Driving on wet roads

Ross
Glad to hear everyone was alright.

A few years back, I finished a 12hr shift on New Years Eve, got home ready for bed and had two beers.
Let's go out I say to my pregnant partner. We'll go via the bottlo and have a good night.(Pregnant partner drove obviously)
Well we headed for the wrong bottlo as a car came straight through a Stop sign and T boned the little Pulsar.
I can honestly say I have never been more calm in a situation when I turned to Deej and said " It looks like we've been in an accident, Are you Okay? (Yes) Are you sure? ( Yes)"
That calmness turned to total shock when I hopped out and saw the front end of the other car destroyed with the airbag deployed. I can honestly say that I will never feel a sense of relief that I did when the driver told me he was Okay and that no one else was in the car.
The response from all the locals was fantastic as was the Emergency services.

It can happen to anyone but until you're involved (directly or indirectly)you really don't appreciate what it us like.

Downside. Car full of young blokes driving past the scene and yelled out "suck bleep "
By the time all the formalities were sorted out bottlos were shut and New Year was spent looking back rather than forward

Upside. Pulsar was written off and we got into 4WDriving.

Take care

Mate you are a few of the Genuine ones out there these days !!!

Have seen it so many times, People don/t want to be involved any more!, Why???? is it being selfish, I"m alright Jack", or are they scared of being questioned by others that might reveal some nasties about them?, the list goes on!, But one thing is for sure! "things arn't what they used to be".


Cheers Axle.

A workmate had a blowout on the front left hand wheel of his Falcon sedan at 120 kph just after passing a semi, in the middle of the day, lost control of the vehicle, it left the hardtop, skidded across the gravel verge, down a steep embankment into a group of medium size trees. before coming to a standstill.....He was OK ( needed a new pair of jocks)....was by himself and nobody else was involved....one totally destroyed tyre on a alloy rim...with nothing to grip for leverage he had trouble removing the wheel so he could fit the spare, took him nearly an hour........................NO ONE STOPPED TO SEE IF HE WAS OK OR TO HELP....even though traffic was thick the WHOLE time.....I think this what you can expect to see more often....people are too busy to stop!

"several went past well over the speed limit" - It never ceases to amaze me that on rural roads and highways people don't slow down in the wet.

On rural roads it tends to be the locals; maybe they have become complacent because they 'know the roads'. Even when it is dry they drive around bends in the middle of the road.

Well done. You need to remember a couple of things:

1. When you stop at an accident without the necessary safety equipment to protect yourself and parties involved. you are likely to create additional and unecssary hazards to other motorists. Particularly when they 'rubber neck'.

2. Sometimes simply getting involved because it seemed the right thing to do can lead to additional liability problems for you particularly if you contribute to a person's injury by moving or re-positioning them when they might have severe or even life threatening injuries.

Best thing to do is to try and get assistance from a couple of other people/motorists and try and create a 'chicane' or a restriction, using vehicle with headlights or flashers activated to try and slow passing traffic, keep of the main carriageway (the road) and don't try to direct traffic. In some States it's illegal to do so. It's the domanin of Police.
Generall accident/collision scenes can be extremely dangerous even for Emergency Service workers. It's not uncommon for additional accidents/collisions to result from inattention being paid by passing motorists.

Twelve or fourteen years ago now, Some friends and I were driving home from the snowfields after a day's skiing. It had been snowing hard so the traffic was bumper to bumper, absolutely crawling along, and we saw a number of cars that had slid off the road. Then we saw a car off the side of the road with steam still coming out of the exhaust, so stopped to check if they were okay. They were, and we realised that if we could just get three or four more guys to give a push, we could get them back on the road, rather than them having to wait hours and hours for a tow truck. So I naively started waving at the cars coming past, still bumper to bumper, asking people to stop and give a hand. Car after car just ignored me totally and kept crawling past - average speed was prob 20 km/h, so it's not like they were into the distance before they could stop! I could not believe it. Finally, about 50 cars later, a bunch of young blokes pulled over. It only took our combined efforts a minute or so and the car was back on the road. But my faith in the Aussie habit of lending a helping hand had taken a severe blow.

Tim Z

Know this might sound a bit mathematical, but I reckon the chances of someone stopping to assist increase as the amount of traffic falls.

For example, I did the Birdsville Track alone a few years ago and was amazed at the number of people who would stop and check if I was OK when I pulled over; maybe I was taking a photo, or a "nature "stop", but they always checked.

But I've stopped to help at a nasty accident on a busy Friday night in the middle of town and everyone just gawks at you...

As a fully qualified first aider with paramedic training I don't think I have any choice but to pull over and assist. I've got an inkling that there's a statute about this (I can't be sure) where you are not only morally obliged but legally obliged to assist an injured person - unlike the US where the opposite applies.

goodday all
i posted on another forum after reading a similar post
TO STOP OR NOT
if you are passing an accident and nobody has stopped YOU STOP
but once there is 1 or 2 cars stopped do you stop to offer more help and BECOME part of traffic stopping crowd or do you drive on
steve

I have attended 3 serious car accidents over the years, I felt obliged to as I have a senior First aid certificate, I would find it hard to live with myself if I hadn't stopped and found out latter that someone died because no was able to render first aid, I am now enrolled to get my remote first aid course as well.

I really believe that a 3 day first aid course should be a requirement for your license, As in most occasions a senior first aid course is all that is needed to keep someone alive long enough for an ambulance to arrive.

I also believe that most rubber neckers and on lookers would be more a hindrance than a help, as I have seen this first hand.

A first aid kit in your car is a legal requirement, in most European countries.

In the N.T. you can not be sued for rendering first aid, even if you get it wrong.

Good on you for stopping and doing the right thing.

I have had the miss fortune to be first at a few accidents.... One was a fatal where a guy had hit the telegraph pole - impact was so bad that it took one of his shoes off - he was originally sitting in the front seat -- when i got there -- he was in the boot

second was a Motorcycle accident ( i am also a motorcyclist ) the guy had been to the pub and tried to balance a case of beer on his fuel tank and return home with it -- on the corner it fell off - he came undone and came off --- this happened just a few seconds before we got there ...... My X friend was driving ... I told him to stop ..... he would not .... I SCREAMED AT HIM F&^&^N stop ... he didn't he just continued on... Got into a MASSIVE argument with him which almost come to blows ..... he is no longer a friend as this selfish act showed me his true colours.....

another was a 3 car pile up that happened in front of me .... A leading radio station had set up some cars on the side of the road to give away freebies , drinks , tee shirts and so forth ... One car decided last second to slam on the brakes hard to get some freebies - 3 cars slam into her really hard ....... I had to assist her in getting out of the car via a window ....

too many more that i have witnessed .... but like the Op said - some people just drive by and rubber neck .. never offer assistance , and in the case of my friend ( that is no longer a friend ) his excuse was he didn't want to get involved .....

Pathetic

Boc

Ross, I reckon its a 'leave it to someone else' mentality these days.

Notice it more in just about all areas of society, not just accidents.

However, reading all the replies to your thread, I'm amazed how bogged down in legalities one can get into simply by rendering assistance.

The Professionals are the ones for the job and until they arrive its up to you to provide any assistance and comfort to the victim as you are capable of.

Good on yer mate..........Lionel.