was miraculously okay, really shocked but okay. Got her sat down in the back of our car & dragged the deer off the road etc - others stopped, borrowed a phone so she could phone her hubby ( I know we don't usually carry a charged up mobile!)
Things all worked out.

Saw the woman's daughter last wek & asked after her Mum - she didn't know it was us that had stopped - we found out that some low life had nicked the woman's car battery - now they must have acted quick - gone down into the upturned car - beggars belief.

Should say there are three sorts - gawpers, doers & exploiters.........

NiallB

Banging from the direction of the Navy yard?

People running?

Have you seen that Stephen King film 'The Mist'?

Be Afraid!

mad_dr

This phenomenon is often referred to as 'diffusion of responsibility' and is very common. I'm sure you can Google it (or Google Kitty Genovese for a rather disturbing example of it) but the gist of it is that when external action is required, the likelihood of someone acting reduces as the number of people increases.

Many studies have been conducted that demonstrate the soundness of the theory and it's extremely interesting when you study the nuts and bolts of it.

Usually an individual having a knowledge of this effect increases the likelihood of them taking action while others don't. Don't assume that everyone who fails to act is being selfish (although some may well be).

From (the thankfully rare) times when I've come across situations like RTCs, I find that if I can't personally carry out all of the actions necessary (IE calling the ambulance whilst checking the vitals of occupants) the safest course of action is to directly nominate someone to carry out a task. IE "You, over there in the red jumper - call an ambulance". Sounds bossy but sometimes it's the only way to make it happen!

Well done for your actions!!