About 12 years ago I was in a car accident, where driving along a straight road someone pulled out of a side road straight into the side of me. it was a reasonably bad crash, however luckily I was not badly hurt. However, the response from all those who were in the area was amazing. Cars pulled over and drivers came to check both myself and the other driver were OK. Details were swapped in case I needed witnesses (although she did admit complete liability). Basic human kindness kicked in and people who had no reason to stop did.

Wind forward 12 years and this morning the same thing happened to me. Again, driving down a straight road, a driver pulled out of a hotel car park and went straight into the side of me.

The difference? 2 cars were driving in the other direction, and neither stopped. Another car was pulling out at the same time as him, he looked over at us, then drove off. There was even a pedestrian walking down the path, who put his head down and walked off.

Luckily, neither of us was seriously hurt. However none of these other individuals could have known that. They just happily stayed in their own worlds, not wanting to get involved.

But even without the basic kindness of checking we were OK, what would happen if the other driver refutes liability? So far he is accepting it, but what if he changes his mind and argues the point? With no witnesses, it is his word against mine, although I am pretty sure it should be an obvious case from the accident damage.

The way in which some people look at the world and want to help others seems to have fundamentally changed. They don’t seem willing to get involved in something that doesn’t directly affect them. I feel sad that this is the world that my children are growing up in, and I hope that it is just the rare few who act this way. I also hope that when they need a strangers help, they realise how differently they should have acted.

Has anything similar happened to you?  Do you believe that these are just the rare few or are more and more people losing that ability to be kind and caring to strangers?  I would love to hear your thoughts.