DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Am I a jerk or a moron?

So i'm out christmas shopping and am loading stuff into my car when this man approaches me and asks me if I can give him a lift because him and his wife and kids got into a car accident "down the street". He go's on to tell me that he is a preacher and all this stuff.

So me being in the christmas spirit I think " ah what the hell it't just down the street."

So he gets in the car and we drive down the street, I ask him where he wrecked at. Do I get an exact location? No I get "down the street I will show you". So we are driving down the highway for about 10 minutes and I ask again. Where exactly is this place is it far cause I have to be back to pick up my son soon. He tells me it's over by Belden Village.

This guys story just seems to be getting weirder and weirder. I'm wondering why he is at a wal-mart 25 minutes away from where he got into a car wreck and went to a hospita 25 minutes away.

Whats going through my mind is. This dude is leading me somewhere where him and his pals can rob me and possibly even kill me! Now i'm thinking, am I gonna have to chop this dude in the throat and make a run for it?

So I did the only thing I could think of, I pulled into a gas station full of people to "go to the bathroom". I went into the bathroom and called my brother so that he would know where to find me if anything happened. So I kept my brother on the phone and I went back out to my car and opened the door and told the guy that this was as far as I was able to take him, naturally he was po'd and he got out of the car and I left.

I kind of felt bad because what if he WAS telling the truth, but in this day and age with the way the world and the economy is it's just not something I was willing to risk.

Personally I think I am an moron for even giving the guy a ride in the first place. Opinions?

I would never give rides to strangers. Even if I had a pistol on me. I might give him a few bucks to catch a cab, but that's about it.

I normally never would either and I never have until this time. I wont ever do it again I can tell you that.

I don't even know why in the hell I did it this time, I guess I kind of felt bad cause he was convincing. But then his story started to change a little bit once I started to ask him a few questions.

I was a little scared so I just took off out of that place, if I would have thought about it I might have given him a few bucks for a cab.

Man, that's weird. If you drove down the highway for 25 minutes, there's no way his story was true. Be glad you made it out alive.

Well where he wanted me to go was 25 minutes away, I kicked him out after about 15.

When I got home I tried calling the Sherriff around there to check it out but I couldn't even get through.

I wouldn't have given him a ride in the first place (I trust no one) but at least you eventually made the right decision. Everyone has a cell phone now, he should've been able to call for a ride before walking all that way.

HAHA... I can just picture you (though I don't know you) sitting there thinking how am I going to slash this guy in the throat as he's telling you his BS. Funny how these things find us at the wierdest times. More than likely the guy(s) just wanted a free ride to wherever they were going and you took the bait. But, you never know... chalk it up as another good story to tell.

In todays day and age that was a dangerous thing to do .

I wouldn't say jerk or moron.


I would say lucky

Jerk? No. Moron? No.

I just say you're just like most of us and this is one episode where not only did you live and learned but were kind enough to share it with us for our own good.

The reason I started thinking I was a jerk is for some odd reason that song. What if god was one of us, just popped in my head when I was driving home.

Haha, I nearly broke out singing it in the car. LOL, I dont't even like the song.

You did the right thing - by getting out of the car!!!

He shows up to ask for a ride because his family was in an accident? Say "sure, let me call the cops. They'll take you anywhere you want to go - especially since you were just in an accident.".

Sucks to say, but you can't be too careful these days.

that story doesn't add up at all. the guy is 25 miles away to look for a ride?

not to mention what is the first thing you are supposed to do when in a car accident? that's right, notify the police. in which case the police would have given him a ride and he would not have been walking around in a parking lot looking for one.

you did the right thing though. and i'm glad nothing happened to ya.

Trying to do a nice thing for someone doesn't make you a moron, it makes you...well, nice. Glad you're okay and I think it's always best to follow your instincts.

You shoulda' picked "jerk" and left him standing at the original spot.

Moron..

Never give strangers a ride... The bad people in the world mess it up for the good people out there.

If anything.. give him a few bucks, and let him be on his way.

lets just thank God you are safe.

Can I replace the word or with and

You probably left the guy stranded...JK

Did he buckle up when he got in the car or did he go unbuckled?

People with bad intent would IMO not buckle in so they can make a quick get away.

I give hitch hikers rides from time to time. I always find out where they are going and I always tell them i am going about 15 miles down the road....even if I am going 500 miles down the road. That way I can dump them after 15 minutes without just kicking them out of the car. I don't want to spend time in a car with a total jerk or someone who smells.

Anyway, back to the buckle up deal...if they don't and then try to pull something putting me at a severe disadvantage, the plan is to slowly increase the speed, then wait for some traffic to be around, then ram their side of the car in to the first concrete bridge abutment I see...I figure that will screw them up being unbuckled.


I myself wouldn't have given the guy a lift. I would have let him use my phone to make a call..


You are right, the guy was probably waiting to get you to a more remote location where you would find yourself standing naked on the side of the road as he drove off with your car.

Only you peen could give that answer. lol.

"Bend over that log an lemme hear ya squeal like a pig"!

On another day you may have saved someones life. It's a dangerous game these days and I'd probably have told him I'll call the cops for you.

I'd have driven with my right hand as the left would have had the PPS under my coat trained on him.

You did right on giving him the heave ho!

I'm always happy to give someone a lift .....



They just have to ride in the bed of the truck ......... and if they get weird ... I drive to the closest police station .....

did you see any wife and kids?

What's the saying? Experience is the one thing we get right after we needed it?

I probably would have just said no way to the guy, got in my car, and left. I have just adopted a zero tolerance policy toward that stuff after my ex-girlfriend made me look stupid.

We were at a gas station and a guy walked up to me and said he needed money for gas, that his wife was in the backseat of his car and she'd just had a c-section and they needed to get home.

Well, I said "sorry, I don't have any money." I just didn't believe the guy. My stupid ex-girlfriend says "hey! you have money, I know you have a 20 in your wallet! give that to him!" So, I give the guy the money while steam is rising from my head.

My ex is feeling all wonderful about herself when the guy goes and gets in his car and drives away. Mind you, we were at a gas station. She says "hey, he didn't get any gas at all!", completely surprised. Needless to say, I was not too happy.

My wife used to be a social worker, and she said her policy was, when people would ask her for money for food, she'd say "there's a McDonald's close by, let's go there" or offer to take them grocery shopping, the person would always deny her, make up some excuse.

So, I've found it's just easier to deny everyone.

I will say that when I was in Penn Station in NYC a couple years ago, I tried my best to actually look like the out of town person. I had the map out, camera, etc. Then, when we came back to Penn Station later in the day, I tried to look like a local.

It was absolutely amazing the number of people who came up to me the first time and gave me some sob story and asked for money. When I looked like a local, not a single person came up to me.

Glad you're safe. This is a lesson for everyone I hope. Too many bad things go on these days with stuff like this. The news is full of stories of how this ends badly. Which is a very very sad state.

That story is bizarre no matter what the truth is. If he really needed help, it doesn't make sense that he was so far from the scene of the accident. If he had buddies waiting to rob you it doesn't make sense he was so far from the location he wanted to take you.

My guess is that he just needed a ride but didn't think that was convincing enough so he made up the story. You were smart to end his ride early though. He should be glad that you got a liar that much closer to where he wanted to go.

I've given rides to stranded motorists, if they are at their car. Secret weapon is Bembro Big Red brakes. He goes through windshield without a seatbelt. Otherwise, he craps his pants.

Both.

Now let me go back and read your initial post . . .

Merry Christmas, bro!

I like that one too... I've also heard it this way (the way I tell my son all the time)..

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

and when you got home, you found his hook stuck in your bumper....

sounds like he just wanted a free ride, but the song that popped into my head while reading your story was "riders on the storm".

Glad your ok.

What happened before you went to the gas station? Could anything have caused you to behave this way?

People pick up on social identities immediately, just like the Penn Station story from earlier. You ended up carrying it with you from the gas station experience to the bar, where it was picked up on and exploited.

Basically the message you were conveying was "abuse this guy".

Not to judge you Clutch but I'd never pick up a stranger.