by Trish Whelan. A recent survey by tyre company Semperit suggested that 92 percent of Irish males would stop to help a woman changing a wheel — but real-life research suggests a different reality.
In a test on Dublin’s streets last week, only one in 80 vehicles stopped to help.
At two sites, in Blackrock and the Howth Road, of over 800 vehicles observed, only 11 stopped to help a clearly distressed 23-year old Dublin student stranded at the roadside.
It took a full hour to attract just six offers of help on the Southside, but five Good Samaritans appeared on the Howth Road in a little over 20 minutes.
Van drivers proved far more likely to assist than their car counterparts. In fact, two–thirds of all those who stopped were in commercial vehicles!
Paddy Murphy of Semperit said male drivers emerge 'as all talk, but very light on action!'
