Do you ever pull over and help strangers?

Who knows? The FBI has a Highway Serial Killings Initiative. Apparently, 750 murder victims were found along or near highways between 2004 and 2016, the majority of which were lot lizards killed by truckers.

I may have stopped a lot lizard from being attacked once, at a rest stop. I am not sure she was a hooker but I've come to believe she was. Prostitution being illegal and yet, in constant demand, allows hookers to be easy targets. Predators know they are not missed. Ditto for the homeless.

A typical hitchhiker story was billy cook, a sociopathic spree killer from 1950. He had an apparent breakdown of some sort, hitchhiked around the country, and killed a number of people while doing it. I suspect that most hitchhiker problems range to robbery or carjacking, rather than violence like rape or murder, but there is still enough danger on both sides to make it a risky behavior.

It's possible John's grandpa may have run into that guy.....you just never know. I think the serial killer mentality is fairly common and I think if the conditions were right, people we would otherwise trust would kill in a heartbeat if they thought they could get away with it.

Glenn, your tow truck story reminds me of what happened to me in 2001. I had managed to get myself stuck on a section of road I really had no business on. I just couldn't get up out of that valley! It was likely an issue of wrong tires and back then, I didn't have a clue about tire chains. It was either sleep in the car all night till the snowplows cleared the road the next day or call a tow truck.

I called the local service and it turned out I went to high school with the dispatcher so he cut me a deal for $50.00. I had that much in cash (good thing I didn't buy that ammo I saw at Walmart). The wrecker came and pulled me up the hill. Near the summit he said "you know this will be a high dollar tow." I replied, "ya, I know, the dispatcher already quoted me $50.00."

The driver said "whoa! He doesn't set the prices---I do! It'll be $200.00." I (suddenly very happy I was armed as this man made three of me) replied "really? I tell you what. We'll call your dispatcher back and while he's thinking your comments over I'll call a deputy to come out and talk that over with you."

The wrecker driver said "OK, $50.00 is fine." I should have pushed to have the man fired but I let it go. I now carry tire chains in winter and don't drive on roads I don't need to be on.
 
We have had a surge in panhandling in my area, it was a very unusual thing up until a few years ago. They are illegally accosting people in parking lots now.

I have noticed that many of them try to break through the defenses by shaking your hand. Gain your trust and friendship. The first time this happened to me a few years ago, I had wife and was filling her car, while pump was running, swept my eyes over the lot again. Big dude in ratty clothes with backpack was approaching with haste, hand out. I swept back my denim jacket and had my pistol half drawn before he made a couple more steps. I have not drawn since then, now that I have experienced it, but those guys don't get my hand, and I've suggested that he step back once. More than once I've reached into the jacket to give notice that there was a potential for danger. Not brandished a weapon, just a strong hint. There have been cars stolen and occasional hold ups at places here in those same few years.

Don't tell me that I'm over reacting. If you are about to be robbed or attacked, it looks just the same as being asked to voluntarily give money until information is available. anyone who is "normal" will have learned not to sneak up behind a person, I THINK. maybe scaring a person is a good thing? In any case, a person who appears out of the darkness behind you should be considered a possible risk, and unlike a hitchhiker, driving on isn't an option.

Two cars were stolen from a nearby lot just a couple of weeks ago, people left the things running. Just yesterday I was out, parked and got gas, went in for a coke, and there was a nice, oh so nice escalade or some such thing running on the parking lot near the door.

Really, people? No, it was not a decoy put there by police, it was a numb nutted nerd who was buying a drink. I never imagined that someone would walk away from a car unless they wanted it to be stolen.

Just to pass on info, I won't give money to panhandlers who approach me outside, but will throw things at the ones who sit at the side. rocks, bottles, (just kidding) If someone approaches me for "gas money" I offer to put ten into their tank, just pull up and I'll fill it. Nobody has done so.

early last summer I was out and stopped for gas and a drink. Couple of kids were trying to by ONE drink, her card was declined, they said that they didn't have the full $1.50. the woman running the register took the cup back and told them to move on.

"oh, for the love of god! You are going to pour it out?"

I told the kids that I was buying and to go get another drink so they didn't have to share, make it a big one, pick out some food, get on their way down the highway. they declined my offer but took the drink.

Point to that is that I don't believe in giving money to panhandlers. I'll feed them or help them some other way.
 
Ten ring, billy cook is properly defined as a spree killer. They have different motivations and different methods. His crimes were a random, disorganized, seat of his pants thing. No planning whatsoever, a result of a total breakdown of some sort. He had kept his life under control until then, but god knows if there were other bodies in other mines before he left. Depression era joplin wasn't sweet and innocent. Bonnie and clyde even lived here for a time and there was an infamous shootout just at the south edge of town.

Ten ring, we also have a gouging law here. Increasing prices of any kind due to natural disaster or act of god is illegal. I think that gas is allowed to go up a few percent. Grocery gouging will be investigated. Hotels had better not exceed the posted prices, that brings in the state atty general. Increasing the price of towing because of weather is not allowed, etc. The exception is for independents who are allowed to set their own prices without regulation.

When we had the tornado several years ago there was gouging on building supplies and the atty general stepped in. You don't want to do that stuff when it is on the heels of a nationally publicized weather emergency.
 
I’ve stopped once, I was 20ish and with a buddy and we saw a car have a blowout in front of us. Overweight guy in his 50’s got out and when he saw us told us all about his bad back and how he was on disability and wasn’t sure if he could physically change a tire. My buddy and I changed out his spare while he leaned over us watching every move. Then he said he’d offer us money but he had just spent his last dollar on a frozen pizza for him and his ma. I could see his wallet in the car and cash hanging out of it so I knew he was lying, but I wouldn’t have accepted any money anyway.

I have pulled over and rolled down my window to ask people if they need help. In these days of cell phones, they always tell me someone is on their way. I’m also a bald guy with a full beard and it’s typically women stopped, so they may just be a little afraid of a stranger which I completely understand.

I was grateful a few years ago that someone stopped and helped my wife. It had snowed that day and her normal route home from work was closed due to a wreck. She tried calling me to find another route but I was in a meeting and didn’t answer so she ended up calling my brother (we had just married so she was new to the area). My brother sent her down THE steepest hill in the county, which is windy and a one lane road on top of that. My wife got 1/3 of the way down the road, started sliding on the snow and stopped in right in the middle of the road. Then she started crying and calls me again. I was 45 minutes away but left work right away to go help her. But some local guy shows up a few minutes later, gets out and asks if he can help. He offered to help her out, and desperate my wife agreed. So my wife gets out of her CRV, also gets out my step-daughter (yeah, there was a scared 4 year old in the car as well) and the guy drives her car down the hill and all then way back up until it’s on flat pavement. I know my wife was terrified this guy was either going to murder her and her daughter, or just run off with her SUV but everything ended up being fine.
 
Then there are women who marry serial killers like ted bundy, but won't let the phone repair man check out her lines. It's unfortunate that we aren't more uniformity nature and predictable.
 
Snow may be the achilles' heel for women. I once did that exact thing, but it was getting out of her drive, uphill, so she could go down the hill. Not a crv, but another crossover. I suggested that she come back from the east, to avoid the hill, and she got Snotty.

I have never passed a person in snow unless there are numerous people there. A snow event is unplanned. The chance that a bandit is waiting by a car that's off of the road must be pretty slim, yet leaving the old guy out in the snow could kill him.

Should you guys disagree about taking the chance and helping the snow bound, consider this.

Snow and exertion Bring on heart attacks, a confirmable fact. A person with existing heart trouble who is shoveling his car out can die right where they stand. A friend of mine is a body builder, strength coach at a gym. We both smoke cigars, nicotine is bad for the heart.

He lit a cigar and shoveled eight inches of snow by hand, felt bad when he was through, and hours later drove himself to the er through eight inches of snow. Christ, he had a terrible attack while shoveling, they said that his physical condition was all that saved him.

If you have any Christian spirit, no matter who it is, stop for people with winter problems if you can. I'm begging you.
 
I do, but not for everyone. If I’m in a high traffic area with good phone service I keep driving and assume help will arrive. On rural roads I will help folks if I feel safe in doing so, I don’t always feel safe enough to stop. But I always make sure to report someone in potential distress to emergency response.
 
no, most people have a phone or I can see them making a call

one time in heavy traffic my alternator went out and the car died at the stop light, and a man with his family traveling from CANADA asked if I needed a push? and all his kids got out and pushed my vehicle across the intersection and into a parking lot at a supermarket.

I still stop to do this type of assistance for an emergency, but dont pick up hitchikers or people on the side of the hwy with a back pack.

If I saw an old lady or elderly man with a flat tire I would help him change it
 
I seem to be the person who's approached in store parking lots by women and old people who need help. The first time it happened, I was in my early 30s, and the woman was quite elderly. She came up to my car window and asked if I could give her a ride back to her senior-living apartment building, as she wasn't feeling well. All my big-city survival instincts kicked in, and it took a second to convince myself that this 80-something lady wasn't going to mug me.

Usually it's someone whose car won't start. Apparently I look like the sort of person who has jumper cables...

I only ever pick up hitchhikers in canoe country, and then only if they're carrying their life jacket and paddle. That's that "social variables" thing Glenn mentioned. :)
 
You used the terms "lying" and "coward," not me.
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Sure. You just implied he was repeating an urban myth instead of truthfully recounting an incident in his life and that he was "turned to fear". Obviously different from lying and being a coward.

And, of course there's the obvious contradiction that if the story wasn't true there would be no reason for him to be afraid. But whatever.
The real tragedy is, how many people has that story prevented doing the right thing?
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Since we don't have any stats, I'm going to make some up and say that it has saved exactly as many people from being crime victims as it has dissuaded people from stopping to help people in genuine distress. So I'm going to say that it's a wash--totally neutral in its effects and therefore not a tragedy at all. :D

Realistically, it has been my experience that people do what they want to and rarely take the time to think things through carefully, reviewing all the stories they've heard to determine if doing something is wise or not.

I know that I have stopped to help people in spite of having heard, and believed the story. And I have also passed people by for a variety of reasons without ever even thinking about the story.
 
I have found the "command voice" works very well on stopping shady guys in their tracks during their walk up.

"Stop, do NOT come any closer!" "What do you need?" Left hand up in "stop!" gesture or pointing, right hand reaching for you know what.

They go into the "um, um, um" mode.

Despite my compulsive need to help people I keep my head on a swivel and I endeavor to see everyone before they see me.

briandg is dead on (no pun intended) snow shoveling is a known killer for the out-of-shape.

I stop and check on those out in snow too. I have found that tire chains are da bomb in deep snow or on ice. I've passed heavy duty 4x4 trucks on hills with my little 1 wheel drive car with her chains on. What's "1 wheel drive?" Whichever front wheel gets less traction is the only one that pulls.

Driving on snow takes some experience and practice, which we tend to get where I live. :)
 
When I was in my late teens, I gave a young woman a ride after my friends and I found her car up an embankment. She was visibly intoxicated and there were empty liquor bottles on the floor. I probably should have called the police, but I took her home instead. She was lucid enough to direct me to where she was staying and had friends at her place to receive her.

I generally stop if I see somone in distress. I don't give rides or pick up strangers, not to say it would never happen. I often wonder the stories of hitchhikers that I see, but I don't pick them up.

I've been helped by strangers and I help strangers. I don't let fear rule my life. I think if we do, the bad guys win.

Also, while I respect the freedom of religion, don't for one second think that it is a prerequisite for being a kind and compassionate human being. Religion is not required to have strong morals and values.
 
I'm not entirely stupid. I've done some practice with weak side gun handling in the car.
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That can be debatable.
I took her in knowing quite well that she may have been dangerous. It's what I do.
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The first point of self defense being avoid the potential in the first place. Not practice for an event you unwisely got yourself into.
When approached in a parking lot, or gas station for help, usually with a story about how they need money to get home, I simply get out my phone and offer to contact the police to help them. Most often they suddenly find their car, or it isn't out of gas, and leave for other "hunting grounds" quickly as I randomly dial fictitious numbers.
 
Of course I stop. There are particular circumstances where that would not be a wise decision, so excluding those rare situations I stop. If it is a bike i stop with no exceptions.

For those who never stop no matter what, saying in essence "to hell with everybody but me", when you are in a bad way and need help I hope the person passing by disagrees with you.
 
don't be implying that i;'m stupid because i will take a risk in order to offer help. you are pretty clearly saying that the initial decision to be a cop or other emergency personnel is a stupid decision, because that decision s going to lead to a whole lifetime of doing those things. You choose not to even consider it. Your decision is your own, I disagree with you without considering you to be stupid.

I don't guess you got the memo. self defense is about any situation. You presume a lot, deciding that offering assistance to a person after carefully considering the risks is a personal choice, whether or not you think it's unwise, the choice is about whether people are concerned enough about the other person to care. I'm sure that you make decisions that I consider "unwise."

The chance that any one person is dangerous is probably pretty slim. It's a moral decision. a tattooed and pierced goober or homeless looking guy can be given the benefit of doubt, or just assumed to be a threat and chased off. Personally, I assume that everybody maybe a threat, and then go through a number of other questions before I decide what to do.
 
Also, while I respect the freedom of religion, don't for one second think that it is a prerequisite for being a kind and compassionate human being. Religion is not required to have strong morals and values.

Although not by any means needed for compassion, religion does seem to help.

For those who never stop no matter what, saying in essence "to hell with everybody but me", when you are in a bad way and need help I hope the person passing by disagrees with you.

They hope so too! They won't admit it, but they do, they have, and they will.

We all know not to judge a book by its cover....but to judge by evidence and actions. One thing I will judge by and that's neck, facial, and head tattoos. Police officers on this site might confirm, that's usually a bad place for tattoos. I wouldn't do that man wrong, but my alert status would go up.

I read in a police magazine many years ago that if approached with the "I ran out of gas" story to offer to call police, so they could give the guy a ride. Three times I've used that and three times the fellow got angry/yelled obscenities while the third just sadly walked off. *In his case there was no car left where he said it was.

My father lost a gas can when he let a guy "borrow" it when the guy approached his house asking for gasoline. Later, dad was going to do the same thing, but that time I happened to be over there and I went with the guy. He put it into his tank and I believe he was honestly out of gasoline. He offered to pay, I refused.

Last fall I came across a car stopped on a hill in the turning lane. That's very odd as there is no place to turn off on that road (defeating the reason for a turning lane but hey, govt.). I pulled over into a driveway, tried to ask permission to be there but no one was home, and walked to the guy's car. He was a teenager, out of gasoline. *I warned him not to continue cranking as he could burn up the fuel pump (modern ones are lubricated by gasoline in the tank).

I went home to fetch him some, realized I had no spare fuel, so I drove to a gas station and got him 2.5 gallons. By the time I got back to him, two deputies had pulled over to check on him (good on them!). I pulled in behind them, and he and I tanked him up. He paid me $8.00.

When I was leaving the officers thanked me to which I replied "we have a duty to help each other" and that made an impression on that officer. I then grabbed his hand and thanked him for "what he does for the community." The officer was visibly taken aback. *I love doing that. It makes that guy's day a little better.
 
Bravo

I fully agree 10 ring. I rarely miss an opportunity to thank those that serve and protect us.

My kudos today are for my local fire department. Had a fire at my place, their incredibly quick response saved my home.

My thanks to the Longview, WA fire department.
 
Depends on my gut feeling. Generally I'm alright done it a lot. Spent a lot of years driving OTR trucks and have done it a lot. I don't view every person I see as some kind of ax killer! Of course I also have a gun close by. It's sad to me to pass someone that really needs help, at least I think it is.

Where I live, help if your broke down is a long way off! Closest gas and food is 35 mi. I've pretty much soured on letting people have gas unless they have the money with them. One time to many I've let people have gas with no money but a promise to mail it to me. Have never had anyone mail it to me. Oh yea, the closest gas station is also 35 mi!
 
One local scam around here is a guy runs up to you in a parking lot of Walmart and frantically yells that his wife's water just broke and he needs money to ....

I responded as I moved away from him that I'm calling 911 for an ambulance. Guess what he ran away!
 
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