Do you stop and help?

Depends. I don’t have formal training. I have a tiny fire extinguisher. I also have a moral obligation to my children to come home alive and intact. I have a phone to call the proper people. If it’s not a accident related fire then I would hope the occupants could get out. I didn’t watch the video as I can’t stand mutha trucka.

Two different trainings that made me think about responding differently. H2S in the oilfield. You see a coworker down and you run over to help. You are now on the ground beside him adding to the body count.

Coal mining. There is an explosion or fire. Again you go to help your coworker and there is an oxygen deficiency in that area. Now there are more victims to rescue.

I know these are two extremely different examples but then again a fire is unpredictable. Is the risk of burns or something exploding in your face worth the risk to save someone that possibly can’t be saved????????

First responders access a situation before jumping right in. They also have lots of water and foam to reduce the risk to save someone. We don’t have that option. So for me I guess it depends on the severity of the fire and if anyone else is there. No need to to have 15 trucks clogging up the area. I will stop but possibly not help if it’s too bad.

 

The first frack crew I was on we had a safety meeting before every shift. It was always said a fire extinguisher is an escape tool only. Don’t try to be a hero. And you’re not a firefighter. Reason why? Once a fire starts on a frack pump, this is usually the end result.

 

that's it too, known as the "good Samaritan law", or something like that, where you cannot be sued......or can you be..??

you will still get dragged into court, miss a day or 2 until the judge slams the gavel down and says..."dismissed"...

i was never "'trained" and never wanted to be "trained" in first aid......for that very reason.

oh, at home, i'd be "daddy" and clean a skinned knee, put iodine on it then a band-aid, but not much else.

but then too, the "what-ifs'". like what if a drunk driver slams into the accident scene, and I END UP DEAD...????

BS....i was paid to drive a truck, pick up/deliver freight, and do it all over again the next night.

nothing in my job description said i had to be a paramedic.

morals, ethics be damed...........i had an obligation to get home, and support my family.

todays world, there ARE off duty nurses, doctors, EMT's, National Guard, Reservists, going to work or home from work, they are better "trained" that i was ever to be.

 

Exactly the way I feel.

 

I stopped to avoid a collision ahead of me a bunch of years back. It was on a dark stretch of I-85 just east of Charlotte at around 01:30. There were cars coming around me and slamming into the wreck. Also cars coming down the get on ramp and slamming into the wreck. I had barely stopped in time and had my 4 ways on. I decided I would go around the wreck and park on the shoulder a couple hundred feet ahead. That’s what I did.

I grabbed a flashlight and ran back to the first car. The one I very nearly crushed. The driver was looking through the car for his cell phone while cars careened around the dark curve. He didnt want to get out of the road but assured me his wife and young daughter were sitting way off the shoulder in the grass. I ran back to my truck to get my phone. Along the way I passed at least 8-10 occupants of the other cars. They were all sitting on the guard rail seemingly annoyed. I asked them if anyone called 911. “Hell nah” was the only reply. These were all adults.

I got to my truck and grabbed my phone. Dialed 911 and headed back to the first car to see if I could convince him to get out of the road. As I again passed the group sitting on the guard rail I was met with angry/threatening stares. I reported the location and that there were still cars coming around the curve and some were slamming into the growing wreck. As I was talking to 911 my spider senses made me spin around and a 30 something female had left the guardrail and was approaching from behind me with hate filled eyes and balled up fists. She was maybe 5-6 feet from me. She was probably 5’8” and maybe 250 lbs. When I turned she immediately turned and walked back to the guardrail and sat with the other 8-10 adults. Unbelievable.

A cop finally showed up. I informed him I was not involved in the accident, just a Good Samaritan and the 911 operator already said I could leave. The look on his face when I said Im leaving said it all. He knew he wasn’t safe there alone either. I walked back to my truck and drove off.

I would think twice before I stop and try to help.

 

Coming northbound out of Jackson MS, dude and (his momma???) rolled a PT Cruser in the slow lane. I was close enough, maybe 4 cars back (didn't actually see them roll...but they definitely rolled and were still in the road), but I was close enough to know that it had just happened.
So, I jumped out and ran up on them. Dude was just kinda pacing around, he was bleeding from his head, but he wasn't in too bad of shape. The momma, on the other hand was in the road. She had obviously bled a good bit and she was awake and laying on her back. It looked like neither had their seat belts on. Dude was driving, rolled it and the momma came out the passenger window. Car rolled over her (didn't mash her, but the dump on the highway wasn't friendly).
So, anyway I ran up saw what was going on and ran back to my truck and got her a blanket and some water. She was lucid, but definitely needed an ambulance.
So, I put the blanket on her, gave her the bottle of water, went back to my truck and hauled ###.

My thought(s) were / are this.....I did what I could do....#1. #2, I don't want to be stuck in an accident investigation for 5 hours for nothing......after the blanket and water, there's no more reason for me to be there.

I will do what I can, but basically (and this may sound cold), for the most part, my thought is, "Not my business, not my problem."

 

If I can get to you, I will bring it hard and heavy

 

I would render aid as long as it wasn't the reckless driving on a phone jerk running 25 mph over the speed limit that just cut me off .

 

Before the ELD Mandate when drivers had time.

 

Had three cars wreck in front of me one time , so i witness the whole thing , stopped , helped out gave statement to police about who , what , and so on.
Anyways about 4 months later a lawyer calls up an asked questions that the cops had wrote down as i described what i saw , and asked me if i had been involved. Tell him that , no - just saw it all happen.
Calls my company asking why i had stopped , boss tells him that if i had not slowed down and stopped , i would of been in the middle of it all when it happened - thank heaven for the camera- showed everything . Never heard more about it.