Reason #1 to Prep - People Suck

[MudCamper]

So, as my brother's talking to AAA, a guy stopped by to ask if he needed help. He then drove to the desert in his truck to pick up the rest of us and our gear (he informed my brother that a sandstorm was coming, so we better get out of there fast), and was ready to drop us off in Barstow, or at his place, to wait out the sandstorm. .

That is just too friendly. It sets off my warning alarms. Call me paranoid but I'd instantly assume the guy is some kind of Zed from the movie Pulp Fiction.

[madland]

If I'm by myself in the middle of the night the best you're gonna get from me is a phone call. If it's the middle of the day and my wife and kids are with me you'll still most likely get a phone call made on your behalf. Unfortunately my safety and my family comes first..that's just the way it is. If by chance we're in the parking lot at the market or Home Depot or some other public place with lots of people around I'll most likely jump your dead battery or help out more if possible and time isn't a factor like picking up my kids from school or getting to work, etc.

Case in point..camping out at Ocotillo the weekend after Thanksgiving '11. My wife is giving my 4yo son a bath back at the trailer and getting him ready for bed. MY 8yo daughter and I go for one last quick night ride in our Teryx. I tell my wife the trails we'll be on and no more than 2miles from camp. On our ride we come upon a guy flashing us with his flashlight saying they lost their radiator cap to their buggy. I do see fluid on the ground. I ask how far back he thinks he lost it..he says about 100yds. I tell him I'll double-back and look for it. I drive 300-400yds. and don't find anything. I come back and tell him I didn't see anything and ask if his friend/driver has a cell phone or contact with his camp. He says the friend is working on it now. I tell him there's not much more I can do for him and my wife is expecting us back soon and I don't want her to get worried. He says no problem and thanks for the help.
My daughter asks why we didn't stay to help out more. I tell her that
1)We don't know these guys and as much as I'd like to help..our safety comes first.
2)They could have a gun and rip us off..leaving us in the dark in the desert..not far from camp but that's irrelavant.
3)Mom will get worried if we aren't back soon.
4)They could do more than just rip us off..

She say.."Oh you're right..I didn't think about it that way."
No harm no foul..and a re-inforced lesson for her about dealing with strangers.


My .02

[Reilandlaw]

I usually won't stop if my kids are with me, but if I'm alone I'll usually stop to help, depending on the circumstances. There was one time I can think of that I stopped when the kids were with me. We had just left Legoland and there was a car stopped at a stoplight before the freeway entrance that wasn't going anywhere. All the cars in front of me went around it and I was about to until I saw that it was a little old lady (late 70's-early 80's) sitting alone in the car. I pulled off and found out her car had died, she knew nobody in the area, and she had no phone. I called AAA for her and waited for the tow truck to show up. Sometimes circumstances are such that you have to stop and lend a hand. Hopefully someone would do the same if it were a family member of mine in similar situation.

Bill

[nick]

That is just too friendly. It sets off my warning alarms. Call me paranoid but I'd instantly assume the guy is some kind of Zed from the movie Pulp Fiction.

I was waiting for a comment like that, and it makes sense to a point. However, there're still good people out there, and besides, we're talking about 3 armed guys and a girl who's been competitively shooting for a couple of years now.

[23 Blast]

Guess I'll throw my dos centavos in here. One day, my girlfriend and I were driving to see my sister in the hospital. This was back when I had an old jalopy of a car that had actually been my dad's car before passing it on to me. At the time of the incident, car had 200K miles on it and was prone to all kinds of stoppages.

We are in North Hollywood and the engine dies and steam/smoke is coming out of my hood. Not good. It's mid-afternoon, maybe around 4:00, so there's a lot of traffic around. This is in the days before cell phones were ubiquitous, so I'm looking around for a phone booth (remember those?) to call AAA that I luckily have.

Well - guess what, I forgot/misplaced my AAA card and am cursing, thinking I'll need to somehow convince a AAA tow truck driver to help fix my car.

Anyway, a pickup truck with two Mexicans in it pulls over as they see me with my hood up and steam coming out of my car. I have no idea what goes on under the hood of my car - to me it's as magical as what a microwave oven does; I know how to operate it, but fixing it? No thanks, bud. The Mexican guys come over and ask if I need help. At first I'm apprehensive, even though these look like day laborers and not cholos. One of them looks at my engine, speaks to the other one in Spanish, and the other one retrieves a gallon of water from the truck. They then use a rag to unscrew my radiator cap, and fill up my radiator. Seems I had a coolant leak and that's why the engine stopped.

Anyway, I thank them (my girlfriend offered them money, which they flatly refused) and go on my way thkinking that there are in fact great people in the world.

So - in the future, if it looks like anybody needs help from me, and I'm in a position to offer it, I try my best to help them out.

Most recent case I can think of where I helped someone out (not lending money to homeless/indigent people): I'm leaving my house and on my street a lady in a beat-up old van is flagging me down as I go down the street. Now, we don't live in a high-crime area, so even though this lady's vehicle indicates that she's not from our neighborhood, I'm not particularly worried. She's also by herself, as far as I can tell. I roll down my window and she says her car needs a jump start. Without much hesitation I get out, jump her car, and we're both on our way. Total elapsed time, perhaps 4-5 minutes (I carry a road kit in all my cars which include flares, flashlights, and jumper cables). Good karma for all.

[coder44mag]

I do a lot of off-roading in the Sierras, different breed of motorist up there. We (wheelers) help everyone, cause we may be the ones needing help next time

Well ya, we can pretty much tell if you are the stereotypical flatlander with a Suburu/Volvo/Audi out on the dirt trail, of if you have a truck/SUV/jeep with gear and/or dust all over the vehicle.

[JCavSD]

As far as I can recall people have always stopped for me and I've always stopped for other people. Of course caution is wise, but life is full of risk and taking a little risk now and then to help people out is just good practice.

[Cali-Shooter]

Never depend on total strangers for help unless that's your last and only straw. Sounds like you did what you could and the circumstances were unfavorable, to say the least.

[IntoForever]

I'm always amazed at who helps out and who doesn't. I used to help my friend train by steering his SUV while he pushed it around the neighborhood (Pacoima area) and the only ones who offered to help were the old men and kids dressed up like gang-bangers.

[77bawls]

So what was wrong with the car?

I do a lot of off-roading in the Sierras, different breed of motorist up there. We (wheelers) help everyone, cause we may be the ones needing help next time

There are also people that steal stuff off the tow rigs up there.

Oh and two years ago I was on my annual camping trip at Wentworth Springs and I got a flat tire on Icehouse road. I waited by my truck to see if anybody would pull over and after about a half hour or so I realized nobody was going to stop. I walked 9 miles before somebody finally pulled over to ask if I needed help. The guy that pulled over passed me once and almost stopped but headed to town to get oil for his truck. He stopped by my truck on the way back but I was gone. He picked my up way down the road after countless other people passed me up. He was nice enough to take me all the way to wentworth. He saved me probably another 7 miles or so.

[Dutch3]

Oh and two years ago I was on my annual camping trip at Wentworth Springs and I got a flat tire on Icehouse road. I waited by my truck to see if anybody would pull over and after about a half hour or so I realized nobody was going to stop. I walked 9 miles before somebody finally pulled over to ask if I needed help.

You got a flat and couldn't put the spare on instead of walking 9 miles?

[77bawls]

You got a flat and couldn't put the spare on instead of walking 9 miles?

What spare?

[Dutch3]

What spare?

It's probably a good idea to have one.

[77bawls]

It's probably a good idea to have one.

Probably, but the size tires I have the carrier wouldn't fit one, it would have to go in the back of the bed. If I did that I would have to have a special locking mount. I would also have to carry a floor jack to be able to lift the thing.