Thread: Do you stop to Help..Or Not

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

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Suggesting that women can't lift big round things is ignoring all the women who drive semi-trailers - it's all sexist stereotyping stuff.

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I think this study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology suggests that there is some justification for PhilipA's comment.

SpringerLink - Journal Article

The abstract of the article says:

Hand-grip strength has been identified as one limiting factor for manual lifting and carrying loads. To obtain epidemiologically relevant hand-grip strength data for pre-employment screening, we determined maximal isometric hand-grip strength in 1,654 healthy men and 533 healthy women aged 20–25 years. Moreover, to assess the potential margins for improvement in hand-grip strength of women by training, we studied 60 highly trained elite female athletes from sports known to require high hand-grip forces (judo, handball). Maximal isometric hand-grip force was recorded over 15 s using a handheld hand-grip ergometer. Biometric parameters included lean body mass (LBM) and hand dimensions. Mean maximal hand-grip strength showed the expected clear difference between men (541 N) and women (329 N). Less expected was the gender related distribution of hand-grip strength: 90% of females produced less force than 95% of males. Though female athletes were significantly stronger (444 N) than their untrained female counterparts, this value corresponded to only the 25th percentile of the male subjects. Hand-grip strength was linearly correlated with LBM. Furthermore, both relative hand-grip strength parameters (F max/body weight and F max/LBM) did not show any correlation to hand dimensions. The present findings show that the differences in hand-grip strength of men and women are larger than previously reported. An appreciable difference still remains when using lean body mass as reference. The results of female national elite athletes even indicate that the strength level attainable by extremely high training will rarely surpass the 50th percentile of untrained or not specifically trained men.

So now you are saying that women do not have initiative or knowledge or a can-do attitude.

How many times have any of the blokes on this forum ever picked up a tyre of any size larger than a wheel barrow,

• with only the grip of one hand?
• With the grip of two hands?
• Buggar lifting, a woman would roll the tyre into position!

That whole article is about one parameter and when considering women V's men as complete individuals, it is as valid as the Nazi propaganda that suggested that Germans were Arian and the Russians sub-humans. What is the time differential between elite women athletes in running and swimming and the 50th percentile of un-trained males? Going by events like the Sydney City-to-Surf it would mean that the first women runners would arrive only after at least 50% of the men had finished. This is clearly untrue.

Just because you don't have the physical strength to do something doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it.

No one can torque up wheel nuts with their fingers, so does that mean that we don't change a tyre? No we use a wheel brace, if we are not as strong as the next person, then use a lever.

I just returned from crossing Oz and stopped for an Irish guy in a cruiser with a busted water pump and I stopped on the way back because I had a snake in the engine bay and a bloke stopped to help,thats after he stopped laughing.I will always stop out here,it's to hot not to. Pat

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

So now you are saying that women do not have initiative or knowledge or a can-do attitude.

No.

I am the same as the previous poster, if I have kids on board I dont stop. If its a male in the broken down vehicle I dont stop (harden up), A female I do stop. I dont think its sexist at all. While I am sure many women are more than capable of working out their car problem, my life experiance on average says they would be more in need of help.

So using celebrities only as examples: if it were Mr Bean broken down at the side of the road, "you" (sic) wouldn't stop. But if it were Bronwyn Bishop or Rosie O'Donnell "you" would?

I can fully understand the bit about the kids in the car, although if teaching by example is true, your children are learning not to stop for anyone.

I love debates like this one!

"you" in this example is not directed at anyone in particular but at the potential good Samaritan!

Years back I was driving to Mary Kathleen in Qld. (between Mt. Isa and Cloncurry) in my 69 Fairlane, somewhere between Bourke (NSW) and the Qld. border I stopped for 2 Aboriginal women, seemingly broken down. As I pulled up a half dozen or more of their male cousins who had been hiding in the grass surrounded the car. They kindly offered me a warm beer and insisted I get out of the car. So I politely (sort of) told them to get off the car, one of these fine specimens was laying on his ample guts on the bonnet, things started to get ugly so I took off with a new bonnet mascot grimly hanging onto one of my wiper blades. when I reached a speed of about 60klms/hr. I hit the brakes and my new found bonnet ornament slid off tearing off my bonnet badge with his crutch and stuffing my wiper blade, last I seen of him was him rolling into a deep ditch on the side of the road. So no I dont stop unless I am positive that the situation isn't dangerous and I assess the safety by talking to the person broken down through a partially open window and foot ready on the accelerator pedal, BTW I reported the encounter with this group in the next town, which happened to be in Qld., the copper said not to worry and dont stop again, Regards Frank.

We stopped recently on the Stuart Hwy just south of Marla for 3 aboriginal males who's car was broken down.
I felt uncomfortable doing this but it was my wife that insisted we stop.

They had nothing in there car to get them going, so after unsuccessful jump starting we towed them in the wrong direction back to Marla with my tow strap.

I noted that they deliberately targeted 4wd's to stop as we are probably better prepared to deal with breakdowns. They were appreciative but seeing a half cooked Roo on the centre console was an eye opener.

John D - Defender 110 2.4