Whats with people these days?

dannyxm · 04-06-2009, 04:47 PM

Siting here at my desk at work and i hear some people up the road.

I look out the window only to see a beautiful Jaguar XJ6 (series 3) with catching fire with flames coming out from under the bonnet and smoke filling the street.

Rather than try to help the bloke, all the village idiots pull out their mobile phones and take photos / videos of it and laugh at him.

One bloke laughed and said 'you should have bought a friggen Holden - insert bogan accent here'

These guys were aged in their late teens.

I ran over to him, fortunatly another bloke pulled up and called the cops by the time i got there.

The owner pulled out a fire extinguisher and went to town on it.

Fortunatly from what i could see there wasnt to much damage, just melted wiring and paint work (without me puting my nose in where it was not needed)

Fair dinkum, what goes through peoples heads.

Note to self, buy a fire extinguisher.

blueoval · 04-06-2009, 05:12 PM

You did the right thing mate. Flames under the bonnet regardless of the make is dangerous.

But laughing at a blokes car while its in flames is just arrogance. Senseless in some respects. What point do you prove by laughing at a dangerous situation? Some people are complete twats.

**GasoLane** · 04-06-2009, 05:15 PM

Oh dear. I've had two Jags...a 1974 V12 with carbs and a 1978 V12 with fuel injection.

A fire extinguisher within easy reach of the driver is compulsory, especially with fuel injection model!!

paule11 · 04-06-2009, 05:28 PM

I have just started coming across some people who have never done anything for themselves played video games and had their parents do everything for them . I cant undestand them its as if they dont have the ability to think for themselves.
Village idiots is an appropriate term to use devoid of social responsibilty and beleive that they have rights and no one else matters

geckoGT · 04-06-2009, 05:51 PM

I was a witness to a similar thing at work.

We were driving down Logan Rd Upper Mt Gravatt on our way to a hospital transfer when on the other side of the road I saw a VW Combi (old girl) with black smoke pouring out of the rear engine cover.
Day time traffic just kept on driving and no one stopped to give assistance nor did anyone call the fire brigade (I know this a sambulance comms confirmed fire comms had not recieved a call).

Anyway I switched on the red and blue lights, did a u turn and blocked off the lane for safety with our ambulance. I notified comms of the situation and requested the fire service.

I then grabbed our vehicles fire extinguisher and hit the flames which put it out but it was still smouldering (extinguisher empty) and it reignited just as the fire service arrived. The end result was the engine bay was damaged but the rest of the vehicle was not.

The owner was stoked that we had prevented the fire spread and that his combi would be saved. I asked if anyone offered help and he said no but lots drove past laughing.

What happened to help thy neighbour?

Bearman · 04-06-2009, 05:52 PM

That sucks big time. The way people just stand by and don't lift a finger to help!! Sign of the times I'm afraid, people just don't give a rats about anybody but themselves. Just makes you want to kick heads!!

Poor Jaguar!! The infamous electricals in those old Jags, the dash mounted three position toggle switches - Off / On / Let's start a fire!!

Yellow_Festiva · 04-06-2009, 06:02 PM

Yup... people can be right scum when it suits them.

Mum got a new battery for her pervious car. The battery was the wrong design and the terminals were touching the bottom of the bonnet.

Sure enought the paint eventually wore through and caused a short and an electrical fire. Peak traffic, single lane road.

She got out after the smoke engulfed the front of the car.... and all the mucho brave men behind her were yelling to her to get into the car and move it out of the way (by driving...). You wouldn't believe it. Had I been there to see it I would now prob have a criminal record.... From what mum was saying the comments were far from friendly. The car stood where it was for 40 minutes till the NRMA came. Not one person even got out to offfer to help in trying to roll the car out of the way.

dave351cid · 04-06-2009, 09:18 PM

really makes you wonder what kind of world it will be in a few years time as these ignorant, arigant, self interested, ****s become the major majority if they havent already. and the denser the population base (eg city) the worse they are. not as bad in country areas but i think its slowly catching up.

hope the jag guy didnt have too much damage.
i knew a bloke on the sunny coast that drove jags. his V12 convertible burntout the engine bay one day. he recond it was just a normal part of owning a jag, they all catch fire. was pretty happy this time because his last V12 had burnt to the ground.

kind of turns me off owning one. that and having worked on them.

GUTLES · 04-06-2009, 09:46 PM

Argggh not good to hear, Series 3 Jag's are the best looking IMO.

Feathers · 04-06-2009, 10:19 PM

There were 2 cases of major accidents in Sydney a couple of months ago. One was a semi trailer that rolled and killed the driver.
The news papers were reporting that only 1 or 2 people went to the driver's aid, while the rest of the neighbours/passers by just stood around watching and taking photos.

The truckie was alive for a while but in a really bad way. The ones who went to his assistance could only stay with him, as even he knew that he wasn't going to make it.

It happened again when a car hit a telegraph pole. Neighbours came out drinking coffee, but no one went to help the people in the car.

**EDIT** Found the article: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25273360-2,00.html

alecrain · 04-06-2009, 11:47 PM

I never had to assist with a burning vehicle but I have a fire extinguisher ready in the car.

As for car immobilized on the road, holding up traffic, I offered my help pushing the car off the road on two occasions, no one else got out of their cars to help me... they just sped off as soon as the lane was unblocked.

On a similar note, in some European countries, when two vehicles were involved in a road incident, after checking if anyone got hurt, the cars need to be moved to the side of the road not to block up traffic.
The moment police arrives and sees two drivers arguing with the cars still on the road they both get tickets ...

Fev · 05-06-2009, 10:34 AM

i really need to get my **** in gear and get a fire extinguisher..

Airmon · 05-06-2009, 11:52 AM

Doesnt surprise me. I had to push a car across 3 lanes of peak hour after an accident, only had 3 wheels, and me and the bloke who hit it were trying to push it off the road (not easy), and just had traffic banked up with people flashing their high beams and on the horn.

I mean, do they have any common sense at all? Yes mate, I'm pushing this car across your lane because I'm just a Twat and I didn't feel like driving it

:

Fireblade · 05-06-2009, 12:27 PM

I've had an extinguisher in my car ever since I seen a nice early model 300zx driving down the road with flames spitting out the bottom of the engine bay, the driver had no idea his car was on fire, I did a quick u-bolt to chase him down and get him to pullover. In this time the fire had really started to get a good grip on the engine bay, when he pulled up he quickly went to pop the bonnet and I then had to stop him real quick because that would finished the car as none of us that had stopped had extinguishers in the car. Lucky for him a work place across the road had seen what was going on and one of the workers ran a chemical extinguisher to us, we managed to save the car but not the engine bay. Common problem with the 300zx is injector leaks causing fires and the fact they are turbos just creates a very hot enviroment prime for a fire, since then have always carried an extinguisher setup in the boot ready to go for any fire situation.

Brent · 05-06-2009, 04:51 PM

Ah yes, the good old camera phone. Has there ever been a single invention in the history of human evolution that has so clearly defined a great many people as being what they really are......rock apes.

adsm · 05-06-2009, 05:37 PM

its a shame and possibly a product of the media paying for any photos/footage of any preson in trouble. think abck to a life without camera phones people were more inclined to help. we are a product of our own media society. its not good, but good on you for helping i am sure there would be someone do the same for you one day.

**thefargo** · 05-06-2009, 06:42 PM

from what I hear, it's only going to get worse. The lack of social norms and selfishness is on the increase. Those of us who would have rushed to help are now entering into the realm of the 'old generation'.

**GasoLane** · 06-06-2009, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bearman

Poor Jaguar!! The infamous electricals in those old Jags, the dash mounted three position toggle switches - Off / On / Let's start a fire!!

It was more the high pressure fuel pump and the rubber sections on the fuel injection lines that were the problem.

There were no toggle switches on either of mine.

Kawasakirider · 06-06-2009, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thefargo

Those of us who would have rushed to help are now entering into the realm of the 'old generation'.

A tad harsh... I don't believe age has anything to do with it, after all, the teens that would have been watching the accident would have been raised with values their parents gave them. Their parents would have been part of the "Old generation" you speak of.

I am 17 and most people would look at me and assume I was a thug because I have a couple of piercings and wear motocross clothes. Not the case. Just because I am young doesn't make me an .

In the article they mentioned women with baby's and coffee watching the accident, too. It's down to how you're raised. Selfish attitudes are found in all ages of people and I've experienced it in older people first hand in this type of situation. Selflessness and being a good person to help out those in desperate times of need does exist in people my age, a lot more than you'd like to think actually.

It's easy to take one bad apple and turn them into a stereotype for a whole generation.

Either way that article made me sick to the core to think that people could sit there and watch a man scream in pain in his last moments. If that was someone I loved in that truck I would do my best to hunt down every bastard that watched and take a spanner to their head, while a crowd watched for fun.

gtfpv · 06-06-2009, 03:57 PM

yep. this is when you see peoples true colours . ( on the road) i was rear ended at high spead on the m4 some years ago i was injured in the vehicle and the other cars involved got out waved witnesses through, then when the traffic was gone, done a runner . after crawling out the window dazed, and standing on the freeway. only a policeman ona bike stopped some 10 minutes later .
the standard response now from people is , i wasnt there , and if i was i didnt do it, or i'm not getting involved . if younger peoples parents have become accustomed to this , then god help us with the up coming generation.

pauljh74 · 06-06-2009, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airmon

Doesnt surprise me. I had to push a car across 3 lanes of peak hour after an accident, only had 3 wheels, and me and the bloke who hit it were trying to push it off the road (not easy), and just had traffic banked up with people flashing their high beams and on the horn.

I mean, do they have any common sense at all? Yes mate, I'm pushing this car across your lane because I'm just a Twat and I didn't feel like driving it

:

In that position I'd consider walking up to the first idiot and tell them, "If you're not going to help, then you could at least STFU!"

A few weeks ago, I was driving down Bulleen rd near the Eastern Freeway when the traffic in the right lane came to a standstill. As the car in front of me changed lanes, I then saw a couple of large pieces of carpet underlay on the road - too much to drive over. Seeing the left lane was busy and no opportunity to change lanes, I decided to get out and grab the stuff off the road. Put the hazards on, got out and picked it up, threw it in the boot and kept going. Probably would have taken me a similar amount of time to change lanes anyway. The middle aged guy behind didn't want to wait and passed on the RIGHT side of the car as I was getting out - he crossed on the wrong side of the road. Fortunately (for them) no one stuck behind me honked or I would have thrown the underlay on their windscreen and then had a few words with them. It was a work car and I was going back to work afterwards so I just chucked it in the big bin there.
If I thought like everyone else, I could have driven around it, but then the next car, and the next etc would have to deal with it and traffic would bank up. No-one would know what the hold up was until they were at the front right near it. At worst a rear ender might result.

ltd · 06-06-2009, 05:32 PM

Unfortunately a lot of people these days don't care about anyone else, nor are they concerned with the with any form of compassion. I remember as a kid when driving back from a family holiday in Surfers Paradise we saw a car lose it in the pouring rain and smash down a small embankment. The car came to rest against a rock before a big drop off down a cliff. Not only did my father (with 6 kids in the car) get out to help immediately, but he helped the guy get out of the car, checked he was OK and gave him a lift to the police station. It was about 11am so dad also gave him a large glass of scotch (Johnnie Black in a plastic cup) to help him settle his nerves as he was shaking quite a bit. This was back before mobile phones, the breath test etc. After getting to the police station he took him inside and explained to the policeman what had happened and gave his details etc.

Now, the point to this is that guy was almost killed thanks to treacherous weather, but was fortunate to have the guy behind him come to his aid immediately. Things could have ended differently as after the accident it was hard to see the car. Anyone travelling along the road would not have seen the car from the road, and this guy could have been left there for hours. When I hear of accidents such as the truckdriver where several witnesses just kept going it makes my blood boil; how people can now show such indifference to their fellow man and just keep going is beyond me.

Scott · 06-06-2009, 06:04 PM

It is slack, very slack. I seem to often be the "first on scene" when things go wrong for other people, must have happened a dozen times for roll-overs, accidents, car fires, blokes coming off bikes etc etc and I have noticed that after I start running to assist, other people get the idea too. It's like people want to but are scared or embarassed to help someone in need.

Personally, if one of my cars catches fire, it's burn baby burn. I don't need to have myself or anyone else injured by getting too close and at the end of the day that's what I have insurance for.

The speed at which a car becomes engulfed in flames can be staggeringly quick and the intensity of the fires is something to be very wary of - particular caution before the A/C, Tyres & Petrol Tank have burst.

So kids, get out and lend a hand but keep your wits about you. Dying to save an insurance company some dough is something you'll only do once.

Feathers · 06-06-2009, 06:57 PM

The other thing that just makes the truckie's story even worse, is that after driving through the spot where it took place, I mentioned to Dad that I couldn't figure out how he would have lost it there if he wasn't asleep.

Dad said that it was lack of mechanical maintenance that caused it.
Something in the steering snapped and despite his best efforts there was nothing the driver could do.

Daymoe · 06-06-2009, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kawasakirider

A tad harsh... I don't believe age has anything to do with it, after all, the teens that would have been watching the accident would have been raised with values their parents gave them. Their parents would have been part of the "Old generation" you speak of.

I am 17 and most people would look at me and assume I was a thug because I have a couple of piercings and wear motocross clothes. Not the case. Just because I am young doesn't make me an .

In the article they mentioned women with baby's and coffee watching the accident, too. It's down to how you're raised. Selfish attitudes are found in all ages of people and I've experienced it in older people first hand in this type of situation. Selflessness and being a good person to help out those in desperate times of need does exist in people my age, a lot more than you'd like to think actually.

It's easy to take one bad apple and turn them into a stereotype for a whole generation.

Either way that article made me sick to the core to think that people could sit there and watch a man scream in pain in his last moments. If that was someone I loved in that truck I would do my best to hunt down every bastard that watched and take a spanner to their head, while a crowd watched for fun.

I agree with this guy/girl, you can point the stick at a certain generation, but there are bad people in every group. I get looked and assumed to be a thug because I'm 17 and look suspect (Its my facial expression IMO). It all depends on how the person is raised I suppose.

If I saw someone trapped on the side of the road in a burning car, I'd try and help out, but there are some things I wouldn't get involved in, like a guy beating his girlfriend because you don't know what they're carrying and they'll probably turn their attention to you.

naughtyfalcon · 08-06-2009, 04:22 PM

in my rolls as a deputy captain RFS and general rescue SES i by law are to aid and assist at any incident i see or come across.
as others it really shits me that most people are so wrapped up in their own lives that all compastion for others has gone out the window.

i've spent 12 hours at an accident where theres been a deceased, i would like to see some of these other excuses for humans do it.

its not nice getting one passanger out while the deceased is next to you.

Spudz27 · 08-06-2009, 10:37 PM

Saying young people or "The new generation" is disrespectful is a Tad harsh. I am only 25 but I am beginning training to be a volunteer ambo with St John. I am the youngest person there and hopefully more young people join.

I have 2 kids my 3 yr old gets nothing without manners and I hope I can raise her and my son to respect themselves and others around them.