Stopped to help a truck along the road

[wmonroe]

Was out of gas so after work I decided to run to the gas station and fill a couple five gallon cans. On my way back home I have to go up a 2.5 mile 7% grade and about 1/3 of the way up there is a dually truck with a cattle trailer sitting half on the berm and half in the right lane. As I moved over to pass I saw it was an older gentlemen and had a feeling I should stop and see if he needed help. After pulling off and waiting for traffic to clear I drifted back to him and found out he thought he ran out of exhaust fluid. He was on a bad spot in the road to be stopped since the way the curves are it is hard to see him until you are right on him. He jumped in my truck and we ran a few miles away and got a jug of def, after putting it in his truck it still would not start and didn't even attempt to fire. After looking further it turns out he ran it out of fuel, he was very embarrassed but we jumped back in my truck and ran to another station to buy a gas can and five gallons of diesel. When we got back to his truck the second time there was another person that stopped to help, so they emptied to fuel into the truck while I was hooking up my tow strap (I was worried he had air in the injector lines and it wouldn't start) so I could tow him to a pull off area at the top of the hill. Luckily after bumping the starter a few times to prime the system and a little cranking it fired up and all was well.

It turned out the driver did not own the truck but was a hired driver for the owner who was in the passenger seat. The owner, who buys and sells cattle, had a stroke about a year ago and has lost his license. They were both very grateful for the help and felt really bad that something as easy as running out of fuel caused all the hassle.

Either way I was very happy to be able to help out. By time we were done there were three of us and a state cop stopped to help, I'm happy to live in a area where there are still people who care to stop and help others.

Not looking for any "attaboys" from this post, it just made me happy to be able to help and hope it convinces someone else to stop and lend a hand.

 

[KubotainNH]

Good job, there are too many people who would race by while laying on the horn.

 

[Fawken]

Good deed done.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm sure they were feeling rather foolish once they realized what the problem was.

 

[ultrarunner]

Good job anyway...

I was stuck on the side of the road in not the best part of town with a convertible I had just picked up... the fuel gauge was stuck and I did not know about it...

A well dressed man pulls up and asks if I'm ok... tell him I think it is just out of gas... he tells me to get in and takes me to a gas station... and I thank him and say I can walk back... insists on driving me back...

There are still people willing to lend a hand... I've been able to pass it forward because my service van has a fueling setup...

 

[greenmojo]

Uplifting story.

~Moses.

 

[kc5dlo]

Made me feel good too. Thanks!

 

[Gary Fowler]

I help all my neighbors when they need something. Whether it be a load of dirt to fill in a pothole, sharpening lawnmower blades, welding up broken stuff or just cranking an ill starting weedeater, I am the man. It gives me something to keep busy with and doesn't cost me a lot of money to do the things I do but would cost my neighbors a lot to have the work done by a professional.
Just yesterday, my neighbor asked if I could move the remains of a burn pile. It took me about an hour to move the dirt and debris (metal springs, rods, rocks etc)from 2 burn sites and then grade the area. It cost me an hour of my time and maybe 1/2 gallon of fuel but I like helping folks when I can.
Last week a friend of my brother in law and casual acquaintance of mine asked if I could do some welding on his bushhog. I said sure bring it over. It took about 2 hours to fit and weld a new 1/2" plate to hold the gear box. I also fixed his broken tail wheel bracket and several cracks in the frame while he was there. I told him, I would have to charge him a little for the electricity + welding rods which was about 3 pounds @ $2 per pound but I wasn't going to charge for my time. He insisted on giving me $40 for my time. I am sure that the charge would have been triple that at a welding shop, but I enjoy fixing things AND it give me some exercise which is good for my diabetes and arthritis so I get some benefit from staying active also.

 

[jack707]

You have to be careful about who you stop for these days!.

 

[bigtiller]

attaboy! :thumbsup:

I was in trouble like that 20 years ago in a boat on a lake. We put the electric trolling motor on fast and were headed the 4 miles to home when the water patrol stopped us to "help". He gave us a safety check and sobriety test but we passed all his attempts to ruin the day for us. And we continued trolling home.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I once towed a stalled boat in to shore and he didn't even thank me. I had a pretty powerful boat and he had a little 15 foot ski boat. After hooking on a 100 feet of anchor line, I gave my motor the juice and we planed out on the water and pulled that guy about 35 MPH all the way home while he was riding in my wake like a person on an inner tube. I guess he may have been a little frightened as I turned at the dock and just let him coast in gently.
Do you suppose he wanted me to just idle along with him in tow for about 5 miles?

I had done the same thing with a buddies boat on a river that was a good 10 miles from the launch. He spent the whole time trying to turn his steering wheel when we were going around twist and turns in the rather narrow river. There is no way for a boat being towed to move out of the wake area directly behind the tow boat so it is quite safe to do if you have the power to plane out both boats.

 

[wmonroe]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. The guy did feel very bad once he realized he was out of fuel but we all make mistakes so....

The area where I live is pretty safe so stopping to help someone along the road isn't too much of a worry. I'm lucky to live in a rural area where most people still treat each other like human beings or better.

I've been stuck along the road twice with a trailer, once because a trailer tire blew out on the side facing traffic on a road with a berm just slightly wider than the truck/trailer, and the second time was when a wheel bearing decided it was done. Both were bad days and I have a soft spot for people along the road with a trailer, it just makes the recovery that much harder for them.

 

[Garandman]

A couple from Minneapolis wrote the Boston Globe a while back. They'd heard Boston drivers were aggressive and rude, locals unfriendly, etc.

After getting their rental car they stopped on the side of the road to figure out where to go. Logan Airport is in Boston, but East Boston, separated from the rest of the city by the harbor and requiring the use of one of two tunnels or a bridge.

Seven cars stopped to see if they needed help. The last one led them to where they were going downtown, waved and drove off.

....But don't count on it.:laughing:

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Was out of gas so after work I decided to run to the gas station and fill a couple five gallon cans. On my way back home I have to go up a 2.5 mile 7% grade and about 1/3 of the way up there is a dually truck with a cattle trailer sitting half on the berm and half in the right lane.

Sounds like Rt40 out of Uniontown. But in SW PA, many places fit that description.