Sad Sign of the Times!

That is a sad fact these days isn't it. how do we change it?

If it still has the brake drum was it the wheel studs broke off or the wheel nuts never tightened? Did anyone check them before travelling?

Have seen the same thing happen at Maruya nsw brand new camper trailer first trip for the elderly couple, anyway it took us 15 minutes to find the wheel and yes it was the wheel studs sheared off.

Hear ya! Wolf Creek and Ivan Milat have a lot to answer for .....

Seriously, consider the abominable events in our country in recent years, and it is not surprising people don't stop. The tourist at that rest area in NT, who got their throat slit, coward punches, glassings, all sorts of brutality.

Bring back the rope and cane, & let the jury decide punishment, not some antiquated senile judge.

Nearly happened to us some years back.WA made camper had had a "complimentary wheel bearing service, brake adjust" whilst having an awning attached.
Next trip we pulled off the road for a cuppa and I could smell hot metal... and the nearside wheel was leaning at an odd angle. Jacked it up and found the wheel bearing had not been tightened up!
Hot smell was the brake rubbing on the drum and getting it red hot. I bought some grease from a servo and redid them and never had a prob. for the rest of the trip.
Took it back to the yard and got there before the boss...all his men stood around shaking their heads in disbelief, but one of them had done it but none admitted to it.
Boss fitted new bearings and said that they had to employ who they could because the mines took all the best people! Not an excuse that would have gone down well at any inquest I suspect.
AlanTH.

People not stopping is nothing new...we came across a woman broken down on the side of the Stuart highway up in the NT about 5 years ago, the bonnet was up on her sedan and one look at her it was obvious to me she needed help. It was late in the dry and pretty hot out in the sun, we stopped and she told us she'd been there for 2 hours with nobody stopping to help her. She had no water to drink, no phone reception to call for help, and a nearby quarry / mine had truck and dogs rolling out onto the highway past her regularly in the time we were there, aswell as all the other highway traffic that was cruising past. We sent friends up the highway to phone for help for her as the car engine had blown from overheating, we stayed with her for an over hour until help arrived so she wasn't alone in the middle of nowhere. Like I said, people not stopping to help is not new sadly

It is a sad reality, however, I don't think it has changed much over the years.
In my experience people (Gypsies they were called then) were setting up breakdowns and accidents 50 yrs ago with the intent of robbing you for the cash you carried in those days. Naturally the use of the fairer sex was the usual ploy.

Unfortunately scum like this prey on the positive aspects of human behavior.

Myself, I probably tend to take a chance and stop, although it is very dependent on the situation and what I feel for my personal safety at that instant. I have also been in countries where you don't stop even if in an accident (assuming the vehicle is still driveable).

That said there are various strategies that can be adopted to minimize the risk and if nothing else to put oneself in danger, a phone call to authorities alerting them to the situation would suffice. One can also wait down the road and flag down company if unsure.

Overall, I guess I have been lucky and those helped have been appreciative and I've got a few stories I can tell. I would certainly appreciate the favor being returned if it were me.

Also noting the number of comments in this post about wheels falling off, I'll pass on a little secret.

Go to the shop with the stuff in the centre isles and buy one of their torque wrenches (kit with sockets and extension). I got real lucky and paid $12-50 each (1/2 price) and fitted the family out. Had one checked out and it met calibration requirements for working on planes upto 120 Nm. Over that it under-read meaning tighter rather than looser. IMHO far better than the calibrated arm or rattle gun. Of course it is always an option to pay a lot more if one so desires for brand names.

I'd guess that in these times of good communications that passers by assume that you have called someone and are just waiting.

I stop to offer help, on more than one occasion 1st impressions have labeled the person a 'bit of a dick' and I have left them to it.

The last time was 6pm at the end of a long weekend, young family of 5 with everything for a weeks camping packed into a box trailer that had the wheel came off about 100km from their home.
The hub and wheel were stuffed, so we loaded everything in my ute and I stashed it in my shed until the trailer was recovered and fixed.
They were lucky and had 2 helpers stop, but with the traffic on The Buckets Way at the end of a long weekend, you would think that more than 2 cars would stop.

Another was a 35 degree day between Maitland and Raymond Terrace, again a well traveled road, but this couple in their 70's were on the side of the road with a flat. He was on the way home from hospital after a triple bypass and she couldn't even get the suitcase out of the boot to get to the spare.
I got to work 5 minutes late, not much in the overall scheme of things.

It is a bit disappointing but did you flag anyone down?

I was on the Nullarbor in April and saw a car on the side of the road with bonnet up. Looked like it had hit a roo. I pulled over, walked towards him and asked if he was ok and did he need help. He just said "nup, I got a tow truck coming" then went back about his business. No thanks, no friendly chat. No dramas, I just went on my way, just the way it seems to be going nowadays.

I've stopped to offer assistance a few times over the years and always been thanked and told "we're OK", "the tow trucks on the way" or "we'll let it cool down and be on our way."
I did help change a wheel for one traveller.

A funny one just recently......
On the way down from Wagga, somewhere near Girgarre in Vic we spotted a bloke standing near the back of his van appearing to hold something.
I slowed down and as we got closer I wound the window down and yell out "You OK there, need any help ?"
He turned with a startled look on his red face, did up his fly and disappeared around the other side of the van.
We continued on our way.....................

I think part of the problem these days is people are conditioned to think the worst of people or a situation...

Tragic really!

I'll continue to take my chances and always stop to see if I can help.

I stopped on the Great Central Road to help three aboriginal gents fix a tyre - I was showered by more than a few stones as people raced by, but for me the experience was rewarding, we shared a lot of laughs and talked about 'country'.

After the tyre was long fixed, we shook hands and we were all on our way - for me I was richer for the experience.

Most people are the same as us all - decent people!

Stop and offer to help fellow travellers...

Cheers, Baz - The Landy

On the Gibb River Road last year we blew a tyre not far from the Pentecost River, pulled over and jacked up the vehicle. I also put the bonnet up so oncoming cars could see us and hopefully slow down a bit as they went past as getting covered in dust isn't a lot of fun.
Granted, it was middle of July school holidays but it seems everyone was too busy to pull over to see if we were ok. The exception was one couple in an old army Landrover who said they always pull over to check on people which was good to see.
During our tyre change, which wasn't a big deal, no one stopped to check up on us, and a family in a 200 series towing a camper flew past us with not a hint of slowing down and was only a couple of metres or so from our vehicle. We were well pulled over off to the side of the road, and he showered our vehicle and us in rocks, gravel and dust. Thanks mate. Anyway, as karma would have it, we were back on the road only to pass him 10 minutes later, himself with a flat. The temptation was there to return the favour to him but we pulled over anyway. Bit of a sheepish grin from him and his missus but I think a lesson in outback etiquette was done for the day.

We had the same issue on the final leg of our Kimberly trip when I forgot to check the wheel nuts at Windorah and 60km out of Quilpie lost the drivers side wheel as it past us heading off into the bush. I pulled over (plenty of space) and before i got out of the car a young Victorian farmer couple and there two boys pulled up and offered assistance. We used two high lift jacks and had enough clearance to remove the old studs. we had a couple of studs and some 10mm bolts and fixed the spare onto the drum. No damage at all on the drum after slowing down fro 90km/h on the bitumen. the young family then followed us fro 60km to Quilpie where we stayed. We bought them lunch and sent them on their way. Th next day new studs on both sides thanks to the local RACQ lad who pointed me to the local mechanic who repaired broken caravans in Quilpie.
So my story has a good semaratin ending which renewed my faith in our fellow man. While on the side of the road two other people offered help.

I usually get the wife to tighten wheel nuts.
Can you guess why?

We always stop and offer help, unless close to a town when mobile contact for help from town would be easy for them. In remote areas we find that most caravanners and campers stop, even if someone else already has.

A couple we met were on the Kalumburu road and stopped, and everyone stopped to ask if they were OK, so when the seventh vehicle pulled over she called out "I just need to pee". :O.

I attempt to travel on a longer trip 6 to 8 weeks usually every two years when possible and every time at least once sometimes more I end up helping someone with a vehicle fault Funny it does often seem to be trailer bearings but you just have to stop no option in my opinion I would feel terrible if I did not stop I n the city its different and I will evaluate the situation before stopping particularly at night
Cheers all
Steve

A major part of wheels coming off is the use of 'rattle guns' that have not and in a lot of cases cannot be calibrated to the required torque for the various vehicle specifications ,,, now car manufactures actually spend big $$$ on research and development then outsource various components to 2nd and 3rd party manufactures , one of those is the vehicle specific Wheel brace , yep they all look silly , that angle and length of the lever is 'never going to do the job right ' ???? Thing is it has actually been designed and engineered to 'slip off' once the correct tension has been achieved ... no using a longer lever or body weight needed , just take it to the 'just about' to slip off and the nut / stud tension is how it should be , check with a 'calibrated ' tension wrench and you all may be surprised .... we all think that tighter is better ... nah ....

All is not lost!!!

Today I was helping a friend move a whole lot of stuff from one place to another.
I was towing a little-used two-axle dual horse float (or should that be a dual axle two-horse float?) loaded lightly, thankfully not with horses, but wooden chairs. So not much weight.

On the M1south of Wollongong, approaching dark, one of the old, hard tyres on the float gave up. I pulled over and started normal proceedings. Fortunately there was a wide concrete shoulder to work on as a continuous stream of traffic whizzed by at 100 plus klicks.

Within a few minutes a tradie bloke pulled up and helped me out. I didn't really need help, I had everything I needed, but he helped speed things up with his easy to access tools and general help.

Doesn't happen much in metro areas, especially when the person in difficulty is a bloke, not one of the fairer sex.

A little faith in humanity is restored. Thanks mate!

Cheers

I'm a little late to the party but when we broke down on the Mitchell Falls Rd in the Kimberley I think everyone either stopped or slowed down to check we were ok. We had lots of offers of help - quite a few had a go at working out why the car wouldn't go, we got towed off the road by one family, someone else sold me some diesel (long story but we had a blocked fuel filter and needed more fuel) and then someone else gave me a jump start!