The Daily Dumb

[sweetsalute]

Dumb was nearly me yesterday. Neither horse has been ridden in two weeks thanks to weather so they’re very fresh. The only place dry enough to ride was up the quiet streets. Young horse isn’t trail riding yet, so ponied her off the other one (done this on many an occasion before). Horse I’m riding is hot at the best of times and wants to GO. Young horse has been trying to nip her the whole time, we get to the top of the first street and she decides to show me just how well she can rear and do airs above the ground…while we are on the actual road surface.

Thank god for my saintly older horse. She clearly wanted to be anywhere but kept her cool and stood while I sorted out the young one. Much fun seeing hooves at head height! Perhaps next time I’ll be handwalking her haha.

[endlessclimb]

Weird one today. Not horse related though.

Driving into work, ~4:50AM. Traffic is abruptly slowing, there is a rolled car right in the middle of the two lanes. I didn’t see the accident. No emergency vehicles there. I pull in front of the car, stop, grab my phone, and run back to the car. I kneel in the shattered glass on the driver’s side and dial 911, and pull the curtain airbag away so I can see inside. A man’s back/butt is right there. No blood. I yell to him “Are you ok? Do you have any passengers?” He responds “I’m ok, I’m just really scared” and he reaches his hand behind him out the window.

So there I am on the Dan Ryan, holding a man’s hand telling him to stay still, that help is on the way, that the angels had their wings wrapped around him, while kneeling in glass waiting for emergency responders to arrive.

The dumb part about it is - no one else pulled over. Everyone else, countless cars, just went around us on both shoulders.

When the FD arrived, the guy still would not let go of my hand - I had to coax him into relaxing his grip so the FD could do their work and extricate him from the car.

I’m pretty shook up. Why did no one else stop??

[trubandloki]

@endlessclimb

Why did no one else stop??

Because we are taught that it is dangerous to stop on an expressway and that the best thing you can do is to stay in your vehicle and call for emergency services.

What you did was amazing. I just will not fault others for not stopping in such a dangerous location.

[endlessclimb]

I agree, though traffic was moving VERY slowly around the car. No one was pulled over, it was just the one rolled car and everyone going around.

Maybe it’s because it had just happened. I was surprised that no one else even rolled down their window to ask if all was alright or anything. The FD responded very very quickly, it couldn’t have been more than 5 minutes before they were on scene.

[JBCool]

Bless you, @endlessclimb!
But, sigh, I’m not surprised. My father and I were on a trip in his (pretty conspicuous) antique car the other year when it stopped running. Pulled off onto the edge of someone’s yard and ONE person stopped. I ended up waiting with the car while that amazing gentleman took Dad to find the parts he needed (fortunately, simple fix) but NO ONE else stopped the entire afternoon. Even the person whose yard we were in left for something and didn’t stop or say a word and his neighbors just kept on with their yard work glaring at me like I was spoiling the view.

[endlessclimb]

That is so weird. If I ever see someone pulled over looking at their car in a befuddled way, I always stop and ask if they need help. I might not be able to do too much, but I will do what I can!

I’m no first responder or anything, no way was I about to drag that guy out of his flipped car unless I thought it was about to catch fire or something. But I can stem bleeding, assess the situation so appropriate emergency personnel are dispatched, and especially since this guy was conscious, provide the comfort he so desperately needed in that moment. That’s what makes us all humans.

Several years back there was another one… car was stopped at a 4 way stop. A woman in the drivers seat. She was there before me… but would not go. Beep. Would not go. BEEP BEEP. Would not go. BEEEEEEEEEP would not go. Wait a second… sure enough, she had passed out, doors were locked. People driving around us angrily, I move my car directly in front of hers in case her foot slips off the pedal and dial 911 to get help. That time, not in the Windy City, it took longer for them to respond, but they didn’t eff around when they did get there - walked up, yelled at the passenger side window “MAM??” and a nanosecond later shattered the window with one of those special hammers. I got scared honestly because they moved so fast to the window shatter but I understand haha. Turns out she had dangerously low blood sugar - that’s all I know before I was out of there and on my way.

[2DogsFarm]

@endlessclimb

Why did no one else stop??

First: You did a Very Good Thing!

Former longtime (30+yrs) Chicagoan here.
Maybe nobody stopped because, as of late, the Ryan has become a shooting gallery.
In October I had a friend visit who had lived in Bridegport and wanted to have dinner at a favorite restaurant there.
We were approaching 130th when traffic slowed.
Took us 45min to get to 31st.
The closer we got, we started seeing State cops, Chgo cops, Dolton cops… All speeding towards 31st, some on the shoulders.
As we got closer, we saw the markers put out on the road.
Yup, if we’d left 20min sooner we would have experienced a shooting, Up Close & Personal.

Re: your Good Deed:
Over 20yrs ago I was driving home from the barn (in the NW Burbs, I lived in Chgo) late at night.
I’m on a 2-lane back road & see what looks like a fireball rolling towards me.
I slowed & saw it was a motorcycle gas tank.
The 2 riders were on the road with the remains of the bike.
This was in the very early days of cellphones, I didn’t have one.
But TG, someone else did & called out that they had called 911.
Another driver who’d stopped, said she was a nurse & went to attend the guy - in very bad shape from what I could see.
I went on to his GF, she was conscious, kept asking if he was okay.
I told her help was coming & that a nurse was seeing to him.
Then got a saddle pad I’d been taking home to put under her head. Kept telling her to lay still until help came.
Paramedics came & took over. They said her pelvis was broken.
Never learned how it ended, but people did at least try to help.

[JBCool]

I’d like to think I would do the same as you. I’ve stopped for folks who’d hit deer before (I mean, we’ve all been there!), but fortunately haven’t been in quite a wreck situation such as yours.

[endlessclimb]

@2DogsFarm

Maybe nobody stopped because, as of late, the Ryan has become a shooting gallery.

That’s a good point. It’s a real nightmare up here lately. I work in the Back of the Yards, so I get to experience it on the regular.

I hate motorcycles. I know it’s real rich for me to say that as someone who also participates in horseback riding, but I would never, ever ever, ever, ride a motor cycle on roads. Many drivers are so stupid, lots of motorcycle drivers are also real stupid, and only one of the two has a metal cage for survival. Never, nope, no thanks.

[MsM]

I can understand not stopping IF they called 911. Many people would figure they couldnt do anything useful in person and may create more of a problem stopping. The bigger problem is that I bet many didnt call 911 because they “assumed” someone else had called. That is why there is a saying that the best number of witnesses is one - cant assume the other guy will help.

[JBCool]

@endlessclimb

only one of the two has a metal cage for survival. Never, nope, no thanks.

Yep. Dad and I got cut off once in that same (BIG) car by an itty bitty sports car of some sort and I just thought, “there is NOT enough car between me and the next guy in that thing!” We’d have eaten that thing up had we collided.

Another friend driving a similar antique got hit and the lady said she didn’t see him. It’s a 19ft, aqua teal, 50yo convertible that you didn’t see on a straight stretch of road on a sunny day? I’m sure she pays more attention now as she had to pay to repair a LOT on that car.

[2DogsFarm]

Amen.
My brother rode a bike, until some Asshat cut him off & he almost lost his life.
DH’s youngest son died - nearly decapitated - when a van turned left from the right lane.

I’ve seen riders split lanes on the expressway, going between cars at speed
There’s a reason hospitals call them Donorcycles!

If you work in that area, what Chgo 'hood are you from?
I was in Lakeview (now Wrigleyville ) for most of my time there. Briefly lived in Rogers Park & Lincoln Park/DePaul area.
It used to be such a great & beautiful city

[endlessclimb]

I’ve always lived in Indiana, never in Chicago - grew up in Hammond, now live in Dyer.

I have worked in Riverside and Des Plaines at a previous job, and now work in the Back of the Yards for the last 5 years or so. The freeway shootings have definitely gotten worse in the 5 years I’ve worked here. Thank goodness my employer allows me to work early in the morning, or traffic might eat me alive. The flip side of that is most of the shootings happen at 2-3 in the AM, so I get the deal with the closed highways. I listen to the radio for traffic updates before I head out in the morning.

[2DogsFarm]

We’re almost neighbors
I’m in - well, just outside of - Crown Point.
Took me a while, but I’m pretty much Hoosier these days.
I’m retired, so can avoid the Ryan, I do rarely drive in to see friends, but if I think of it, take 41 the whole way - to Edgewater. It’s an interesting tour of the South side & only marginally Ionger.
Is that an option for you?
Be careful!

[Spudsmyguy]

Out here in WA, the chance of someone stopping to see if you’re okay is slim to none. Everyone is in such a rush to get somewhere, they can’t take time out of their precious day to assist a fellow human. I had to stop on the side of the I-90 freeway coming over the pass to secure the tack room door on my trailer. Yes, I had 2 horses inside and had semis whizzing by me while I clambored over the console and went out the passenger side to get to the tack room. Luckily, the door to the trailer is on the passenger side otherwise I don’t know what I would have done. Think anyone would stop to see if I was okay, Oh hell no.

I was on the way home from work and was just turning onto SR 2 to head east off of I-5 and there was a motorcycle behind me. The roads were damp from recent rain and I saw him go down in my rearview mirror. He disappeared from view and I thought he was under my truck! I pull over and he’s just picking himself up off the ground. He was wearing full leathers so was unhurt, and other than his new motorcycle being a little banged up was okay. The cops came along and kept everything moving but I was the only other person to stop. He was able to push his bike well off the road and I drove him home so he could get his truck. Unfortunately, it was his son’s 12th birthday and they were going to take a motorcycle trip to celebrate. Ah well, move on the Plan B. If we were going at any kind of speed, the outcome would probably have been tragically different but as typical WA traffic kept everyone slow.

[rockymouse]

@endlessclimb, you did a beautiful, compassionate thing.

My husband is a volunteer firefighter. His pager went off last weekend and he thought, nah, I won’t respond this time. He managed to crack some ribs a couple weeks ago, and can’t do anything particularly physical. He rethought it, though, and decided he’d stop by the scene. It was a construction accident and EMS needed help. The guy didn’t speak English, was terrified, and had a compound/crushed ankle. While EMS was doing what they need to do, my husband kneeled and held his hand for that half an hour.

I don’t know why no one stopped for you. It’s dispiriting. We’ve stopped for people, given lifts to strangers obviously stuck on the side of the road, and brought back gas for folks.

Many years ago, while in college and way before cell phones, a few of us were driving to the beach and our car went kaput. The alternator went out and we just coasted to a ghostly halt. We were on the side of a well-traveled road, but 20+ miles from a town. RVs and campers by the dozens drove past us, three or four 20yo kids and a car with its hood up. What I’ve remembered all these years later is that most of these RVs had that Good Samaritan sticker on the back. After a couple hours, a tow truck happened to roll past and pulled over. Had he not stopped, I guess we’d still be there.

[JBCool]

@rockymouse

What I’ve remembered all these years later is that most of these RVs had that Good Samaritan sticker on the back.

Yep. When Mom & I got stranded on the side of the interstate with a flat tire on a trailer with the horse, the ONLY person who stopped wasn’t the several cops or our pastor’s wife who went by, but the truck with an AQHA sticker in the window because she saw ours.

[endlessclimb]

It could be, but I’m right on the border (literally my back yard has a 10 foot easement at the back, then you’re in Cook County forest preserve), so getting on 394 is certainly the most convenient.

I’m sorry if this is a dumb question, but do you ride? Let’s hit the trails together! I have an ultra safe horse if you don’t have a trail-worthy one.

[chestnutmarebeware]

@rockymouse

What I’ve remembered all these years later is that most of these RVs had that Good Samaritan sticker on the back.

If it makes you feel any better about what was clearly a terrible situation that you were in, those Good Sam stickers don’t actually stand for “Good Samaritan”, at least as of the mid-1990s. It’s just plain old “Good Sam” with no religious overtones. I used to work for the company back then, which is purely a low-cost membership club for RVers that gets you discounts at campgrounds and RV parks across the country.

So, they probably weren’t religious hypocrites ignoring your plight, just elderly RVers who may not have felt comfortable stopping for a group of kids.

[anon40672407]

@endlessclimb

I’m pretty shook up. Why did no one else stop??

Because you had.

One does see accidents, and if there are emergency vehicles, one does not stop. If there are 2 other cars on the shoulder, one does not stop. There’s not much point in creating a further traffic jam. Good on you, Endlessclimb.