that might be consisered flashing your high beams are on... hehehe!!!

 

For those who think people just don't stop because they're busy or don't care or selfish - give some credit to our overly litigious society where someone will sue you for just about anything. You stop to help someone get their bike/car/truck going and their tranny falls out 100 miles later - so they sue you because you giving them a jump must have caused it.

It's a bunch of crap and it's probably the MAIN reason why so few people are willing to stop to help anyone.

 

Some people are afraid to stop and help others, could be a trap, could get beat up and robbed, whatever.

I stop to help, and others stop to help me when I need it, but I live in a different world than many. Heck, we even wave in our cages out here in the country.

 

I remember when you picked up hitch hikers np problem... don't think its the same anymore.

I have never been sued by anyone I stopped to help but that doesn't mean it could never happen.

 

I do the left hand pat on the helmet, but I can honestly say that I have never been passed by a trucker! I do hold back traffic for truckers and buses trying to merge or change lanes on a crowded / stopped freeway though, I always get the thank you hazards from them when they get in.

 

Hmmmm... must not have been on the same road with me then!! Hehe!!!

 

Flashing lights got me pulled over and lectured about obstructing a peace officer. We both knew he would have a hard time making it stick but it still cost me 15 minutes of my time while he went on and on and.... I still do it though.
I ALWAYS stop if I'm first on scene at a breakdown or accident. I'm a member of the local volunteer FD and we do highway rescue. We sometimes see a lot of action expecially this time of year with slippery roads. Since cell phones came out you would not believe how many people will drive by unattended accident scenes (vehicles in the ditch, upside down, etc) and then call 911 without even stopping to see if there is anyone that needs help. We have good samaritan laws that protect against bullsh!t litigation and we don't seem to be as litigious a society to start with. I don't think anyone in Canada has made any money off McDonalds for serving hot coffee.
Anyway, few years back in Langley (that's in BC not Virginia) my older brother stopped to help a couple kids hitchhiking with a gas can. He gave them a ride back to "their" vehicle and one of them grabbed his cell phone off the dash and jumped out. He got out to get it back and a bunch more showed up.
Long story short, he got a busted collar bone, shattered knee (he still can't walk right) and they got his wallet. Stupid old bugger still thought he was a toughguy.
Stay safe out there folks!

 

i always flash the lights for cops and for clear to move over.

 

I imagine some people still would - you just rarely see people hitchhiking any more. I would pick them up. Hell, I pick up people who aren't even hitchhiking. If I see an older person walking with bags of groceries, I'll offer them a ride home. If I see someone walking in the rain, I offer them a ride.

My bro-in-law picked up a hitchhiker some years ago. The guy tried to rob him. By bro-in-law (BIL) shot him. The cops said it wasn't self defense because when my BIL stopped at a gas station and asked the clerk to call the cops because he had just killed someone, she asked if she should call an ambulance. He responded "No" ... because the top of the guy's head was gone and his brains we all over the inside of the car - so my BIL was pretty certain an ambulance wouldn't have helped. He did 18 months in the big house on a plea deal. Now he doesn't pick up hitchhikers any more.

I did joke him about it on a hunting trip once. BIL was driving and, talking about potential hunting opportunities in an area he was showing me, said something like "Any moment now, we're probably going to see a..." ... and during his pregnant pause (he was looking for the word "Deer"), I said "Hitchhiker?"

Me either, but that doesn't mean it doesn't cross my mind. I carry a tow chain in my Jeep and have stopped to get people out of ditches when it snows (I run a lot of back roads). I did get concerned one time about someone bitching that I screwed up their car. So, now I have a pitch where I stop and explain to them I have a tow chain, and we MIGHT be able to get their car out, but THEY have to hook the chain to their car and it MIGHT damage their car.... or they can use my cell phone to call a tow truck if they don't have a phone of their own.

 

Evil, a few years ago I was late to a wedding and made a U-turn into what I thought was a hard shoulder. Turned out to be a 3' ditch and even with 35" tires, my truck went in hard. Thank goodness for people who still stop and help, because the guy who pulled me out just happened to be eating at the McDonalds with his OL across the street. He saw it happen and came right over....she directed traffic, he yanked me out. I'll never forget that and I always try to pay it forward.

BUT you are right about shitty people and their stupid lawsuits.

As far as the dangerous person thing, there are some bad folks out there. I'm usually armed and identify myself as a cop when I stop, on the hopes the person might use better judgement. Unfortunately, on top of 6 police officer deaths last fall, we had 2 guys posing as cops, preying on females who closed fast food joints. Their MO was to rob the joint, rape the chick, and bounce. The world is full of crazies...