I saw a lady walking in heavy rain on Sunday morning

Whilst I was driving on Sunday I espied a lady getting drenched in said rain.
I fleetingly thought of offering her a lift to some shelter then thought better of it.
Single older guy, stops to offer a single lady a lift with no witnesses?
Likely outcome was she would decline the lift and note my car rego, pass it to the police as a "suspicious person"
Police would be knocking on my door.
Do not need such hassles.
I think you could have offered, if she declined you could have just gone on your way. Only concern would have been if she declined and you followed her. If I said no to a ride, and the person respected my response and drove on....I would never even think of reporting them. To me, that is being a bit paranoid.
 

I'm not much up on the Western rail corridors however the only Intercity passenger railroad would be the AMTRAK California Zephyr Service which has trackage rights on the Union Pacific Central Corridor.
Thanks, but I don't think this was a passenger train, no AMTRAK anywhere near where he was.
 

I have given people rides who were in need and seemed safe. Never regretted it.

The one that made me most nervous was a guy hitchhiking on Highway 30 near the Nevada/Utah border.
Reminds me of this joke;

Picked up a hitch-hiker. Seemed like a nice guy. After a few miles, he asked me if I wasn't afraid that he might be a serial killer. I told him the odds of two serial killers being in the same car were extremely unlikely.
 
He did not know why it had stopped. @Gary O' would know a lot more than me.
One never really knows

I jumped on a gondola creeping outa the yard
Went a few miles
Train slammed to a stop (that railcar crunching noise)
Then went in reverse
Then went forward
Did this about ten times
Then
All was quiet

After 20 or so minutes, I dared to peer over the edge of the gondola

My car was unhooked, and all alone, on a spur

Hiked back to the yard
Musta changed shifts in the shack
Had to give up my water jug
Got ran off

Hung out just outa the yard

Hopped a slow mover

Turned into a hotshot
Those guys don't stop until their only destination
Produce
Gotta get there quick
Quick could still mean days
I had no water
Never so glad they slowed thru the next town
Didn't land well
Took a few days to get all the gravel outa my hands
 
Gary O' you did it once again. You gotta write a book. I'm not holding my breath for one of those well off new tech hobos to ply their trade on one of those 1.5 mile 70+ MPH Transcon Double stacks. However I'm waiting for one to try that on Floridas CSX railroads infamous Tropicana Juice Train. Not sure but I believe it gets no stop clear the right of way preference like AMTRAK enjoys. Gotta get that frozen OJ to Noo Joisey. Stop somewhere in the Carolinas like Autotrain for a crew change. Remember the infamous "Conrail Boyz" train heist thugs in Jersey City?
 
I posted about this adventure a few months ago:

Years ago, I was with a group of friends at a restaurant/bar. One woman in the group was a heavy drinker. Since I rarely drink, I don't have much knowledge about alcohol content. I counted 11 times the waiter brought her drinks that I later learned were "Brandy." I saw how little of it was in the bottom of each big glass, so i didn't think she was drinking much.
When we got up to leave around 1:00am, I saw that she was stumbling & having trouble walking & talking. Since I've seen what drunk drivers can do, I told her I would drive her home & take her to the parking lot tomorrow to get her car. Her home (where she lived with her parents) was 10 miles away.
A few minutes into the drive, she went wacko - accusing me of "trying something" with her. At first, I ignored her, but she got louder & louder & then started screaming "RAPE" out the window. I sped up to get to her parent's house faster. By the time we got to her parent's place, she had torn her blouse & scratched herself & was screaming hysterically. Neighbors started looking out their windows & two people started coming outside.
Thankfully, her parents (in their 60's) woke up & came & dragged her into the house & nodded "Thank you" to me; they had obviously gone through this many times before with her.
I sped away, worried that someone called police. I'm very lucky she was probably too sick the next day to file a police report, or I could have ended up bankrupt defending myself against an Attempted Rape charge.
I also later learned that I was even more lucky than I thought; there are men who spent YEARS in prison due to a rape conviction that was later proved to be false when the woman admitted she lied.
I NEVER let any drunk into my car again & never will.
And I think twice before helping anyone.
 
Now days I personally would not stop and offer ride etc to anyone........ I watched too many true crime or dateline type shows.
I feel bad .........as some may be completely fine but so many things come to mind...... both for the person on side of road and as driver being left for dead or something.
it is a sad sick world
Years ago yes I would, but not now.
 
I think you could have offered, if she declined you could have just gone on your way. Only concern would have been if she declined and you followed her. If I said no to a ride, and the person respected my response and drove on....I would never even think of reporting them. To me, that is being a bit paranoid.
Certainly not being paranoid.
High possibility of me being reported.
A bunch of years ago 3 girls were murdered here in Perth by a guy who offered them a lift late at night.
One body has never been recovered.
 
I will add here that 20 plus years ago their were 3 young ladies aged 18 - 23 and 27, murdered here in Perth when they accepted a ride from a guy late at night.
It happened between Jan 1996 and March 1997.
The case was called the Claremont Serial Killings
The killer was convicted in Sep 2020. 40 years minimum prison term. He was 52 years old when sentenced.
1 body has never been found.
This is why I never offered the lady a ride.
 
I don't blame you for thinking about it and deciding it was not a good idea. Too bad people can't do acts of kindness without being worried about them backfiring on them, or worse bringing harm to them in some way. It sure has happened before. You never know what a person is about. It used to be that hitch hikers had to be weary...now it's those who pick them up that need to be as well.
 
Now days I personally would not stop and offer ride etc to anyone........ I watched too many true crime or dateline type shows.
I feel bad .........as some may be completely fine but so many things come to mind...... both for the person on side of road and as driver being left for dead or something.
it is a sad sick world
Yeah and if you watch Criminal Minds at all...giving someone a lift or asking someone for one definitely ain't happenin' :LOL:
 
I live in a development; the homes are a good 1,000 +feet back from a country lane. It was one of those deluge type rains, and I was coming home from shopping. My next-door neighbor's 13 year old son had just been dropped off from the school bus, and began walking home in the rain. I didn't want to be thought of as picking up little boys, but he's my NEXTDOOR neighbor's kid. My driveway is about 10 feet from his driveway. So, if I don't pick the kid up, my neighbor may feel like I'm so kind of crud for letting his kid walk home in the rain. I stopped and asked. He said he walk home. Like Betrick said, you could get yourself in trouble, but your conscience makes you feel like a crumb for not acting.
 
Years ago on my way home from work in the rain, I saw a girl waving near her stopped car on the Interstate highway.

I thought I'd better give her a ride before the wrong person gets her.
Before cell phones, the next exit had a large gas station and pay phones for her to call her father. I went in with her to make sure she made contact .

I offered to stay with her until her dad arrived, but she said no. It was a big place, bright and busy so I knew she'd be alright.
 
@Bretrick Were there other drivers going past too. Was it daytime or night. Did she look distressed and like she wanted to flag you down. She probably was afraid of you or anyone else stopping as you were of her.
She was simply walking to where ever she was going. I would not have been the only car to have passed her.
Just related that I thought of giving her a lift but changed my mind when I remembered the Claremont Serial Killings. (post 43)
 
I live in a fairly rural area. After my hernia surgery the doctor suggested I start walking right away, for exercise. Twice people stopped to offer help, complete strangers. Guess I was walking pretty slowly... Nice of them to stop, I thanked both profusely.

Even nicer to live where people still do this.
 


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