I helped a guy with a flat battery in the car park

[MrsSeanBean]

Here's the scenario. I was leaving McDonald's (don't judge me for that!) with DS recently, when a man asked me if I can help him jump start his car as his battery is flat. I said I didn't have any leads ... he interjected that was no problem as he did have leads. So I opened the car bonnet, he connected his leads and started his engine. Problem solved, no more than a couple of minutes of my time lost...or so I thought.

On mentioning this to DH today he nearly spat out his dinner, and said what a fool I was, what a cheek the guy had, he must need a new battery, why was he driving around with a dodgy battery, he should have called his recovery company, and that he (DH) would never dream of asking anyone to help etc etc

I said 'but what if he (guy in car park) doesn't have enough money for a new battery right now, and likewise doesn't have a recovery company? And what had I to lose?

DH then proceeded to tell me that he could have wrecked the car and caused a lot of damage if he'd connected the leads wrongly.

It didn't occur to me that I did anything except the reasonable and helpful thing to do. But given DH's (to me, very odd) response I am now wondering if I am some kind of gullible freak.

Over to you, wise MNers...

Picture the scenario:

You & DS leave McDonald's and return to car. You discover DS has left the interior light on after fiddling with it and your battery is flat.

Would DH prefer:

1. You call RAC/AA/whoever and hang around for possibly hours, when they will replace your battery (and charge you for it, even though it only needs recharged)

1. You hang around all day waiting for him to finish work and come & rescue you

1. You accept the gracious offer of a JumpStart from a passing motorist and are on your way in 10 minutes?

He's being a twat. (But yeah, always make sure the leads are connected the right way round before turning on the engine!)

I have never had to wait even an hour for the RAC - and they would prioritise a mother with kids.

You have been incredibly lucky with your callouts MrsGuyOfGisbo , in the 20+ years we have been members we have had to request assistance on a number of occasions and whilst we have had a few quick ones (30-40 minutes), the usual seems to be around 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

I assumed it would be obvious that I was using possibly hours as I was giving a worst case scenario, my apologies if you did not read it that way.
Yes, most (all?) roadside assistance do prioritise; the usual ones being where there are young children in the car, single women or if the location of your vehicle is hazardous (not an exhaustive list, nor in any particular order). Just because you are deemed a priority doesn't mean you will be dealt with quickly, it just means they will try to prioritise your call.

Case in point; Mothers day this year, we loaded car up with the usual gifts, bouquets & choc before setting off to visit DM & DMIL. About half an hour down the motorway the car went kaput. Called RAC.
Prioritised because of location and because there were kids in the car. RAC knew they couldn't get anyone to us for over 2 hours so immediately transferred our call out to a local garage who are contracted to assist when RAC know their own fleet can't meet demand. After the first 1 1/2hrs, and no rescue in sight, we caved and ate someone's bag of homemade fudge Sometime after that, they called again to say that a third party would be doing the recovery as neither RAC or their contractor would make it by 3+ hours after our initial call.
We eventually got picked up after about 2hr 20mins (& shortly after the snow had started falling) .

Obviously the fact it was a Sunday AND Mothering Sunday meant less staff on call AND more, possibly longer distance, traffic. Im pretty sure that has been the longest we have ever had to wait, and if you account for our priority 'queue jumping' and the fact we were on a motorway, on the outskirts of a substantial city; I imagine there were other travellers not so lucky that day who may well have easily waited 3- 4 hours.

Apologies for the length, but I wanted to illustrate that whilst we all hope that assistance; especially if we have been prioritised; will come speedily, it may not always be the case.

I also made the suggestion that the op & her son could be stranded all day and have to wait for her husband to come to the rescue after work; rather than take an offer of assistance. Hopefully, you don't think I was actually giving that as a valid course of action. Obviously she would lock the car, grab the kid and hot foot it home on the bus or in a taxi, where she could enjoy a cuppa and a choccy bar; until such time as DH could make his way over to collect her car. After all, I'm sure he'd be happier sorting it than letting a stranger.

I would have done the same as you it's just the kind thing to do and as you say doesn't affect you in the slightest. I'm sure it is possible but I've never heard of anyone damaging a car through jump starting it incorrectly. Your DH is over reacting especially as there's no harm done!

personal space, connecting jump leads the wrong way round can lead to a number of problems, some more serious expensive than others!
Melted leads
Melted connectors fusing onto battery terminals
Shorting battery/alternator
It can melt the plastic around the cables, which then can damage anything that touches.
Smoke and/or sparks are a definite possibility.
Fire in the engine bay would be worst outcome.

If you were using leads between two very different sized batteries, having them connected the wrong way would mean a smaller battery couldn't cope with the amount of power coming from a much larger one (when leads are used correctly the smaller battery can only draw as much power as it needs)

Your DH might not have been so overly dramatic if it was a woman you helped, and not a man! You did a good thing. However, I asked my DH if he would ever ask a stranger to jump start his car, and he said no, and he certainly would not approach a woman do to it!

Isn't that the way Hannibal Lecter captured his victims, by asking them for help!!!

And Ted Bundy.

I have never had to wait even an hour for the RAC - and they would prioritise a mother with kids.

I've never waited less than an hour, even as a lone mother with a small baby and sub zero temps.