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In China, Video of Deadly Accident Reignites Debate Over Lack of Trust

Goro Majima

Kitty Genovese Member
Does living in such a heavily populated nation drive a bit of the apathy? Does India have similar issues?
 

Lesath

Member
Does living in such a heavily populated nation drive a bit of the apathy? Does India have similar issues?

I'd say it's the result of communist-era scarcity where in a fit of irony, the way to survive was to look after your own and fuck everybody else.
 

AMUSIX

Member
So many people linking the lack of help with the culture or some other 'potential scam' issue. There have been repeated studies showing that not helping someone in need is typical human behavior in any city. The denser the population, the less chance for help. Just the way it goes.

Read up on the Bystander Effect if you want, but it really does apply to any group. Heck, even studies in smaller communities have shown the same results.
 

ec0ec0

Member
After crossing two lanes, she is struck by a taxi and tossed in the air before landing on the ground. Then the light turns green for pedestrians. People walk by but do not help, nor do the drivers who were stopped at the light. The woman lifts her head, but the traffic resumes and she is soon run over by an S.U.V. She later died from her injuries.

this is terrifying.

first thing anyone would do is call for help while getting closer to her, as she is totally defenseless is a very dangerous place. This is a no brainer.

edit: like, what the f*ck do you have to do in that particular moment more important than trying to save a life!?
 

Syriel

Member
China on their new york shit like whoa.



They say that your interaction caused further injuries. For example, someone gets hit by a car and suffers a back injury, but it's the action of helpful bystanders pulling that person out of harm's way that causes a spinal fracture which causes life-long paralysis. There is an argument that the helpers could be found liable for the victim's paralysis. But that's in america, I can't tell you how it works over there.

It's why people say not to touch people who are severely injured until professional assistance arrives. That being said, you can do other things like stop traffic or tell other people to get the police.

In the US Good Samaritan laws prevent most of that crap. So long as you're not doing anything intentionally negligent, you won't hold liability for helping.

The actual problem is that many victims of an accident try to make money out of it from whoever they can. It's been well reported and documented. so passersby wont take that risk.

This is a culture issue. It wouldn't happen if the local laws didn't encourage it. You don't see this sort of stuff in Hong Kong or Taiwan. It's a mainland China thing.
 

The Lamp

Member
So many people linking the lack of help with the culture or some other 'potential scam' issue. There have been repeated studies showing that not helping someone in need is typical human behavior in any city. The denser the population, the less chance for help. Just the way it goes.

Read up on the Bystander Effect if you want, but it really does apply to any group. Heck, even studies in smaller communities have shown the same results.

Did you watch the video? That is not normal, especially in the USA.
 

AoM

Member
So many people linking the lack of help with the culture or some other 'potential scam' issue. There have been repeated studies showing that not helping someone in need is typical human behavior in any city. The denser the population, the less chance for help. Just the way it goes.

Read up on the Bystander Effect if you want, but it really does apply to any group. Heck, even studies in smaller communities have shown the same results.

Link to the studies?
 

Violet_0

Banned
So many people linking the lack of help with the culture or some other 'potential scam' issue. There have been repeated studies showing that not helping someone in need is typical human behavior in any city. The denser the population, the less chance for help. Just the way it goes.

Read up on the Bystander Effect if you want, but it really does apply to any group. Heck, even studies in smaller communities have shown the same results.
you seem to argue that this happens at the same rate in every country
 

AMUSIX

Member
Link to the studies?

http://neuron4.psych.ubc.ca/~schaller/Psyc591Readings/GarciaWeaverMoskowitzDarley2002.pdf
http://www.ivcc.edu/uploadedFiles/_faculty/_pommier/Example Article(2).pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profil...s-on-peoples-reactions-to-norm-violations.pdf



Now, the spark that led to research into this was the case of Kitty Genovese, who was attacked in New York, screamed, called out for help, was heard, was seen, but was left on her own (and ultimately died from the attack). The original newspaper report overstated the number of people who witnessed the attack, and dramatized her dying alone in the gutter. This has caused detractors to claim that, since the newspaper got it wrong, all subsequent studies should be ignored.


you seem to argue that this happens at the same rate in every country
I'm stating that whether or not the effect is present has nothing to do with a cultural component.


If you don't want to read any of the studies, there are plenty of videos of people trying to demonstrate the effect. (obviously these are put together as ratings pieces and not properly designed studies, but they work as examples towards basic understanding)
This is one of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2DkgOI_cvw


This TED talk is also good on the subject, offering a more balanced approach to it, although he glosses over some key points in order to play down the effect. Specifically, he points out that the studies had cohorts who were instructed to be apathetic, causing the subjects to also respond with apathy. He also shows that the effect is easily broken if only one person steps up to help. All that is true, but studies without any cohorts have shown that finding that first person that will step forward to help is not always a given, and that, in every case that someone did help, it was after tens of people had already passed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufs8cKyzLvg
 

SephiZack

Member
My dad bought a dashcam because of this problem. First time I noticed it he told me that people will try to cause accidents on purpose to scam others.
 
In the US Good Samaritan laws prevent most of that crap. So long as you're not doing anything intentionally negligent, you won't hold liability for helping.

I agree an amount of protection should exist for Good Samaritans but we need to properly educate people on what to do at an accident scene. Unless there's an immediate danger like a fire or oncoming train or something, leave the injured person there, call for help and wait. I doubt you have the equipment or expertise to make a meaningful difference and the time spent doing that is time you're robbing from EMS. People have been paralyzed for life because a witness to an accident was playing Superman and tossed the incapacitated person over their shoulder to move them a few feet.

The best way to help EMS is to help them do their job, not botch their job for them.
 

ec0ec0

Member
i'm amazed that the excuse for not helping her is the fear of, potentially, having to pay for her medical treatment or something.

Having a human being, injured, that is about to get run over by cars, in from of you, yet doing nothing about it? now that sounds scary. what are you going to do? Cross to the other side and not look back, knowing that you're leaving a f*cking human being behind? even worse, cross to the other side, then look back to see her get run over by the cars you didn't stop? like what the f*ck am i even writting...

if anything, they should be helping out of fear of getting caught, on camera, and recognized, for leaving someone that they could have easily helped die. I don't see how you shouldn't punish someone for that, specially if helping said person does not involve a serious risk.
 
That is one of the worst things I've ever seen. She probably lives if people come to her aide, but instead that SUV just barrels over her. Awful.
 

Kayhan

Member
Some say the problem is a legal one. In 2006, a man in Nanjing who helped an injured woman get to a hospital was held financially responsible for her treatment on the grounds that he would only have helped if he were responsible.

wat
 

ec0ec0

Member
oh, and by the way, i didn't watch they video, just read the article and the description of what happened. I mean, why would i what that?

edit:

the reasoning is, apparently, that, if you help someone get to the hospital, you caused the damage, because no one would help another person under any other circunstance, or something.
 

Griss

Member
All of this talk about being sued for getting involved totally ignores that, if you watch the video, all anyone had to do to save this woman's life after she was originally hit was hold up two hands to the oncoming traffic to alert them that there was a body in the road. There is no way you could be sued for that, and it requires minimal effort. Instead everyone ignores it. No one even seems to think twice about helping.

This isn't a legal issue, it's a total disregard for human life issue, and it makes me sick.
 

Patrick S.

Banned
In Germany, dash cams are forbidden AFAIK. Germans REALLY dislike being filmed or photographed without consent. Remember how they reacted to Google Streetview?
 

Ryuukan

Member
All of this talk about being sued for getting involved totally ignores that, if you watch the video, all anyone had to do to save this woman's life after she was originally hit was hold up two hands to the oncoming traffic to alert them that there was a body in the road. There is no way you could be sued for that, and it requires minimal effort. Instead everyone ignores it. No one even seems to think twice about helping.

This isn't a legal issue, it's a total disregard for human life issue, and it makes me sick.

if you watched this video, would you attempt to stand in traffic there?

I hear what you're trying to say but your ideals aren't matching with reality
 

wildfire

Banned
The US has it too. It's not the easiest way to go but you can sue someone if they make your injures worse when they try to help. Some states have passed Good Samaritan laws to thwart this.

It does exist though and because of that I would be very mindful before trying to help anyone. If it's a broken arm or something I can see myself helping as much as possible but head/neck/back? Absolutely not. I'll call for help and make sure no one else moves them (or runs them over) until competent help arrives. But there's no way I'm touching them if they can't get up on their own no matter what the victim tells me.

The nature of the help is different. If you try to apply medical aid or move them when they aren't in direct danger you are liable. In China you are liable even if all you did was stand in the road and made sure noone else ran over the injured.
 

wildfire

Banned
All of this talk about being sued for getting involved totally ignores that, if you watch the video, all anyone had to do to save this woman's life after she was originally hit was hold up two hands to the oncoming traffic to alert them that there was a body in the road. There is no way you could be sued for that, and it requires minimal effort. Instead everyone ignores it. No one even seems to think twice about helping.

This isn't a legal issue, it's a total disregard for human life issue, and it makes me sick.

Posted my response before I read your post. You're wrong based on how the article is worded.
 

1044

Member
All of this talk about being sued for getting involved totally ignores that, if you watch the video, all anyone had to do to save this woman's life after she was originally hit was hold up two hands to the oncoming traffic to alert them that there was a body in the road. There is no way you could be sued for that, and it requires minimal effort. Instead everyone ignores it. No one even seems to think twice about helping.

This isn't a legal issue, it's a total disregard for human life issue, and it makes me sick.

Could also be that the bystanders don't want to be part of aiding and abetting what they believe is a scammer. To them it may be just an everyday occurrence, like ignoring the crazy person on the street screaming about conspiracy theories or the end of the world.
 

Dongs Macabre

aka Daedalos42
As long as China has as much corruption as it does, I don't see this situation improving.

I had a bike accident last week, and a Chinese man who was riding behind me just casually went around me and didn't even glance at me bleeding on the ground.

I believe it.

Uh, unless this happened in China, that's kind of a fucked up thing to say.
 

ec0ec0

Member
Every single person you see in the video should go to jail. And in a civilized country, they would.

this is what i don't understand. They should, at least, want to help out of fear of getting caugth not doing so. Although, again, i simply read the description.
 

hirokazu

Member
I think China’s laws have to change first so people aren’t afraid to help at the scene of an accident.

Second, don’t they have laws that make failure to stop after an accident a crime? That taxi driver should have his licence revoked and be put in jail, even if the woman was at fault. The article mentions compensation being paid, but that’s it. What about criminal charges? The taxi driver is most responsible for the death. Had the driver stopped and put on hazard lights until police and ambulance arrived, traffic would have slowed and driven around.

At least the SUV driver stopped and got out, thought from the article, it seems they also left afterwards.
 
Every time this comes up Someone tells me that China's judicial system and the burden of proof is very different and you are not assumed innocent of things you are accused of.

Any truth to that?
 

Replicant

Member
Stupid law allows scammers and shitty people to sue others I discriminately. Now everyone turns into complete heartless ass to protect themselves. Tragic situation all around.
 

Einchy

semen stains the mountaintops
I understand hitting someone, and just driving away because you might think they're not hurt and were just trying to do an insurance scam, that happens all the time in China/Russia, so I get that part, but why would you just run over someone you saw laying down on the street? It's not the first time I've seen it happen, you guys remember when that toddler got run over twice? That's just plain out evil.
 

erragal

Member
My wife literally just yesterday had to get off her bus because a lady got bumped by a bike in an intersection and refused to move sitting in traffic yelling stubbornly. It's really hard to tell who is really injured and who is scamming someone to touch them and give them a target to extract money from.
 
Chinese society is full of scamming and it's not surprising the culture there is to be afraid of helping because of the potential of being scammed or held financially liable.

The solution is to actually address the rampant corruption in Chinese society but that's unlikely to ever happen so this is how it is.
 

Aggelos

Member
Guys, we've seem oodles of videos like this coming from China on various shock sites (like bestgore et al).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestgore.com

Their apathy has reached a new level. Such a video isn't considered to be a shock at all when it comes from China. Such videos became something habitual. It's hard to tell what is going on with their social values.
But something that I could understand is that Chinese people are afraid of insurance scammers. Or to put to it in another way, they're sick and tired of them. Thus they might not even stop when they hit a human being on the road.
The taxi driver that hit the woman, didn't even flinch a bit and didn't stop to see what he just hit. He just continued his merry way.
 
Chinese society is full of scamming and it's not surprising the culture there is to be afraid of helping because of the potential of being scammed or held financially liable.

The solution is to actually address the rampant corruption in Chinese society but that's unlikely to ever happen so this is how it is.

Too pessimistic, things take time.
 

Patrick S.

Banned
LOL, no they wouldn’t. Don’t exaggerate.

Failure to help someone who had an accident is not a minor offense in my country. And we are talking about a grave accident where a person DIED because people didn't give a fuck about helping her. These people would get convicted of manslaughter through failure to help and get a fat fine, a criminal record, and a jail sentence of up to one year.
 
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