Unbelievable.......

I pass broke down trucks all the time but in the winter when it is below say 40° then I stop for car or truck.

You have to be super careful about that and I recommend calling the police instead of stopping, especially at night. For one, getting a rig slowed down and then parking on the shoulder is super dangerous in itself. But also I've heard numerous stories of criminals setting people up that way. They'll have a woman on the shoulder with her hood up while the gang waits in hiding for someone to stop and help.....then they jump him.

.......just something to think about.

Me and my family was driving from Maryland to little rock Arkansas and got a flat tire on i40 on a sunday bout 80 miles from Memphis... Help was on the way but really slow we was stuck for 4 or 5 hours and only 1 person stopped and asked if we needed anything and that was after the cop stopped cuz someone called the cops to find out if we needed help instead of stopping smh.... So I make it a point to at least stop and see if they need anything....

Whats wrong with calling the cops?

Either them or a deisel mechanic would be in a much better postition to help than someone like me. If it is an accident then i would stop but not a breakdown, because the best i could do is stand around with my hands in my pockets.

You have a cell and a qualcomm to call for real help, you dont need me

I would have to agree with brett on this. People aren't so friendly as they used to be back then, but thats because we always hear how people who stop to help get robbed, raped, or killed. The only times i would be willing to risk it would be when its dangerously cold outside, or if it was the middle of no where (particularly out west) where theres nothing, and cell phone reception is spotty at best. I may not be able to offer much assistance with a breakdown, but atleast they'd have someplace to stay warm.

Whats wrong with calling the cops?

Either them or a deisel mechanic would be in a much better postition to help than someone like me. If it is an accident then i would stop but not a breakdown, because the best i could do is stand around with my hands in my pockets.

You have a cell and a qualcomm to call for real help, you dont need me

Think about if it was you and no one offered to help..... If its summer and you in the south with no ac and nothing to drink.... The older couple that stopped offered us bottles of water as it was hotter then h*ll out.... I was glad the cop showed up cuz he gave me a number for a guy that got my tire fixed faster and cheaper but what I was upset with was the fact that someone was so concerned about our wellbeing they called the cops instead of seeing if we was alright... Now I understand in this day and age you can't trust anyone anymore but come I had kids in my car and one of them a baby.... So I at least try and help any way possible from now on cuz I know what its like to be stuck on the side of the road....

When I drove for central/swift I was heading home to try and transfer my cdl to my home state and blew a hole in the radiator hose and was stuck on the pa turnpike for 9 hours because I didn't know that you have to send a new breakdown message every time to communicate with otrm... That was a lesson well learned lol but I sat there with no cb cuz I just upgraded to solo and didn't have the funds for a cb and no one stopped to see if I needed anything... I didn't really think any one would but I thought my otrm was on the way lol it sucked....

I've stopped to help a few times(So Calif) Last time, my buddy, his wife, and I were east bound I-215, in a dead zone, where an older couple, with a eh, 10 year old grandson. They had a blow out, and passing we saw, they had no clue, and the kid was not much help. And it was maybe 100 out, so we turned around, next exit, went back to help. They had plenty of snacks n cold drinks, but Grandpa was too frail, and the boy as well. We changed their tire out, which now, we see isn't inflated enough to go to far. Next exit ahead was 2+ miles, so we followed them along the shoulder, to get to the next gas station. Got the "not so great" spare aired up, after all the thank you's , they offered to pay us, we told em to pay it forward. And to get a NEW tire, ASAP, because that spare wasn't going 500 miles ! They had said no one else even so much as slowed down in the hour + they were sitting there....

Karma....

I rode my cycle to BHC Arizona to surprise my "late" mom for Mother's Day. Sunday, I head home on I-40, 5 miles out from Ludlow, I spit n sputter, outta gas! Winds were horrific and fighting those and all the semi's, ate up the gas. I use the call box for my AAA, I'm told it's at least 3 hour wait? That's gunna make it dark, I'm debating pushing the bike 5 miles get gas faster than stupid AAA. Right about then another cycle rider on his BMW cruiser loaded down, stops. Get's a quart of gas off his bike( he wasn't good at syphoning) lol It was enough gas to get to the exit/gas stations, I offered to pay him as well, of course,"Nope, just pay it forward youngster" And away he went. time: 45 minutes, I never did call AAA to cancel , screw em lol, I got home after some heavy rainfall, more 60 mph winds, and a few 100 more Trucks, just at dark.

3. New breed of driver is all about the ME generation and can not be bothered to lend a hand.

Not everyone is a "ME" person, but they do exist in EVERY generation. The current drivers are driven by the almighty cents per mile, so it should be obvious that it has more to do with making a living than being a jerk. If someone was asking for help on the CB, or were on the side of the road waving their jacket or something and no one stopped I could see being perturbed. But if someone had a flat, and pulled over and looked fine, I wouldn't stop or say anything either.

I drive a hazmat service truck, and I probably have most anything a truck on the side of the road might need, but my company pays me to service our vehicles and equipment. So yes I do look at a stopped vehicle to see if there is any sign of help needed, but otherwise I keep going. My company doesn't pay me to play road savior all day unless its one of our trucks. I turn the CB off usually. Who wants to hear a bunch of "old timers" and their latent homosexual trash talking? So meh, I don't see what the big deal is or why anyone would be blaming other drivers. Its the way the companies pay imho that has made the road more traveled less friendly.

Phil

Weatherman,

This is not 1970 anymore.

Wall Street greed, government hand-outs to banks and not consumers after real estate collapse, innocent people dreaming of home ownership and given cancerous sub-prime loans that pushed them into bankruptcy, disloyal companies, pensions are gone, high unemployment, neighbors move in and move out, and crime and population are at all-time highs. Its a dog-eat-dog world more than ever. This is the 2000 era.

We are in a totally different era than 50 years ago. Do not be naïve.

In the 1970's you could hitchhike would little issues because trust was a lot higher among strangers. Your neighbors stayed in the same home for a long time. You knew them and trusted them. Truckers were there to offer a helping hand if broke down, CB radios were trucker-friendly, everyone watched your back, salaries were good, trust was high, loyalty among employees was high and everyone was mostly happy.

These days you have to be a lone wolf and keep your real friends and family closer. Sad. But that's the way the world is today,

Lol. I'm certainly not naive at all. Just simply making an observation about how disappointed I was about my situation. I wasn't asking for help and didn't expect anyone to stop. Just found it odd. Oh well, no big deal. I'll keep doing things the way I was raised. Be safe out there all.

I too remember the old days when if you were broken down on the side of the road, you could always count on a trucker to lend a hand....but when I was out with my trainer, i saw a fellow Werner driver broken down on the side of the road and asked if we should stop and see if he/she needed help....trainer told me you don't need to do that, they have a Qualcomm and help is already on the way.....my trainer had 35 years of driving experience......I don't have a CB in my truck yet, but I would certainly stop for someone if I felt the weather, or situation was something I could help with