A broken-down driver was stuck trying to signal for help for hours this week along a remote Australian road, as other motorists drove on, ignoring his desperate plight.
Doreen Testa and her husband Darryl Spicer were about 20km from the Far North Queensland gulf town of Karumba on Wednesday when they spotted the stranded driver’s ute among the expansive red plains of the outback. As they got closer, it was clear the driver was in trouble.
“We saw a fellow with his bonnet up, and he put his thumb out so we pulled over,” Doreen told Yahoo News. “He said three cars had gone past.” The passenger in one vehicle allegedly even made a rude gesture as they passed.
“He was disgusted,” she said.
Helping the man took no longer than 10 minutes, Doreen explained. His radiator cap had come off, and the driver’s car needed to be topped up with more water.
“We were towing a caravan and there’s a tap… All he needed was water to fill his radiator because he’d run out of water… I never thought we’d get mugged or anything,” she said.
Doreen Testa and her husband told Yahoo it took just 10 minutes before the driver was back on his way. Source: Doreen Testa
Drivers becoming increasingly more hesitant to stop and help
It’s not the first incident where a driver has been left stranded on a remote road with few willing to help, with Yahoo News reporting last month on a driver stranded for days in the Nullarbor.
After mentioning their story in an online caravanning group on Wednesday, another woman shared with Doreen how she recently watched “at least” 150 cars pass her by on the side of the road after she ran out of fuel near Mataranka in the Northern Territory last month.
“We were two women and a dog, obviously broken down, and it was very disheartening!” she wrote online. “Sadly, this is becoming the norm… People are just too scared to stop these days”.
“We would be reluctant to stop if there wasn’t anyone else around. I’d more likely take down their rego and call the authorities to help. I would love to be more trusting,” another woman said.
Doreen is urging others to pull over if they spot someone clearly in need of help by the side of the road.
“I was really disappointed that people had driven past and not helped… It’s un-Australian not to help people,” she said.
“It was the best feeling being able to help the stranded man, he was so very grateful.”
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