This is a good point that I was thinking of adding as an addendum to my earlier post. If a situation is under control (people milling around with cell phones, EMS all ready there etc.) then it is best not to stop, rubberneck and the like because you just add to the chaos. Likewise, in an earlier post, I mentioned that the first rule of rescue is not to put yourself in jeopardy because then there’s just one more victim who needs EMS.
Another issue is that, if I’m alone (I’m a small female) I also have to weigh the risk of stopping to help. In today’s rotten world, there are the Ted Bundy-types out there who will wear a phony cast, and do a “lame duck” routine to ensnare unsuspecting good samaritans.
My SO and I did stop to help a group of guys who’s Mercedes had a flat. We did not get out of the car, just handed them our cellphone through the window so they could call their service. Chances are they were harmless, but you have to be careful these days.
At the time we pulled over though, it was well after midnight. So, given the isolation of the expressway, the late hour, and that we were greatly out numbered, we decided that being prudent/paranoid was the wisest course. And IIRC, they did own cellphones, but it was a “boys night out” and “wives night out” and the wives were the ones who had taken the phones.
