WWYD... Good Samaritan?

[KiKi Mouse]

Call the police and explain that somebody is parked on the off ramp due to having run out of gas.
The dispatcher can call a tow company to bring the guy gas but he will have to pay for it. If he has a cell phone he hopefully has a bank or credit card.

 

[DVC-Don]

I would have called the police and told them about a disabled motor vehicle there.

 

[laughinplace199]

If the guy had a cell phone he was willing to sell, why couldn't he have used it to call for help?

Sounds like a scam to me.

 

[MIGrandma]

As a woman driving alone, I never would have stopped.

If DH was driving he might have stopped, I don't know. As for giving him money, nope, sorry. DH was scammed once at a gas station in Florida, and once in a Florida Wal-mart parking lot there was a car with a man and woman in it circling the lot, stopping people, and when they stopped us they had a sob story about needing money for gas to go somewhere...I wondered why they were wasting their gas circling the lot. We just said "sorry" and walked on. That's what we would have done in your scenario too.

 

[scubamouse]

I would have called 911. We do that when we see accidents or disabled cars on the road. I explain it's a non-emergency and they either forward to the state police or take the info and relay it.

I call in with the nearest mile marker and a description of the car.

 

[luvsJack]

I would have called the non-emergency police number unless Dh was with me and then we would have either given them $5 or got them some gas.

Could you see the woman and baby in the truck?

It may have been a scam and I am sure I have given a couple of dollars to a scam before, but you know, I give the money in good faith. What they do with it is up to them. There is no way I could have thought there was a child in the truck and not do something.

Times are hard right now for a lot of people. There are going to be more people that are in need of help. Its sad that the scammers make everyone leary of helping anyone.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I would have called highway patrol. Around here, the number is * HP.

 

[Texashokies]

I voted other- I would have called 911 and let them know there was a stranded motorist waving down help

 

[kamik86]

If the guy had a cell phone he was willing to cell, why couldn't he have used it to call for help?

Sounds like a scam to me.

I was so about to post this. Everyone is saying that they would have called them help... The guy had a sell phone which means either 1) There is no service here and the passerby can't call anyone either or 2) Why isn't the guy calling someone themselves.


Besides that I would be wondering why anyone would go on a road trip if they didn't know they had plenty of money for gas. I mean what would they have done if the car broke down if they had no money?? But then again my DH told me I'm an elitist the other day so it could just be that.

 

[hereyago]

As a female no I wouldn't have stopped. Sorry but not going to happen. A few months ago I wrote a thread about getting asked for money by people coming up to my car window and one guy about to walk up fast on me both not a smart thing to do asking for money. One guy was at q gas station teying to get to a few cities away which would have been not even an hour away. He had a cell phone but no money ok call your friend to come and bring u money. Second guy said he just got out of prison was supposed to start work but they didn't pick him up. Either time I didn't have any extra money but I still wouldn't have given any.

 

[luvmy3]

Red flag!! Red flag!! If he had a cell phone, why didn't he call for assistance himself.

That was my first thought too. Apparently he had a phone he was willing to sell, so why wasn't he willing to call the non-help line. I also have to wonder about someone traveling with their wife and baby to another state and them not thinking about the fact that they would need gas in their vehicle? What did he think was going to happen when the gauge hit E?

To answer you OP, I would have never even stopped.

 

[wenrob]

Around here that's a pretty common scam in just about any parking lot or corner. I always offer to call a shelter/church/organization for them. Funny they always turn me down.

On a highway/freeway no way would I pull over. Even if I saw kids. People have no shame and use them quite frequently for the above mentioned scam. If there were obvious signs of a real problem-blown tire, hood up, etc-I'd call the area non emergency number.

 

[SandrA9810]

I had it happen too. The funny thing was, the guy pulled into the CVS on one corner, and on either corner was a gas station. So no matter which direction he was coming from, he could have pulled into a gas station easier than the CVS.

I recently had a guy running across the parking lot after pulling out of the drive thru. I stopped to allow him to cross the road, I didn't stop to have him start talking to me. He gave a sob story about needing to take the bus to get back home cause his car died. Of course I had my change sitting in the center console, easily visible. I gave him a couple bucks and saw him go inside the McD's. So even if he got food, it was better than booze.

 

[sam_gordon]

Keep in mind, when I stopped, I did not know he had a cell phone. I thought I'd be a nice guy and offer to call for help if he needed it, but then got hit with the sob story. I didn't really feel like arguing his logic (heading the wrong direction, why not bring enough money, why not walk the 100 yards to a gas station, why not call for help, etc).

 

[Colleen27]

I wouldn't have stopped. Stopping on the side of the highway scares the heck out of me. I've stopped to help people who were broken down/out of gas on the side of our country roads around here, but not on an expressway. People just drive too crazy. I'd call it in to our non-emergency police line and let the county "courtesy patrol" handle it.

When it is out by us, I do tend to stop. I'll gladly offer the use of my cell phone to call for help or offer up the couple of gallons of gas that the "just in case" can in my van can hold (I don't keep it full, but I do keep a can in back to fill if needed). I so seldom carry cash that I couldn't usually give that if I wanted to, but I don't mind offering a ride to the gas station, a couple gallons of gas, or a phone that works (some carriers don't in my area).

ETA: I'm sure I've given my spare change to a scammer a time or two and I'm pretty sure the guy playing sax on the corner downtown with his case open makes more than my husband, but I refuse to become so cynical/jaded that I won't give anyone the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure I've given money to scammers a time or two, but that's a chance I'm willing to take with a few dollars here and there rather than not helping those who genuinely do need it.

 

[luvsJack]

Is it possible that the cell phone had no service? Maybe it had been turned off or didn't work?

 

[sam_gordon]

Is it possible that the cell phone had no service? Maybe it had been turned off or didn't work?

The service for the main providers (ATT/Verizon/TMobile/etc) is good in the area. It's possible he had some "no name" provider, the battery was dead, he was out of pre-paid minutes, etc. Again, I didn't try to argue his logic.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Could you see the woman and baby in the truck?

It's summer...in Kentucky. Since it's 80+ degrees here in CT, I'm assuming it's dang hot down there. If a car has no gas, it's not running. If it's not running, there's no AC. But his wife and baby were IN the car? I don't buy that. They'd be out of the car, off the side of the road in any shade they could find. I would be. And/or we'd be WALKING to get to a cool place to wait, and use our cell phone to call 911 (which works even if no service).

Probably a scam.

 

[luvmy3]

Keep in mind, when I stopped, I did not know he had a cell phone. I thought I'd be a nice guy and offer to call for help if he needed it, but then got hit with the sob story. I didn't really feel like arguing his logic (heading the wrong direction, why not bring enough money, why not walk the 100 yards to a gas station, why not call for help, etc).

I think it was really nice of you to stop, as you can see many of us wouldn't have at all

 

[sam_gordon]

I think it was really nice of you to stop, as you can see many of us wouldn't have at all

I'm actually a nice guy, despite how some of my posts sound.