Would You Stop?

ClassicRockr

ClassicRockr

Well-known Member
Would you pull over and stop to see how the person/people were in a traffic accident? I use to years ago, before it could be a "liability" to stop and help. Before law enforcement and fire/rescue get to the scene, would you have enough First Aid experience to help the person/people involved? Do you have a fire extinguisher and/or First Aid kit in your vehicle? Could you use it? At our age, I don't know how "physical" we could be to help out. Most emergency services people would most likely be much younger than us. Now, if a person was a doctor, nurse, off-duty fireman or law enforcement officer AND had ID to prove it.......they would most likely stop.

We carry a fire extinguisher, first aid kit and flares in our vehicles, but that's pretty much b/c I use to be an EMT. That was back in the mid 70's and a lot of "liability" things have come up since then. Would wife and I stop, it would be a hard call to make b/c of the liability involved. Someone should stop and I'd hope that it would be a professional medical person or someone like that.

Would you stop?
 

I was unfortunate to be first on the scene of a fatal acident and I don't think I will every get over what I seen . But I think I still would stop
 
Last I checked, heroes come in all ages. If first on the scene, I would have to stop.
 

In Pennsylvania, you must stop and give aide and/or comfort until help arrives, or so I am told. I have never experienced this or put forth the effort to find out if this is true or not, but I would stop in any case and do whatever I was capable of doing to give aide.

EDITED.... OK, I just called a friend of mine who is a retired Pennsylvania State Policeman and he said that if a driver is involved in an accident and injury to a person or damage to property exists, the driver is mandated by law to call either police, fire or ambulance as the case may warrant. If the driver is a certified EMT, doctor, nurse or anyone that is certified in the medical profession is permitted to give aide without fear of civil liability. Anyone that comes upon an accident with the same scenario and is not a driver involved is required to minimally call for help (911) and give the operator his/her name and contact information and what he has observed at the scene. He should then stay at the scene until help arrives, in case additional information is needed.
 
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I totally understand how you folks feel, but if you do something medically, and it turns out wrong, you could be held liable. We all want to do what is best/right, but TODAY, those words "best/right" can be financially painful if something goes wrong. Sometimes a "Good Samaritan" isn't the best way to be. "Good Samaratan's" have been seriously injured, even killed trying to help.

Now another way to look at this same Thread is...........would you stop in the middle of the night if you seem someone standing by their vehicle and waving their arms, trying to flag someone down? Stopping could be dangerous.
 
As Ina put it, if it was me in a dire situation on the highway, I sure hope someone stops to help me. This kind of a decision is usually made instinctively and not thought out. Liability and personal safety are separate issues.
 
Like Taffboy I was involved in a fatality accident scene just off the Tappan Zee bridge in NY. A woman had been walking across the road just past the toll booths and was struck by a car that kept going. I stopped and attempted CPR until the EMTs showed up but she was already gone.

Would I do it today? It depends. It depends where I am and the nature of the accident, and of course upon what my brain and heart tell me to do at that moment.
 
A motorcyclist went down ahead of me. I HAD to stop. I turned on my emergency flashers and set up my emergency red flare on the roof and covered him up with a tarp I had in the car. I could se that he was breathing but unconscious, so I otherwise
did not disturb him. I waited until the ambulance and police arrived, gave a statement and went on my way.

What ClassRock says, one could be liable if you tried to give first aid and something went wrong, is true.

I would only attempt it if it were a really DIRE situation.
 

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