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Original poster

So, would you drive round a screaming eight year old in the middle of the road and not stop to find out what's wrong with her?

42 replies

Caligula · 07/06/2006 09:46

Very disturbing story \link{http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/news/thenews.html?in_page_id=1770\here}

Can't believe the excuses some of the readers are giving for the behaviour of the drivers who left this child bleeding by the roadside - people being scared of being accused of paedophilia, or that the child might have been a decoy for a gang - really, have people totally lost all sense of proportion and what's right?

OP posts:
schneebly · 07/06/2006 09:47

Shock I would definitely have stopped! [shockShock

NomDePlume · 07/06/2006 09:49

I would've stopped if I was able to (ie I wouldn't cause a pile up or anything.). At the very least I would've dialled 999.

Auntymandy · 07/06/2006 09:51

I heard that on the radio, was reall shocked

tenalady · 07/06/2006 09:52

OMG, This is outrageous. I wouldnt care or give it a thought about being accused of being a peadophile. Child needs help, I am there. If there ever was a query as to my motives I know I have enough folk around me to prove my intentions are always honourable. Sad

Piffle · 07/06/2006 09:53

Jesus H
I would have stopped withut question, how hideous a tale is that Shock

Original poster
Caligula · 07/06/2006 09:53

Of course, if you did stop, the guy behind would beep and flash and wave his fist at you, but I think I could live with that.

OP posts:
MerlinsBeard · 07/06/2006 09:54

I saw this on the news this morning. Why oh why would ppl think it was gang related?? can understand the paedophile fear thing (unfortunatly, its quite common upo here for men to be called that if they are remotley near chuildren-their own or otherwise Angry) but if my DP saw a girl bleeding on the street he said he would have gone over anyway.

Blu · 07/06/2006 09:57

Good grief.

I think the comments from people about fears of paedophilia and gangs say a lot about the general hysteria about these things, whipped up by the press, and people who live in a fantasy existence based on soaps and wild press reports, rather than deal in the real life world around them.

No different from the children exposed to constant fantasy playstation games who take two minutes longer to help a distressed classmate (as in recent research).

But I do wonder where everyone else was in those two minutes - other people on the pavement, her Mum she was crossing back to etc. - it's the subjective experience of a little girl in shock and pain, but still, hit'n'run drivers are the scum on the dregs of humanity.

expatinscotland · 07/06/2006 10:01

how hard is it to stop or pull over and dial 999 from your mobile?

FFS!

EmmyLou · 07/06/2006 10:04

Paedophiles? Gangs? FFS! The girl was injured and bleeding. Sorry , but who goes through a check list of possible dangers before reacting to somthing like this? Couldn't sleep at night if I didn't TRY to do the right thing how could you look your own kids in the face if you'd driven past?

joelalie · 07/06/2006 11:06

I am guessing that all the posters here are female, as am I. Perhaps if not we would appreciate the paedophile fear thing a bit more.

Having said that, I don't really understand why no-one stopped to help - I don't beleive for a moment than no-one cared unless they didn't notice how badly she was hurt. I'm sure they were all horrified by it but felt constrained from helping for some reason. It might be fear of getting accused of hurting the child in some way (if a driver was bending over a injured child on the road wouldn't you jump to the conclusion that it was that driver that caused the accident), or causing another accident, or the assumption that someone else would be better qualified to help. I found the it a bit confusing TBH - if the 3 kids had run on and were going back to join the mother how did she not see her little girl almost immediately? I think I may have misread.

Anyway perhaps we should focus on the fact that someone did stop eventually.

Original poster
Caligula · 07/06/2006 11:16

Am looking at some of the reader's comments, and really they beggar belief! Apparantly it's all the fault of political correctness and the child abuse industry.

Nothing to do with anyone's individual behaviour at all, then.

OP posts:
Callisto · 07/06/2006 11:25

More likely none of the people could be bothered to get involved or didn't have time to spare out of their terribly busy, important lives. What a pathetic bunch of excuses. As for the worry that you might be accused of hitting the girl if you stop, well so what? The police would pretty quickly figure out the facts.

NotQuiteCockney · 07/06/2006 11:25

To be fair, she was in the road for 2 minutes. Some of the motorists might have called the emergency services.

blueshoes · 07/06/2006 11:50

Shock Angry Scum

meowmix · 07/06/2006 12:02

I'd have stopped for anyone in that situation. ok maybe not Freddie Kreuger or George Bush, but other than that anyone.

It appalls me that people walk by when things like this happen. I don't understand it at all - I was assaulted once on a busy railway station and ran screaming away from my attacker towards a huge clump of commuters and not one person tried to help me.

Norah · 07/06/2006 12:13

I think I would've stopped - BUT - I would definetly have been very wary that she was a decoy !

People do use kids as decoys - and kids can act hurt very well - AND - it was only 2 minutes - not 2 hours !

Terrible for the little girl obviously - but I do also wonder where the mum was - mine isn't 8 yet - but not sure I would let her go along main roads at 8 - whole other debate I know !

So - yes terrible - but I can understand why some people didn't stop - and I woiuld like to know how many of the 6 actually rang 999 as they passed - as I think that's what I would have done.

bogwobbit · 07/06/2006 12:17

I would've stopped, definitely.
I must have led a very sheltered life, because it wouldn't even cross my mind that she might be a decoy for a gang.

Kathy1972 · 07/06/2006 12:29

Only a Mail reader could leave a comment blaming 'warped politically correct driven minority groups' for this though!

To be honest I'm not at all surprised - I came off my bike in Cambridge at rush hour one morning. I wasn't hurt but it took a moment or two to register what had happened and in the time I was lying in the road, not only did no-one stop but I got hooted at several times - like I was lying in the road with a mangled mudguard for fun!

However I don't think people were intentionally being bastards, I think when they are behind the wheel they are focused on driving to the extent that they register anything in the road as 'obstacle' rather than 'person in need of help', and by the time they've actually got their head round what they've seen they've moved on in the stream of traffic.

This does seem like something that could be usefully dealt with in the driving theory test though - along with all those other dumb questions they could have 'If you are driving along and find a road accident victim in the road, should you A. drive over them B. drive round them C.ignore them - you might get a parking ticket if you stop D.stop and assist

blueshoes · 07/06/2006 12:30

I must be very naive. But what, Norah, could a child be a decoy for, gang-wise? I know in some rough parts of cities in US, you don't get out of your car if someone pranged you from behind, but in UK? Does this sort of thing happen here??

Callisto · 07/06/2006 12:59

I am also intrigued by the child-decoy thing. What happens if you stop and help the 'injured' child? Do you get mugged?

LadyTambaOfTambaTown · 07/06/2006 13:02

There was a case a few years ago where a 'gang' was using a teenage girl as a decoy. sending her running half dressed screaming into the road (was a country lane or something, not a busy road anyhow) and when someone stopped to help they were mugged

Id have stopped to help her though, I couldnt just have driven past her Shock

Serendippity · 07/06/2006 13:08

I'm also intrigued by the child decoy thing, but this story made me feel ill. I think it's so, so sad we live in a socity where suspicion and nervousness makes people so reluctant to help others and interveen. I had just come back from holiday, a while ago now, and had fogotton i still had a travel razor in my handbag, i was walking through town and went to grab my mobile out of my bag and sliced the top off my finger (the saftey guard had obvioulsy been knocked off) i ran thtough town, dripping blood in tears and not a single person offered to help.
There was an intresting thing on tv a while back where an old ma had pretended to collapse on some steps in london as an experiment, it was 20 minutes before anyone went over to see if her was ok.
It really is so sad :(

Kathy1972 · 07/06/2006 13:10

Interesting that it was at rush hour too. Apparently there's an effect noted by criminologists (can't remember the name) where the MORE people there are around in a case of violent attack, the LESS likely it is that someone will intervene.
I noticed on the Mail comments page there are several stories like mine of people coming off bikes and being ignored, and one of these reports that he fell off twice in the same place, once at dawn when there were only 3 people around and they all stopped, and once at rush hour when no-one did.

MrsRecycle · 07/06/2006 13:11

I drove past a girl "bleeding" in the street the other month and told my dh to pull-over. He said don't be so silly she's only messing around and it's ribena and sure enough as I checked my rear-mirror she got up and her pals were laughing their heads off.

Also, my dh stopped to help push a car broken down in front of us and we ended up having a gun pulled on us (whilst I was pg) - they guy behind couldn't comprehend the fact we were "helping" someone and wanted us to move our car. And this was Wandsorth Bridge, London - not the US.