Why motorists left a cyclist to die

The death of the cyclist Stephen Wills is a terrible story. Knocked off his bike by joyriders, he was left in the road as motorists drove round him.

One driver may even have driven over Mr Wills, breaking his legs. How could so many people have been so inhumane? Said the police:

It's hard to believe drivers refused to stop and help.

Actually it isn't. The story of large numbers of people failing to come to the assistance of a victim of crime or an ill person is common.

The suggestion is that we are inhumane individuals and need to behave more like a society. The truth is very nearly the opposite.

It hasn't been that long since the papers were full of the story of a 25 year old woman, also lying in the road, also bleeding and the cars swerving round her.

The most famous example of similar behaviour is that of Catherine Genovese who was chased by a man with a knife through New York streets. By the time she was murdered her screams had been witnessed by 38 people, none of whom called the police

The interest in the Genovese case was such that it prompted two New York psychologists, Bibb Latane and John Darley, to investigate why it had happened.

The pair staged a number of emergency incidents and on 85 per cent of the occasions when a single bystander was present they stopped to help. But this happened only 31 per cent of the time when there were five bystanders.

This finding has been repeated over and over again in other research.

What it shows is that as individuals we are caring and want to help, but when we are part of a corporate whole we don't do so.

Comments

[David, Bromley]

It's because we no longer have a community of interests. We live in a society where a patient in an ambulance can be attacked and where fire crews are regularly attacked. Who's my brother's keeper these days?

[Philip]

As a society we are now reaping what was sown almost 30 years ago with the election of the Tories led by Thatcher. It was necessary, so we were told, to "modernise" and aspire to personal gain. There is, as we were told, "no such thing as society", only "individual men and women."

So we welcomed this dog-eat-dog attitude and the personal benefits it brought, trampling all before us in a desire for mammon. Priorities were rearranged accordingly, bigger house, bigger car, better wife/husband, private this and that; the survival of the fittest.

But surely, as you will no doubt tell me, this is the way it has to be, the way it is elsewhere and has always been? Really? Perhaps in the US, but not in France or Germany where, although they might be poorer, priorities are different and they are a good deal happier, as the British expats would agree.

So let's not look at it as a societal characteristic, rather a phenomenon particuliar to countries which have sold their soul in return for a bit more cash.

[Nonplussed]

Diminished responsibility is what its called!

[Dan]

None of this surprises me. I work as a Paramedic for a large metropolitan service. When attending road accidents I regularly run the gauntlet of motorists so desperate to get past they'll sound their horns at us or ignore our pleas to slow down. I've almost been knocked down several times by these idiots. I've been resuscitating patients in public areas or shops where people have pushed us out of the way to get past. One time in particular I remember dealing with a man in cardiac arrest in a post office, people stepped over this mans lifeless body, while we were treating him, to get to the counter. My faith in human nature has been somewhat dented.

[KB]

The Kitty Genovese phenomenon is not applicable in this case - it explains why a group of aural witnesses took no action (each assumed someone else had already reported the incident).

In the case of Stephen Wills motorists had to go out of their way to avoid him on a deserted road at 3:30 in the morining - no social dynamic to explain away this example.

If you still doubt the state of modern Britain, take a look at the comments in the Daily Mail story (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=559991&in_page_id=1770) or Toby Young's Spectator piece (http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/columnists/615011/status-anxiety.thtml).

[Tom]

its actually none of the above. Simply put: there is a pecking order on the roads. Cyclists are the perceived 'untouchables'. Thus to be treated with contempt and sometimes outright aggression (get off the road!)

In 20 years cycling to work I have been deliberately rammed twice, pushed off by pedestrians, forced off by drivers and been in a number of accidents where drivers ignore cycle lanes, open doors into oncoming traffic, make left turns without checking mirrors and refused right of way on roundabouts and junctions.

Everyone makes mistakes, but when a cyclist makes a mistake it usually doesnt involve the death or mutilation of a motorist.

[Brigitte]

Regretably, Tom's assessment makes a lot of sense. I actually know motorists of the kind he describes. They hate cyclists with a vengeance. But it is also correct to apportion some blame to our society. The Australian papers, too, report with dismay that their ever richer and better educated society produces more crime and violence than ever before.

[David]

Philip, sorry but I have to disagree with what you are saying. The fundamental problem in the case of the man run over and left to die is not Thatcher's responsibility in the least. The welfare state has actively encouraged, most particularly under Labour governance the rights of individuals WITHOUT any corresponding responsibility and is therefore becoming nothing but an expensive farce. Thus it is that these folks with no sense of responsibility for their actions have murdered a law abiding citizen. Take your blinkers off. The gradual erosion of persoanl resonsibility has never accelerated at as fast a pace as today, and yet the parasites such as young Shannon's parents in Dewsbury have an equal say in who governs this country as those who actually contribute to the society in which we live. I think the way we are govern ourselves in the UK needs to be overhauled from ground level up and people at all levels of society need to be accountable for their actions.

[Lori]

I can understand in a way. We now live in such a climate of fear within society. If I was a woman alone driving in the early hours of the morning in the dark, I would be concerned about someone on the road but I may be too fearful to stop to help.

Sort of like hitchhikers. I am too fearful to pick them up and I figure that some man will pick them up.

[Mike]

---------As a society we are now reaping what was sown almost 30 years ago with the election of the Tories led by Thatcher. It was necessary, so we were told, to "modernise" and aspire to personal gain. There is, as we were told, "no such thing as society", only "individual men and women."

So we welcomed this dog-eat-dog attitude and the personal benefits it brought, trampling all before us in a desire for mammon. Priorities were rearranged accordingly, bigger house, bigger car, better wife/husband, private this and that; the survival of the fittest.----

Phillip that is such a ridiculous comment. Having an unregulated society doesn't mean having a dog-eat-dog attitude towards your neighbors. Some of the most vicious and selfish individuals were Communist leaders controlling state apparatuses in Russia. You can have a free society, and still have a sense of responsibility towards your neighbor.

Please don't try to rationalize socialism by exploiting this tragic event.

[Bazzer]

I think the problem is more fundamental than inhumanity. I belive it's down to years of the politically correct brigade breathing down our necks. Only yesterday, I was talking to a neighbour about falling off our bikes as children and how the first car that came along would stop, pick us up, dust us down and make sure we were ok. Nowadays, if you found a child lying in the road, you would need to make sure that there were at least 2 or 3 witnesses before approaching a child in case you were accused of indecent assault and then placed on the sex offenders register.

In the case of the man in this story - how many people thought that they ought to stop but thought better of it due to modern policing tactics. If you were the only person there, you would probably be arrested as a suspect (to help meet their arrest targets) then DNA taken (and put on the register for the rest of your natural) - it's easier not to stop.

[Julian Cox]

The findings of this research demonstrate how easy it is the unscrupulous to sway the crowd and manipulate human nature.

I am thinking particularly about the collective hysteria of Kristallnacht and other such incidents. It is so easy to see how the thin veneer of civilization can be worn down and human nature exploited, suborning whole societies into perversity.

This would seem to prove why it is that it is sometimes very hard to stand out from the crowd and to do the right thing.

[Juan Millaruelo]

Remember the paparazzi coldly taking pictures of dying Princess Diana instead of helping or seeking aid? They were indicted for it. In France and other continental countries this is criminal behaviour.
An englishman I spoke with at the time thought it quaint and thought "they were just doing their job". Time for a national rethink and the introduction of the 'good samaritan clause' in the criminal code?

[Julian Cox]

Juan Millaruelo is quite correct. It is illegal in France for a doctor, nurse, paramedic or one trained in the basics of First Aid, not to come to the assistance of someone requiring medical intervention in the street or public place.

Whilst I flinch instinctively and intuitively from interventionist legislation that attempts to micro-manage human nature - of which this present government must stand guilty as accused - if we cannot govern ourselves, perhaps it is time for Parliament to intervene with legislation to this effect. The trouble is that this would no-doubt provoke the garden gnome of socialism, the wide-vowelled Hazel Blears (Secretary of State for "Communities"), to seek the limelight even more than she does already. If no-one can come to the help of someone in trouble in the street, clearly we have lost any sense of "community" at all. How apt that Blears should preside, like some gaudy trinket behind the private hedge of the Labour Party's pebble-dashed semi, over nothing.

[John]

Tom - I'm a driver. I certainly don't hate cyclists but it's difficult to be sympathetic when they get hit. As I enter the city each morning I encounter cyclists who ignore lane markings, red lights etc. Yesterday a guy progressed at speed up the pavement, accross a pedestrian crossing (at red for the pedestrians) and cut in, inches in front of a taxi that was just starting up as the lights changed. The idea seems to be that they think they make progress by being imune to traffic jams, so as the traffic slows they can do anything the want. Well they can - but they can also get hit by other vehicles. Do you ever ignore red lights or undertake slow moving vehicles stuck in traffic?

[David Jones]

This effect isn't new. It isn't a result of supposedly destructive social policies in recent years; it isn't somehow indicative of a decline.

There's ample research on bystander apathy, compliance and conformity, going back to just after WW2 when the there was an urgent need to understand how ordinary people could
do horrible things.

It's the human condition. It's not a harbinger of the end of society.

[ALAN]

I TRIED TO PREVENT A CAR BEING STOLEN BY 3 YOUTHS I GAVE CHASE IN MY CAR WHILST TALKING TO THE POLICE ON MY MOBILE THE STOLEN CAR STOPPED AND REVERSED INTO MY CAR AT HIGH SPEED TO PREVENT ME FOLLOWING THEM CAUSING MUCH DAMAGE TO MY CAR.FOR MY TROUBLE I WAS DETAINED BY THE POLICE (WHEN THEY FINALLY ARRIVED)WAS HELD FOR OVER 1 HOUR UNTIL THEY COULD FIND A BREATHERLISER KIT. AFTER TAKING A BREATH TEST WHICH I PASSED WITH FLYING COLOURS I WAS TOLD ITS OK TO GO.SO THATS THE THANKS YOU GET FOR HELPING SO I VOWED AFTER THAT NEVER TO ASSIST AGAIN A BAD ATTITUDE I KNOW BUT IF THIS IS THE WAY YOU GET TREATED BY THE LAW ITS THE ONLY ATTITUDE TO HAVE BY THW WAY THEY NEVER CAUGHT THE THIEVES TOO BUSY HOLDING ME

[james]

Some twenty years ago a small boy fell off his bike near my van, so i took him home, along with bike, and was thanked profusely by his mother. I wouldn't dare do that now - too wary of being accused of something. Better to keep out of the way.

[Ed]

Philip - apart from harking back to the 'good old days' of the 70's, your examples of exemplary social kindness are poor – have you seen the homeless sleeping on the streets of Paris lately, or perhaps let us mention how many perished trying to cross the Berlin wall?

Modern roads are fast moving and dangerous in anything less than a car - society provides services with skills and powers to deal with road accidents, this may contribute to reasons the individuals present did not stop on the highway. For the accident perpetrators, increased use of CCTV may facilitate proving guilt in incidents such as this – at least then those who commit crimes may think rather than just flee.

[Barry Wiggins]

Fools, fools. It's not about socialism or capitalism, it's about culture. When Britain was less multicultural, citizens felt a greater sense of social cohesion. Multiculturalism has destroyed all that. In multicultural societies, people lose trust in each other, even trust in others like them. (See Harvard University Professor Robert Putnam's ground breaking study, "E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-first Century.") Putnam himself was so shocked at his findings he withheld them for 5 years, trying to rationalize them away. He couldn't. Multiculturalism is the death of civil society.

[Andy]

John - yes I do undertake slow moving vehicles, if there's a cycle lane there; that's where I was when I got knocked off by a car who didn't bother looking to see if there was a bike in the cycle lane. Don't worry, 6 months later the bones have healed and I'm mostly OK.

Do you think cyclists are some sort of alien breed of lunatics? I can assure you the the average cyclist thinks a lot more carefully about each and every manoeuvre than the average driver, because we know that our lives are at stake. Literally. Several times a day, every time we get on our bikes.

Of course it's true that some cyclists get careless sometimes; but when you get careless in your car, you only lose your no claims bonus.

Dare I suggest that the main problem drivers have with cyclists is jealousy that we're going faster than you?

[Brian]

Robert Caildini, a noted social psychologist addressed this phenomenon in his book "Influence: the science of persuasion" in the late 1960's.

In summary, the notion of 'social proof' observably compels people to act or not in situation's like these.

From his book - a brief summary:

"Very often an emergency is not obviously an emergency. Is the man lying in the alley a heart-attack victim or a drunk sleeping one off? Are the sharp sounds from the street gunshots or truck backfires? Is the commotion next door an assault requiring the police or an especially loud marital spat where intervention would be inappropriate and unwelcome? What is going on? In times of such uncertainty, the natural tendency is to look around at the actions of others for clues. We can learn, from the way the other witnesses are reacting, whether or not the event is an emergency.

What is easy to forget, though, is that everybody else observing the event is likely to be looking for social evidence too. And because we all prefer to appear poised and unflustered when we are with others, we are likely to search for that evidence placidly, with brief, camouflaged glances at those around us. Therefore everyone is likely to see everyone else looking unruffled and failing to act. As a result, and by the principle of social proof, the event will be roundly interpreted as a nonemergency "(p. 132—33)

People often decide that they shouldn't act, because others haven't - thinking that there must be a good reason for holding off.

Its less about society and moral values, and more about social instinct that drives many sub conscience actions.

In his book, he also tested how to obviate this problem. Should one be in a situation where they need help - specifically identify an individual and ask them for help. E.g., Point to the man in the blue shirt and say "you, in the blue shirt, I need your help!" As opposed to just saying "help" generally.

[Roger B]

If it's everyone's responsibility then it's no ones responsibility.

[Somerset]

Latane and Darley actually posted findings that the reason no-one helped in the Genovese case was a 'diffusion of responsibility' - it wasn't that no-one cared, but that everyone assumed someone else would have done something about it.

[Austin Tassletine]

I a more interested in my Buy to Lets quite frankly!

I am more interested that they continue rise in price and that Kirsty and Phil are on the TV - this is just not news.

[Peter McGrath]

Your newspaper's editor let through a column by Matthew Parris which incited people to string wires across roads to decapitate cyclists, based on not actually seeing cyclists litter his verges but just knowing it was them.

He subsequently apologized, but it all contributed to the atmosphere that cyclists are a group it's acceptable to hate.

For the general point? We're no different to any other animal: crowd us, stress us and altruism goes out of the window.

[Kelley Geary]

What an amazing article. Thank you so much for the pursuit of humanitarianism.

Likewise, the States have wonderful people, however, so much evil has taken over and few if any stand up for what is right, ethical, humane.

Feeling a little 'dented' myself, a broadcast last night was extremely riveting to me. I will include the website information. Hopefully, any of you may be able to see this or get the print.

It will bring hope back into your life I am sure.

Don't give up, keep the hope.

Exodus & Freedom with Dick Cavett

Episode description: Eight extraordinary individuals who have faced and overcome unimaginable adversity share their inspiring personal exodus stories with television host Dick Cavett. Topics include political imprisonment (Ngawang Sangdrol), death-row exoneration (Ray Krone), slavery (Francis Bok), poverty (Liz Murray), life-threatening illness (Geraldine Ferraro), religious fundamentalism (Azar Nafisi), the Holocaust (Rep. Tom Lantos), and the September 11 terrorist attacks (Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell).

[Spell Girl]

I recently saw an old Law & Order episode that took its inspiration from the Catherine Genovese case.

I'd like to think I would stop. I just can't imagine how people can ignore someone lying in the road.

I live in my native Australia now but spend 8 years in the UK. It's sad how it seems to be declining so badly. I certainly noticed it in the time I was there.

[Peter, Cambridge]

It is ridiculous, as many of these and similar posts seem to do, to classify individuals into either motorists or cyclists. Many motorists own bicycles and many cyclists own cars. When I am carrying a sofa or have passengers I tend to use the car rather than the bicycle around town, while when I am alone I tend to cycle. There are considerable numbers of obnoxious motorists and considerable numbers of obnoxious cyclists whichever mode of transport I use. I am constantly surprised, however, by how many polite and considerate members there are of each category.

[Herbert F]

There is also the fear of getting it wrong and being held responsible. In Germany, for example, a first-aider is protected by law from being sued for any damage he/she may do. Of course it does happen that an inexperienced attempt does more damage than good, but a law that, on average, saves two lives while killing one is a good law.

But even with this concern, there is no excuse for not stopping and calling emergency services.

[Leanne]

How do you know that some of these people didn't drive on and call for help from a place of safety? These days it can be dangerous to stop in the middle of the night one a deserted road, especially for a woman on her own. You can still call an ambulance and tell them where the person is.

[happymike]

Well I am going deaf and it seems that since this has started people have become very cruel.I was out walking one night and a man attmpted to mug me.He set upon me and did not notice my canine companion.My dog knocked hm down and pinned him to the sidewalk.He was only trained to help point out people who are to close to me.But this guy was attacking me in my neighborhood and no one came out to see if I was alright or not.So we have become a very cruel society,in our attiude towards each others in general.I thought before the attack someone might have come out and helped me.Now I know this not the fact.The other time I was leaving a carpark after taking my dog to a pet store.I was almost in my car. When the guy came up and panhandled me and grabed me by the arm.I told him to back up and let go of me.He missed the dog who jumped out and growled and showed his teeth and the guy let me go and left.I hate to think had I not had a dog what might have happened to me.Murdered and left in a ditch somewhere.

[Tom]

"As a society we are now reaping what was sown almost 30 years ago with the election of the Tories led by Thatcher. It was necessary, so we were told, to "modernise" and aspire to personal gain. There is, as we were told, "no such thing as society", only "individual men and women.""

Politics has got nothing to do with it. Did you not read the article? Psychological studies point to the theory that people in large groups seem to avoid taking positive action; whether believing 'someone else' will do something (the diffusion of responsiblity that SOMERSET mentioned) or for another reason.
Dragging political agendas into this is not only childish, it's misleading.

[TRISHA CRAWFORD]

PHILIP,
YO ARE A VERY SILLY BOY. HOW BITTER ARE YOU?

[mark]

I remember another experiment. 4 people were put in a room. 3 were told the smoke alarm would go off but to act normal. The 4th person, reacting to how other people reacted didn't run for the exit.
I assume the passers-by assumed that somebody had already called it in and saw others driving past.
Also, isn't stopping and reversing on a dual carriageway llegal? So once past the scene people acted selfishly. I'd have called it in, driven round and parked behind with the hazard lights on.

[Amy]

I honestly don't know what I would have done in that situation. As a single woman I would not feel safe pulling over at the side of a busy road at 3am in the morning. It is the sad state of our society today that people do not feel safe enough to help.

[Matt]

Ask yourself this - look how many people have posted here condemning these motorists actions. I imagine we would all consider ourselves to be 'normal', a responsible person who would help in a situation like this? So now consider - could every person who drove past here be considered 'abnormal'? Surely some of them must have been responsible people like us.......are all the people pushing the paramedic (who commented previously) out of the way when he's trying to save a life also ALL abnormal? There's something going wrong here, something that makes normal, caring people 'turn the other cheek'. Even if 19 times out of 20 the stricken stranger is just drunk, surely we should jump to their aid every time anyway in case they are that 1 in 20 whose life is at risk? I have and would without hesitation.

[Ophelia B.]

This is a tragic example of the cold, impersonal world in which we live these days. To ignore someone in dire need is a terrible commentary on our times, and yet, this is all too typical of the 'looking out for number one' mentality so prevalent just now.

[paul harrison]

I would just like to point out that when you speak of French manners etc, it is a criminal offence in France to withhold help to those in danger.

Brian, great comments - I'll look up that Caildini research: it's so true...you need to 'personalise' things to get bystanders to take action.

Andy...'some' cyclists; 'some' of the time?...look around you; I RARELY see a road-sign obeying cyclist.

Philip, wake up - other comments have dealt with your ridiculous statement.

[terry sullivan]

i do think cyclists are an alien breed. they seem to feel that they have superhuman powers so when cut in front of a vehicle will not be hurt. either aliens or nutters

[John Morgan]

I would not like to put forward an idea as being absolute but it seems that part of the problem is the problems one can get himself into if he does help. Not so much in the case of swerving around a woman injured on the road, although those circumstances may be included, but definetely in the case of violent attacks. If one gets involved, at best, the victim will be saved, at worst, the rescuer will become a victim and in the middle case the victim is saved but the rescuer goes through hell explaining and may even become the accused if he dares to use what might be considered excessive force in trying to help. He could be sued by the agressor! I think that more than anything the "innocenting" forgive the made up word, of criminals, claiming that it is not their fault but society's, or circumstances, that basicaly they are good people that are acting badly not because they want to, but because circumstances force them, is the real cause of the problem. This removal of responsibility from people who break the law also removes responsibility from all of us to do anything about it. Essentially it is the same as the employee who says "well it's not my job". In other words it is no longer in our job description as humans to help others. Gone are the qualities of chivalry, sacrifice, courage, bravery, kindness etc etc. They have been replaced with a type of science fiction un-emotional "Soylent Green" impersonalism.

[Sylvia]

In 1982 I was on a British beach while a man out to sea was floundering. Pockets of people on the beach stood and stared, including a young police officer who went from group to group asking if they knew the man, who appeared to be drunk. He'd stand up, fall under the water, float a bit, stand, then fall etc. I knew the beach underwater was flat for miles. I got as close to him as I could on land then took off my socks and shoes and went in after him. I called to him, but he never responded. He floated in the water by the time I got to him, his face was blue and the sand in the water had started making a sea-ribbed pattern on his chest. I gently hooked my hands under his arms and pulled him out. I was 18 years old. It seemed to me at the time that everyone there wanted to do as I had done, but no one dared. As soon as I got to the water's edge everyone rallied round and he was taken away in an ambulance. A middle aged man said to me, 'You're a brave lass'. The police officer was harried by my friend and his response was, 'If some idiot wants to get himself drunk and go in the sea then I'm not there to risk my life for his.' My mother brought me up never to be afraid to help another, if you feel you can.

[John]

Andy- As a car driver I still don't hate cyclists. I can die driving, I just have to make the mistake when I'm going a bit faster. One of the things I know is that undertaking is at my own risk and I proceed slowly with extreme caution. If I was going to do it regularly, and at speed, I would probably invest in good life insurance and a donor card. Doing it everyday on a cycle seems to have predictable consequences.

[wendy]

The answer to this is just plain and simple: people just do not care about other people anymore.

[Geoff Malthouse]

another reason 'not to get involved' is the fear of exposing oneself to violence that could well be close by and the possibility that yourself could be entrenched in the blame for the incident.
Police in their PC 'fair handedness' role often pursue the victims of crime.
First aiders even may find themselves sued for a contributory injury by today's culture, 'to blame someone'.
I think society has brought much on itself ...

[Geoff Malthouse]

Noting many comments are about 'responsibility' reminds me of this little poem ....

There was a most important job that needed to be done,
And no reason not to do it, there was absolutely none.
But in vital matters such as this, the thing you have to ask
Is who exactly will it be who'll carry out the task?

Anybody could have told you that everybody knew
That this was something somebody would surely have to do.
Nobody was unwilling; anybody had the ability.
But nobody believed that it was their responsibility.

It seemed to be a job that anybody could have done,
If anybody thought he was supposed to be the one.
But since everybody recognised that anybody could,
Everybody took for granted that somebody would.

But nobody told anybody that we are aware of,
That he would be in charge of seeing it was taken care of.
And nobody took it on himself to follow through,
And do what everybody thought that somebody would do.

When what everybody needed so did not get done at all,
Everybody was complaining that somebody dropped the ball.
Anybody then could see it was an awful crying shame,
And everybody looked around for somebody to blame.

Somebody should have done the job
And Everybody should have,
But in the end Nobody did
What Anybody could have.

Charles Osgood

[Adolf]

By definition you have to ask the person if wants to be helped. if he does then you have to call two places, if you are at least a human being. you call an ambulance or the cops instead, and the second call is the family of the person. which i prefer to invert in order just to ensure the history and values of that person are being respected in their full extent. but if you check the accidented person's wallet, and you find not an ID, of course you can take the action course you want. after all, you have the power and the ciclist doesn't have it no matter what. so i think that probably states and goverments are guilty of trying to fulfill their digital id databases without success, and that guilt makes full responsability of any damaged people.

[Wayne Peters]

That we can ignore others suffering should not surprise. The credit crunch , housing and employment fears all add to our anxiety about ourselves and fear of other people. We are making these problems worse...

[Phillip]

I'm shocked! Maybe this is the norm in large city streets, but thankfully not where I live. A child fell off her bike recently and my family and other residents immediately went into action. My son called the ambulance as he was carrying his mobile 'phone, someone else wrapped her in a blanket and everyone stayed with her until the ambulance arrived.

For goodness sake, this country is in a frightful enough mess - let's not turn our backs on those who need emergency aid and words of comfort!

[hugh donohoe]

Why didn't anyone who clearly witnessed all of this in enough detail to report what happened do something? The report is very concise regarding Stephen being left dying and cars swerving and running over him, in order for this to be reported, someone must have seen it. Why didn't they do something?

[Barbara Elizabeth]

Can we get the Kitty Genovese story right? She was mugged and knifed at night on the stoop of her apartment in Queens. Some neighbors heard the screams. Some said they did not realize what was going on. It was bad -- but not as bad as if 38 people actually saw her being attacked and did nothing.

[Laura Roberts]

Surely there are a number of reasons for this:

1. The belief that someone else will stop, it doesn't have to be you (reflected in the NY study).

2. Is it a trap? Late at night, a bundle/body in the road, if I stop alone, will others come out and mug/rape/kill me, will the package get up and attack me?

3. If I stop, will I get hit by the other cars by accident, which I've just seen drive round and off, and which such incident appears occasionally in the press?

4. A total "don't care/not my problem" attitude.

5. An in-built (in some) fear of blood/horror of what we may find that is so disabling it prevents stopping.

[Richard]

Always remember there's not a more ture proverb in this world as "what goes around, comes around" and it's as simple as that.

All those people who fail to help others in need, will one day meet their maker.

[David]

Brian is right in saying that it is often difficult for passers-by to assess whether and what intervention is needed, but I believe there is another cause of this phenomenon that nobody has mentioned: embarrassment. It is fundamental to the make-up of most people to avoid stepping out of line, to push themselves forward, and especially to take action in front of others if there is a risk of failing or seeming foolish or ineffective. That's probably why people are more apt to step in when they're on their own.

[Seán]

As a cyclist and car driver, it's common sense that, occasionally, it is less safe for a cyclist to stop in a queue of traffic at a red light. Simply, if you're in a queue, you inhale lots of exhaust fumes; if you go to the front and wait, some guy with his phone jammed to his ear will drive you off the road as you labour up a hill. As a cyclist in a world of inadequate cycle lane provision (apparently the cost of an entire UK-wide network of cycle lanes equates to about a few miles of motorway), you're often in the way of car drivers who have limited tolerance for anything less then Tour de France fitness. Equally, a common scenario, if cars have stopped to let other cars filter in from the right, the cars filtering right do not intrude on the straight ahead cycle path. Therefore, while the car drivers need to give way, for obvious reasons, the cyclist is not in the way and safely and sensibly proceed. However, filtering straight ahead in such circumstances unleashes a volley of irrational hate from some car drivers. Invariably, you'll find that the more expensive the car, the greater the hatred. I've only ever been rammed by Volvos and BMWs.

[Paul]

well with government campaigns to suggest everyone knocking your front door is a con man or rapist its no wonder that the majority of people are living in fear, I suppose advertising campaigns are cheaper than putting away the minority of offenders for a long time... if you want to know the real value of life, leave england... simple as that.

[John, UK]

Labour set about dismantling our society, morals and culture. We are reaping what they have sown. Why would you want to get involved. We are all familiar with the "easy collar" attitude of the Police caused by Labours "goals before all else" approach. You get involved with the government or police at your peril.

[Stan]

We should ban bicycles from public roads.

[Emergency services have an attitude problem]

Several years ago I was queueing to get off the M4 in Berkshire on my way to work and noticed in my rear view mirror a lorry crashing into the queue some way back.

When I called 999 and spoke to ambulance services the person answering had a real atttitude problem and wasted several minutes asking for all my details before concentrating on what had happened and getting an ambulance out there, despite my protestations.

It would make me think twice before helping again.

They assume if you're calling you must be guilty. Thought English law worked the other way around.

[Alex]

With the benefit of hindsight, we now know that this poor man's fate and circumstances.

Without such hindsight, he could just have easily been a criminal faking injury in order to carjack, mug or any other number of unpleasant crimes.

That's why a lot of people don't stop - I wouldn't stop. I'd phone the police and get them out to a person in such a situation, but I doubt if I would stop myself, as it's not worth the risk these days.

[Frank Holden]

A NEW problem??

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn in Jericho and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise

[Ian]

What a terribly depressing story. 'It's difficult to have sympathy...' was one readers view, presumably because the victim was a cyclist. Is this paranoid obsession with cyclists the last hiding place for the ignorant biggot?

There is a significant minority of motorists who believe they are meting out justice on the streets, modern day Charles Bronsons fighting a vigilante crusade against injustice. Their knowledge of the Highway Code is cursory (NO, passing on the inside in slow moving traffic IS legal, indeed the motorist is required to 'be aware of cyclists and motorcyclist who may be passing on either side' Highway Code rule 151) and rules can be overlooked or fabricated to support their ridiculous stance.

[dennis trowbridge]

I once came across a young boy knocked off his bike,phoned for an ambulance gave them all my details, 2 weeks later had the bill from the hospital I had to pay??
dennis
bristol

[Dominic]

Its pretty simple, gangs of teenage thugs do this quite often, someone pretends to be injured, you stop to help, the rest appear, beat you up and steal your car.

[Louise]

It's all too likely these days to be arrested by police if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, so I can understand people wanting to pass by an accident. If there were more police about, maybe they'd be on the scene quicker and passers-by wouldn't have to concern themselves about whether or not to lend a hand. As for cyclists, as someone who can ride a bike and drive a car, I never cease to be amazed by the sheer number of suicidal cyclists who hurtle through red lights, regardless of traffic, over pavements, (not always missing pedestrians), so I'm not surprised some of them end up injured or, worse, dead.

[David Taylor]

Sure, but why? I would suggest it's more to do with herd mentality than selfishness. The vast majority of people, when in a group, will wait for someone else to take the lead. That's how we are, we follow the herd.

I've seen some wonderful examples of this on TV. One experiment placed an individual in a room with 19 actors, and simulated a fire; alarms ringing, distant voices shouting, even pumping smoke under the door. The actors were instructed not to react and to carry on reading. Almost every single time the individuals followed the example of their peers and stayed within the room, even when the smoke started flowing in! I found it difficult to believe, but that's how the vast majority of people behave.

Watch the next time you see a group being asked to raise their hands to vote. Watch people wait, see how many others are voting first. No-one wants to be the lone arm in the air.

So in a group, someone has to be the first to step up and challenge the guy with the knife if the rest are to follow. Not many people would be willing to do that. People wait to be told how to behave. Once one person steps up, the rest will do so too. We follow the herd.

"What it shows is that as individuals we are caring and want to help, but when we are part of a corporate whole we don't do so."

[Dominic]

The simple fact is that most people think that what they are doing is more important than anyone or anything else. It is the same reason that they speed, and the same reason that they overtake people who are doing 28 in a 30 mile an hour limit.

[Maren]

This happens not because we don't behave like a society, but because we are taught from the cradle not to tattle and to mind our own business.

[j h easton]

Its nothing to do with Thatcher or indeed any other government - are we so weak that we let politicians set our moral values? Nor is it anything to do with the second class nature of bike riders as the research quoted confirms. Both those responses are simply the sound of prejudices being aired.
Instead its everything to do with us as people. We are lazy and self centered. If we get the chance to think to ourselves "I'll get on with what I'm doing cos someone else will deal with this" then thats exactly what we do. If there is no-one else to whom we can pass the buck, then we grudgingly help.
And it happens in every facet of daily life, from turning our backs on yobs and litter on the street, to the running of your local sports club. Let someone else do the work - and of course we can always blame someone else (like Thatcher) for our weakness.
The whole of this log has been a confirmation if it were needed of our general attitude and willingness to avoid responsibility if we can.

[Dan]

Another commenter said it already.

"It's easier not to stop."

That's the whole of it, my children. It's just easier. 'The lives of men, like the courses of rivers, follow the paths of least resistance.'

Sad. But, there it is.

[Tom]

Posred by Julian Cox

"The findings of this research demonstrate how easy it is the unscrupulous to sway the crowd and manipulate human nature.

I am thinking particularly about the collective hysteria of Kristallnacht and other such incidents. It is so easy to see how the thin veneer of civilization can be worn down and human nature exploited, suborning whole societies into perversity.

This would seem to prove why it is that it is sometimes very hard to stand out from the crowd and to do the right thing."

Great, but it proves nothing of the sort. The study that was undertaken as a result of the New York murder actually showed that when there is more than one individual privy to a potential crime or assault, then there is a collective transferrance of responsiblity to everyone else - meaning that everyone does nothing.

It's got nothing do Kristallnacht and the mob rule that took place there.

[nicki]

i am fascinated reading the comments made as to why people dont stop for accidents! i would have thought that for most people, pure fear of any other recrimination arising -ie the whole thing being a trick to rob / rape / etc -would have been the answer, as it would have been mine. however, in this case how many people called the emergency services? how long did this poor chap lie there for until help was available?
i also find people's attitudes to cyclists quite depressing - although some may be "lunatics" (are there no car drivers guilty of this?!!), this is a form of travel that is being pushed by the government and doctors as a way to "save the environment" and for health benefits. it appears to me that cyclists are in a no win situation - they are either lunatics for cyling, or irresponsible for not caring for the planet or their health.

[Bryan Bentley]

The No Help behavior of the public is learnt the hard way. I was driving through Leeds and a small boy has come off his bike and damaged his front wheel.I was in a company car with a colleague. We took the boy home in Huddersfield, why the boy was so far from home we did not know. The parents were greatful but suspicious. We left our business cards and left for Manchester. Imagine our disbelief when my manager called me in and said the parents had accused us of running the child over. To placate the parents the company by buying the child a new bike. Help anyone. Not a cat in hells chance. Another case was a small girl came off her bike in front of our house. She came to the door crying and bloody. I was petrfied. I told her to stay where she was and went to collect a neighbour. I could see all sort of problems arising. I was a person who would stop and help anyone. No more. Also the media has shown many cases where innocent people have come under scrutiny by the police.

[johnny5thumbs]

Well - when all is said and done, doesn't it all boils down to whether you want to be a member of the human race or not? Which means being a human being and helping someone who looks like they're in deep trouble of some sort.

If there's a risk that in the process of helping, that we may be labeled a suspect or worse, and we just give in to this fear and walk or drive on, then we perpetuate the problem. Sod the risk - let's regain a bit of civilisation and take a chance to help someone in distress. Or else we'll just live our collective lives in a state of fear, and cease to be human.

[Sue Newport]

Well done the media- we now have a society scared of their own shadows and afraid to step up to help because of personal safety?. I see lot acts of kindness -in our local town an elderly man fell over, everyone in the immediate area went to help. We have a bad accident rate on our country road, cars always stop to assist. I cycle on country roads and find cars often DO NOT treat you as a vehicle when overtaking and try to cut you up with the oncoming traffic, so its best to stay out wide and MAKE them treat you as vehicle (where poss!)

Id like to see the true stats on crime and more analysis on the figures ie. areas and what groups etc. surely then targets can be set and achieved,instead of everyone living in constant fear.

[James]

Plenty of interesting comments here. I would just add one - this story was so unusual that it has made national newspapers and attracted significant comment across them all. So is it really so typical? I have seen several incidents in central London where I live, in which I and other passers by have quickly moved to help. Some were small things (an old lady falling), others not (bagsnatchers on a bus) - but in each case I was surprised and heartened to see that help was coming from all types - age, class, sex and race.

If the story was "Passer by helps injured man" then we should really be worried.

[Su-Ching Lim]

Ed, please stop the Multiculturalism line of reasoning! Its Crap!

[Robert Boyd]

An old man collapsed on the pavement in a busy High St in Derby.Nobody stoped to help and walked past him.I had to dodge the traffic to cross the road to assist him.When I managed to get him into a shop to sit him down and call an ambulance I was told to leave by the manager.Having informed the manager of my opinion of him I use his phone to call 999.When the medics arrived he was treated for a heart attack and
the manager of the shop thanked for his prompt action in saving te mans life.The manager accepted all the praise by everyone in the shop.Some of whom said how marvelous he was.I left in disqust.But I know I saved a mans life that day and I would do the same again.

[David Taylor]

Exactly. No-one jumps until someone else does. Leaders are not common amongst us.

"then there is a collective transferrance of responsiblity to everyone else - meaning that everyone does nothing."

[Scott]

After having spent most of my working life in war zones and inner cities I've come to this conclusion about people: 10% are courageous, 10% are evil, and 80% are cowards.

Peer pressure affects those 80% more in small communities than large. However, the other 20% usually aren't affected by anything. Politics definitely have no effect whatsoever. Cowards are cowards no matter who they vote for.

[Paul Schleifer]

It is certainly true that some cyclists recklessly jump red lights, undertake dangerously, and hurtle antisocially on busy pavements. However, to conclude that all injured and killed cyclists deserve their fate is a non sequitur that clearly illustrates the prejudices of those who do so.

Did Stephen Wills commit some traffic law trangression prior to being HIT BY JOYRIDERS? Even if so, did he really deserve a death penalty, effectively decided by the impromptu jury of motorists who failed to assist?

[Keefer]

Daniel Finkelstein, please, please stop restating the case of Catherine Genovese in New York as proof of masses of ordinary people turning their back on someone who has been injured. For once, can you please read the facts about the "38" bystanders who did nothing to save this woman! Ugh, more mis-information for the masses...

[M.Robinson]

OK, so everyone's too scared to help. What about placing your car in a position to protect the person in the road and calling 999 for police and ambulance, is that too difficult or scary?

[Doug]

I've found this story and in particular the debate enlightening and very disturbing.

Put yourself in the one of those cars passing by. No one else is in the car, not society, not Margaret Thatcher,not the French, just you. So it's just YOU who acts or doesn't act. It just YOU who makes a decision that may cost someone their life. There may be 100's of such decisions (cars with drivers) that have passed before you but unless emergency services ARE THERE than it is unlikely that the call has been made and it is the only assumption that can be made.

From what was described, I might or might not have stopped depending on what personal risk from traffic et al. But I cannot imagine not calling for help (or stopping at the nearest working phone) to get help. In all likelihood I would have attempted to do what Mark was talking about.

Providing aid in a situation like this is clearly a job for the pros. Calling them is a personal moral imperative.

Yes it may be inconvenient. I too have had problems with police etc. when I've acted in an emergency but that is very little cost when weighed up against a life.

"Others will have called it in and I'm just going to be one those who clog up the emergency lines." No excuse there and in some instances the emergency services need several calls to help them understand exactly where the victim is. While living in the UK, I was actually called back by emergency services to help clarify where the motor vehicle accident was.

Almost all of us have mobiles these days. Please don't leave me their to die a tortuous death if ever it happens me. I promise I won't do it to you, whoever you are.

[M.Robinson]

A few years ago my husband and I came across an elderly lady in a department store who had had her bag rifled and her purse and house keys stolen. We took her to the help desk, sat her down, and my husband, who happened at the time to work in the building department of a local authority, phoned a locksmith he knew through his job to get her locks changed. We then took the lady home in our car to find the locksmith already doing the job, settled her down and went home (the theft had been reported to the police by the store staff). It only occurred to us later that WE could have been accused of stealing her things and taking her home to ransack her house!
We'd still do it again!

[JB]

If a cyclist "hurtles antisocially towards me on a busy pavement", I stand my ground and knock them off. Some of them seem quite agitated when they've picked themselves up.

I ask - what are you going say to the policeman - "I was cycling illegally along the pavement, hit a pedestrian who quite rightly stood his ground, and now I've hurt myself"?

[Stonehead]

I was deliberately knocked off my bike by a hit-run driver last year. I had leg and shoulder injuries, but managed to get myself off the road. I tried to flag down two passing cars, but both kept going.

In the end, I hauled myself back onto my bike and coasted/staggered to my son's school where one of the teachers gave me a lift to A&E.

Later, various people told me it was unsafe to stop as people stage accidents so they can kidnap you, carjack you or rob you.

I've also had the opposite experience—watching a car crash off the road, stopping to help the woman driver, and having her frantically lock the doors and scream "go away" at me. I left her to it.

As we live in a small village in NE Scotland, I doubt the staged accident scenario is that realistic. It's probably down to people watching too much US television drama.

[CLIFFCHATTERTON]

Your article says:

"The death of the cyclist Stephen Wills is a terrible story. Knocked off his bike by joyriders, he was left in the road as motorists drove round him."

Yes it is a terrible story, but it was not done by 'joyriders' it was done by people who deliberately stole (took) the vehicle and drove it recklessly.

Let us stop calling such conduct 'joyriding' and urge the courts to deal with this offence for what it is.

[Kevin]

In my opinion I think there is moral decay within this country. Previously you would have felt compelled to help this poor man due to a feeling of community responsibility and moral obligation. This was instilled in church and through the respect afforded you within the community. "I act as I would like others to percieve me". This moral and community responsibility has sadly been eroded over the last 40 years. The decline in religeous belief, the nuclear family and community cohesion has lead to a population too scared to act on their moral thought. I would expect that each motorist thought about stopping but weighed up the consequences of doing so and evaluated the impact to their own self as out weighing the life of this poor man and hence continued to drive by.

[Nathan]

"Nowadays, if you found a child lying in the road, you would need to make sure that there were at least 2 or 3 witnesses before approaching a child in case you were accused of indecent assault and then placed on the sex offenders register."

total fantasy i'm afraid. you might want to back statements like that up with some fact next time.

[Mike]

Unfortunately if there isn't a "big stick" telling us to do something, we invariably do what's easiest or what we feel like doing.
Here in Spain you are obliged by law to stop and give aid in a case like this, so people usually do. (Maybe they would anyway, but I doubt it).
Most people do the "right" thing because they've got used to doing so because otherwise it's the "big stick" again.

[Simon Carter]

I own a car, a scooter and a bicycle and use all 3 to get around London (though would never dream of using the car for commuting to central London). The fact is that while the majority of road users are reasonably considerate of others, there are a minority (and they can be cyclists, riders, drivers or pedestrians) who are either stupid, selfish, have rage issues or simply have very little awareness of what's going on around them.

If drivers all stayed in the middle of their lane and followed the old "Mirror, signal, maneuver" routine then cyclists could all stick to the curb, see when cars are turning, and never have to get in their way. If scooters and bikers all used their mirrors and stuck to filtering round the outside of traffic, then they'd never block the cycle lanes either. Unfortunately, some drivers either have no lane awareness or just don't care, which encourages cyclists to weave in and out of traffic or hop onto the curb to get round them. Some motorbikes think that the cycle lanes are for them too, and end up blocking the way because they can't get through gaps that cyclists can - same result. Add in a lack of cycle lanes, a few really dangerous riders/bikers/drivers and some suicidal pedestrians on mobile phones or iPods and you've got a big mess!

I frankly have no idea why anybody would get in a car to drive through central London. I cycled home last night through relatively light traffic, without jumping any red lights, on a 10 year old mountain bike with chunky tires and without being in a particular rush. And yet I made the journey considerably quicker than a Lamborghini Gallardo that I passed near my office in Blackfriars, saw a couple of times again when the traffic cleared and last saw stuck behind a bus in Battersea. I love cars and driving, I just don't understand why anybody would choose to spend time and money to make minimal progress around central London if they didn't have to.

[KF]

Have any details been released regarding when, precisely, authorities were notified of the accident (and presumably, of the cyclist's presence in the road)? How long did it take from time of first notification for the emergency services to reach Mr Wills?

Why do I ask? Well, if I (a middle aged, middle class, reasonably fit female) were driving alone at night and saw an accident victim in the road, I would call 999 and then wait in my car with the doors locked for the appropriate response team(s) to arrive. I would not get out of my car to help. Women on their own are frequently warned by police and personal safety advisors not to stop and assist men who appear to be injured or in need of assistance as this is one technique used by muggers, rapists (and even some serial killers -- Ted Bundy did this) to entrap victims.

On the other hand, if I were driving with someone else, I probably would stop and try to provide assistance whilst asking my companion to call for help. If the apparently injured person then turned out to be a crazed axe murderer then at least my companion could report my demise to the police upon their arrival.

In my first paragraph I asked about the times of notification and arrival because I wonder if any of those who passed Stephen Wills by without stopping (and who are now being castigated so roundly for their alleged lack of concern) did in fact report the incident. If the accident was reported reasonably soon after it happened, some responsibility for the unfortunate death of Mr Wills must surely be shared by the emergency services. It would be interesting to hear what the inquest eventually determines.

[june arnold]

I see a breakdown in society in a major way, each day I take my grandchildren to the playground, they are 2 and 4 and not used to fighting, but they certainly have to fight their way through the eurotrash that dominates the slides, swings, tries to break the climbing wall,picks all the flowers in the park, pushes the 2 year old from the top of the slide, refuse to hear their parents who are speaking Italian, Rumanian, Polish, they are wild, uncivilised and deserve asbos at 5, so there is no hope and my family have to move from Acton, and try and find schools where all the pupils speak English and believe in our culture as we do, we live in a powder keg just waiting to go off and we are all leaving London in haste

[geoff respect]

As an ex-pat and (occasional) cyclist, the incident and the comments provide a fascinating yet depressing insight into the social mores and fears of Modern Britain. I dont know whether Thatcher or Blair was to blame, but the triumph of self-interest and individualism and the consequent breakdown of traditional norms of social behaviour make me wonder just where Britian is heading. Sure, your houses are the most expensive in the world, your stores stocked with iPods and countless variants of pesto sauce, and even the unemployed can afford BMWs, but the decades of economic growth have produced a society that is sadly ill at ease with itself. It has more CCTV than any other country on the planet, yet people live in fear of being attacked, while "respect" is now handled by a government department rather than taught by parents and schools. Crazy country.

[phatbaldvoyager]

A friend of mine, a woman, looked out her 5th floor window, in Paris, and witnessed a convenience store being robbed at gunpoint. She called the local "commissariat", reported it. The next morning at 6 am she received a call from a detective ordering her to come to the commissariat. Once there, she was interrogated. How did you know he had a gun? How could you see from so high? Do you know the robbers?! And, why didn't you go down to help?!!
Advice, avoid phoning the French police.
More advice, never never go out without valid ID in France. If you can't show papers, they haul you in.

[delphine Verhaeghe]

if this relieves annyone, trust me, this problem is not typically british i was born and raised in Belgium and i can assure you that the mentality there is not different.

[Andy]

Among the many depressing things about this incident, and a lot of the responses to it, is the casual assumption by many that "it's not safe to stop as it could be a set-up".

How often does this actually happen? Can anybody post some reliable stats on this sort of crime?

I wonder, also, what the figures are for people whose situation is made worse by bystanders failing to help.

At what point do the graphs cross over?

It also occurs to me, at least intuitively if not on the basis of sound evidence, that the sort of society where people help each other out is a society where crime is less likely to flourish; after all, what could encourage a potential criminal more than the knowledge that bystanders will just pass by on the other side?

And lastly, some posters have pointed out that things are likely to be different in the country and big cities. As someone who is often amused at the Londocentricity of the national media, I must say that the 85% of us who live elsewhere in the UK are quite happy not to live in London; living in downtown Baghdad appeals more.

[John]

I was knocked off my bike, breaking a bone and gaining some scrapes, in a hit and run last year. The driver wound down the window to take a quick look before driving off. The street was not particularly busy but there were a few pedestrians who witnessed the event. No one stopped to help and the drivers behind me, who also saw the accident, did nothing whilst I dragged my bike out of the road, so they could pass.

I remember a couple of years ago returning home from a pub late one night and coming across a fairly well dressed man lying prostrate at the side of the road. I was following about 20 yards behind a group of eight or so friends, who I would each regard individually as morally responsible people. None of them stopped to check the man. One passing individual did assist me in helping him, who thankfully was simply passed out due to alcohol, rather than anything more serious, but the man was old and anyone who did not stop could not have known this.

The police did track down the driver since I was able to memorise the number plate. However he avoided prosecution by claiming it was his 'brother' driving.

I am not surprised that a paramedic's opinion on human nature is 'somewhat dented'.