What would you have done?

[FoBoT]

cars rarely explode, but auto-flambee's are common

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: Zysoclaplem
Murderer...

you've got to be kidding.

OP, what would you have wanted the guy that was in the accident to do if he had come upon you in that situation?

I actually don't know if it was ME. If it was my dad (an older fellow), I would have wanted someone to rush to his aid. Though I did the bare minimum and called it in, I suppose.

Though you guys make a lot of sense - if I opened the door and found him bleeding from his head and in a seizure, I would have no idea what to do and would have probably made things worse out of the hysterics of the moment.

so did you stick around for help to come?

edit: forget it, i read that you did.

No... I was scared... There, I said it! The car was from the 70s and in awful shape already - I had no idea what would happen next, so I called it in and even told the 911 operator that I wouldn't hang out there because I was a wuss. OK, I didn't use those words...

i'm not faulting you for that. some people can rise to the occasion and others don't have it in them.

 

[tidehigh]

jesus really? scared that its going to blow up? one too many movies my friend. cars catch fire and burn, normally they won't blow up though. i would have called 911 and checked to see if the person needed immediate attention (stopping excessive bleeding, pulling away from fire, etc.) then maybe just tried to calm the person down if they were freaking out. don't beat yourself up, but i doubt this will be the last time you witness an accident, learn from this one and take it to the next.

on a related note, if you are drunk, stay away. call 911. stay away. new years eve we witnessed a 1 car + tree accident early in the morn. no one was around. these stupid bitches i was with ran over and drug the chick fromt he car before i could stop them. they were yelling get away its gonna blow and shit. i called 911 and luckily the chick was ok. but they could have paralyzed her by pulling her away from a perfectly fine (not going to blow up) car.

 

[E equals MC2]

HAHAH one too many hollywood movies.

CARS DON'T BLOW UP on IMPACT. If such things happened in reality where cars blow up in a fickle, all major automobiles would be facing serious charges. Yea, nice FIVE STAR safety rating.

<--- LAUGHS AT OP.

 

[ManyBeers]

I think the reason you made this post is because in your heart you know you should have done more. You are not happy with yourself.

 

[swbsam]

^^OK, let's turn my whiny post to something more constructive:
<b>Instead of what WOULD you do (i.e. run away like I did, a regular Nancy boy), what SHOULD you do?</b>

So:
1. Call 9-1-1
2. Approach the car and....

Fill in the blanks, so that I'll be less wussy in the future while also not making things worse

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: ManyBeers
I think the reason you made this post is because in your heart you know you should have done more. You are not happy with yourself.

Bingo, Dr. Freud.

 

[Mxylplyx]

Originally posted by: swbsam
I'll try to do this briefly, since long buildups with crappy payoffs suck:

1. I was walking on the sidewalk of a busy street toward my parked car
2. A driver who appeared to be sleeping rushed by me, hitting parked cars and finally slammed into a double parked UPS truck
3. I saw the accident and it was pretty brutal, the front of the car was totally crushed and there was smoke coming from it, getting thicker and thicker.
4. I started running toward the car but, as the smoke increased, thought "do I want to die trying to help a guy who fell asleep at the wheel? my parents and friends would be pissed!" and instead dialed 9-1-1 because I was afraid that the car would blow up.

I still feel guilty about turning/ running away and it's nagging me - should I have helped the guy, a stranger, even if it would have meant I could have been injured? I don't know anything about cars, I'm sure you'll point out that the gas tank is in the back and chance of blowing up was nil - I wasn't thinking rationally at the point, I suppose. But, if the risk was really there - what would you do?

While I wont give you a hard time since you did dial 911, I think you should have checked on the people in the car. Waiting on EMT's to arrive could be the difference between life and death.

 

[amdhunter]

I would have posted on ATOT about it, but with pictures.

 

[ManyBeers]

Since you were so worried about the car possibly exploding maybe getting anybody still in the car out. Especially since it is smoking.

 

[Modeps]

Originally posted by: swbsam
4. I started running toward the car but, as the smoke increased, thought "do I want to die trying to help a guy who fell asleep at the wheel? my parents and friends would be pissed!" and instead dialed 9-1-1 because I was afraid that the car would blow up.

The bolded section confuses me.

You wouldn't try to save someone's life because of what your family and friends thought? They must suck. You'd let them die because you think they're sleeping?

Do you know if the driver had narcolepsy? Do you know if the driver was a doctor who had to pull 2 all nighters in a row because the hospital he worked at was understaffed? Did they have some other medical condition that caused them to pass out while driving?

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: Modeps

Originally posted by: swbsam
4. I started running toward the car but, as the smoke increased, thought "do I want to die trying to help a guy who fell asleep at the wheel? my parents and friends would be pissed!" and instead dialed 9-1-1 because I was afraid that the car would blow up.

The bolded section confuses me.

You wouldn't try to save someone's life because of what your family and friends thought? They must suck. You'd let them die because you think they're sleeping?

Do you know if the driver had narcolepsy? Do you know if the driver was a doctor who had to pull 2 all nighters in a row because the hospital he worked at was understaffed? Did they have some other medical condition that caused them to pass out while driving?

To be the devil's advocate, I joked to a friend "maybe he was a wife beater and this was part of God's master plan, or maybe he was a wonderful guy?" I had no way of knowing either way. I'm not trying to defensive, we just assume the best of strangers sometimes.

 

[PingSpike]

First, I would have torn off my shirt, exposing my rippling abs. After tearing the car door off its hinges and throwing it into the moon I would have performed mouth to mouth resucitation on the beautiful woman that was trapped in the car.

Then I would have drove my [late model sports car] home, had sex with my super model wife and went for a swim in the money pit, as I make so much money I had a pit installed to contain it and facilitate swimming in said money. Then I would post about it on ATOT.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
First, I would have torn off my shirt, exposing my rippling abs. After tearing the car door off its hinges and throwing it into the moon I would have performed mouth to mouth resucitation on the beautiful woman that was trapped in the car.

Then I would have drove my [late model sports car] home, had sex with my super model wife and went for a swim in the money pit, as I make so much money I had a pit installed to contain it and facilitate swimming in said money. Then I would post about it on ATOT.

almost a perfect ATOT answer, but you forgot one thing

Originally posted by: amdhunter
I would have posted on ATOT about it, but with pictures.

I would imagine pictures of the accident, but I suppose the supermodel wife would work as well.

 

[Glavinsolo]

Tom Cruise would have stopped and helped because he knows he is the only one who can.

 

[hiromizu]

Absolutely not unless I'm feeling extra heroic and that is a rare disease.

 

[aphex]

sometimes helping can be worse, if your negligent. Most states have good Samaritan laws that protect you, some do not.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: teclis1023
Pulling someone from a car after an accident is a great way to mess them up even more.

Not if the cab is full of smoke and fire.

OP I would like to think I would've done more than you, and am on the verge of saying running away was wrong, but I've never been in that situation and couldn't say. Things like this remind me I need to get first aid training, though.. there have been times where I've ran to help only to realize I had no idea what to do.

 

[Tiamat]

In emergency situations, you do not help the victim until you can be 100% certain of your safety; instead contact emergency crews (911, Fire/Ambulance/Police). It doesn't help when you become an addition victim as well. I would say you made the correct decision for that situation.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: swbsam
I'll try to do this briefly, since long buildups with crappy payoffs suck:

1. I was walking on the sidewalk of a busy street toward my parked car
2. A driver who appeared to be sleeping rushed by me, hitting parked cars and finally slammed into a double parked UPS truck
3. I saw the accident and it was pretty brutal, the front of the car was totally crushed and there was smoke coming from it, getting thicker and thicker.
4. I started running toward the car but, as the smoke increased, thought "do I want to die trying to help a guy who fell asleep at the wheel? my parents and friends would be pissed!" and instead dialed 9-1-1 because I was afraid that the car would blow up.

I still feel guilty about turning/ running away and it's nagging me - should I have helped the guy, a stranger, even if it would have meant I could have been injured? I don't know anything about cars, I'm sure you'll point out that the gas tank is in the back and chance of blowing up was nil - I wasn't thinking rationally at the point, I suppose. But, if the risk was really there - what would you do?

'dont get involved" is always the safest option if u dont know anyone involved at the time of the incident

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Descartes
Although I can't say for certain, I like to think I'm the kind of person that would do whatever I can to help another. I would almost certainly have gone to the car, but thinking rationally about it I can't say it's the brightest idea.

This might be a bit of a tangent, but my hesitation now isn't so much due to concern about the car blowing up, etc.; rather, it seems like the incredibly litigious nature of the US makes it so that bystanders would rather keep out than involve themselves. I know there are bystander laws, but still... it's more of a hesitation in my mind than personal injury.

Not only that, but even in places where there are "good Samaritan" laws, those laws often only cover people who have current emergency training (e.g. red cross, paramedic, etc). There's also a lot of room for someone who lacks medical training to make a situation worse. In the situation that the OP described, I think that he did the right thing.

ZV

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: JTsyo
Unless you think the car is about to blow, I think you keep injured people in the car. That way if they have any serious injury(especially neck), you're not making it worse. That's just my understanding though, not an EMS or anything.

thats what i was told also, while in classes for work. we had to take first aid, rescue and other classes for the types of sites we work at. im no EMT tho. ive stopped at accident scenes before that i witnessed and talked to the people in the cars to keep them calm and from moving if it was bad enough. as long as someone is keeping them occupied the urge to get out of the car is a lot less demanding. my good friend had the charge of talking to a guy with half a brain one time, hes still pretty screwed up from that one. the guy kept trying to unbuckle and get out, even tho he couldnt move his arms and his car was upside down. that lasted about 4 minutes, to which he reverted to mumbling and grunts, and passed soon after. hard to deal with knowing you cant help at all and it is his last few moments.

 

[darkxshade]

I think cars only blow up in Hollywood... not that I'm discounting the notion entirely but most likely it'll go up in flames instead. Either way, I would've done the same thing you did, call 911 and let the guy sleep a lil longer.

 

[nwfsnake]

I guess I was the only one thinking "Crap, no wonder UPS didn't deliver my package on time!".

 

[JulesMaximus]

The last thing you should do is try to move someone involved in an accident unless their life is in imminent danger. The smoke he saw was probably just steam from the cooling system.