to ask why so many people didn't stop to help?

[willothewisp17]

long story cut short - l was out last night at the threate with my sil and mil, once play had finished we went to wetherspoons, sil got taxi because her feet were sore and me and mil walked.

found a man passed out on the ground (it was cold and raining) made sure he had a pulse and tried to rouse him, he woke up a bit and it was soon discovered he was drunk, his friends had all left him, didn't want an ambulance or the police called because he's known with the police and then passed out again. felt his pockets for a phone to see if we could get someone but he had nothing so we phoned the local police station and they came and helped him up and took him home.

what gets me is in the time when we were phoning the police station (we had moved away from him to do this so he didn't hear and get angry/stressed) so many people walked past him and didn't even bother to stop and see that he was okay! not even a glance! is this normal? I don't think it matters that he was drunk and his own fault he was in that state, he still needed help, we couldn't leave him there in the rain!

I would've thought the most likely reason for his condition was that he was drunk, and I would not try to wake a drunk man for fear of violence and abuse.

In the daytime it would be a different story.

This thread is depressing. Well done op. You did the right thing imo. Did anyone see the recent story about the man who passed out in an atm lobby in Germany? I think it was 4 people came in to use the atm, stepping over him, assuming he was drunk. I think it had been a heart attack, and the people who ignored him were prosecuted. Good enough. Says a lot about modern society.

If he's known to the police and didn't want them called its quite possible he does it quite a lot. When I was working in pubs I used to walk past the same drunk man quite a lot, I stopped the first time and he bit me, another time I saw him assault a paramedic, another time he was yelling abuse at a man that had asked if he was ok, I've even seen him once punch a man that walked too close to him. anyone that is out in the evenings regularly walks round him leaving as much gap as possible because they know that he is a violent alcoholic, if he looks really rough I do call the police station and let them know where he is (once I'm safely out of earshot) but quite often he is just sleeping it off because his wife has locked him out the house again.

wow reading this I really hope none of you have an accident and need help. I would have stopped and asked if you were both ok. its just common decency if you see someone on the ground you go and assist them and just because one person stopped does not give anyone the excuse " well they are helping I don't need to ".
I am glad there are still people out there that will help someone

Well done, OP, you did the right thing.

Slightly shocked that quite a few people on here wouldn't even call the police or an ambulance.

In my country you're legally required to assist people in distress, unless doing so would put you or others in harm's way. At minimum, you would usually be required to call the local emergency number. Failure to provide assistance is a crime that carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison.

There was a recent case where an old man lay unconscious in the foyer of a bank and four people just stepped over him on their way to the cash machines and did nothing (apparently mistaking him for a homeless person). The man died and they were fined around 3000€ each.

There's a similar legal requirement in Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland and Tunisia, according to Wikipedia.

Sorry, cross-posted with Flywheel there.

They presumably saw someone else helping him?

How many people does it take?

He got himself drunk to the extent he couldn't stand and the police (whom he is well known to) had to waste resources taking him home. I struggle to sympathise.

phleb, that is appalling. My God.

You did a good thing, OP. I think lots of people assume someone else will deal with it.

I got dizzy at a bustop once when I was 20 and had to sit down on the floor and then lie down to stop te nausea. It was 8am and I was neatly dressed but people stepped over me and no one asked if I was ok.

I might not stop if he looked big and drunk, but would call the police to let them know.

The police to take him home 🙄 Your very nice for helping but this probably wasn't the first time. What a waste of resources.

Really? How else should he get home? Or should he just be left lying in the rain semi-conscious?

I wouldn’t stop either. Too many violent drunks..I wouldn’t want to get involved.

Just a slight observation do people read the whole of the original post before commenting

I tripped up on a pavement in a busy town in the middle of the afternoon when 39 weeks pregnant whilst holding hand of toddler ds1. I hurt my knees and it took ages for me to be able to stand up again, my stomach was so big I couldn't pull myself up the way I usually could. Not one person stopped to help and it should've been 100% obvious I wasn't drunk!

maybe to some people it was a waste of resources, but I've never been in this situation before and couldn't help but think of what would happen to him lying there in the rain all night.

and to begin with I had no idea he was drunk, fireworks were being let off near by and were deafening (fireworks starting already 😶) and the sound not even stirring him made me panick, and then by the time it was established that he was drunk what could I do? get up and say you're not worth my time you're a drunk?

ah well, he said he was well known with the police so perhaps it'll be someone else calling emergency services again this weekend. a really sad way to be living life

Thank you for helping the man, OP.

I'm actually quite shocked at how many posters say they wouldn't help someone who was passed out.

I'm not particularly good at offering practical help but I would, and have phoned an ambulance/police.

I

Shhhhhhhhh my family and daughter are always my upmost priority.

I only hope that ever in the unfortunate event that something happens to my daughter in the street someone will come to her help. but it's been made pretty clear on this thread that people are more likely to be willing and feel safe enough to help women rather than men. although with good reason before anyone takes that the wrong way aswell.

ZigZag when I was pregnant I found that anytime I was unwell in public people actually did their upmost to avoid me, I felt like people were looking at me like a had a bloody disease! from a lot of other posters experiences it seems that it's not just drunk men that people feel somewhat uncertain about helping, sometimes no matter what the situation people simply do not care!

It is a sad life willow

But sadly there's not much you can do. Of it's anything like where I live it's not that people don't give a shit , in fact quite the opposite actually people have previously tried to be nice/helpful etc myself included. Turned a blind eye to them sitting there not buying/doing anything, giving cups of tea /coffee. But sadly due to ever increasing aggression or rudeness and bad behaviour people no longer give cab fares, they call the police or just let them stagger around town. They are no longer allowed in so bouncers stop them entering or you lock the doors etc.

It's sad but all that happens is police come they take them wherever and two hours later back they are.

Giles I'm just ridiculously naive to be honest, i suggested a taxi for him if we could find out where he lived until mil said that a taxi wouldn't take him! I didn't know that! makes sense though, but again, I was shocked.

As i said previously you just have to asses the situation.

I've lived here my whole life I know they usual faces and who to leave well alone.

That isn't something that makes me a cold hearted bitch when just weeks ago I was playing paramedic to some young pissed girl who I literally picked up off the road while the cars just queued waiting.

Id. Never just do nothing but sometimes it's just a call to 101 or asking door staff to radio security or someone/anyone.

But I also know alot of people round here are drug users (hence why they are no longer allowed in places to use the bathrooms as they shoot up in the loos) so touching pockets would he a huge no for me.

* And sadly there is a massive difference between what people would do for a woman who's fallen in the middle of the day in a busy area and what they would do when alone late at night with a man lying on the ground.*

You’d like to think so, wouldnt you? Unfortunately it’s not always true. A relative left work at lunchtime on a busy Main Street of a “naice” small town, felt very unwell and slowly collapsed on the street. Just before she went unconscious she remembers 2 elderly well dressed ladies literally walking past, sniffing and tutting and saying “drunk at this time of day!”
It was her own boss who found her about 10 minutes later when he left the business for lunch. No-one else had bothered to stop, check or get help. If it had been a cardiac arrest she would have died.
She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis shortly afterwards, with increasing symptoms.
Heart breaking to think of her being stepped over and ignored.

I remember going to the shop one xmas period, 2 min walk past a hotel, there was a young man curled up in an alcove of the hotel walls. I stopped to rouse him, wasn't sure what the problem was, continued to the shop and on the way back bumped into the manager of the hotel (whom I knew) was with the young guy and had dialled paramedics.

Good job too as it turned out he had hyperthermia. I went home and got him a cup of sugared tea (it was only a few metres away) and paramedics wrapped him up in one of those metallic blankets whrn they arrived. No idea how the young guy ended up there.

When I was five months pregnant, I was driving down a rural road and I hit a boulder and burst my tyre.

As I stood on the grass verge calling for help, almost every passing car stopped to ask if I was ok. It was absolutely heartening.

Here's tae us. Wha's like us?

No! If it puts you into danger. Late at night, people drunk. Maybe if I had 50Cent with me, but otherwise...