Spontaneous Traffic Assistance and Social Capital

Today on my way home from work, the driver in front of me managed to get his truck and trailer jack-knifed in a busy intersection.  Immediately, two other drivers and I pulled over to help resolve the situation.  The four of us were mostly split between two languages, but there was no need for much discussion.  The corner of the trailer was jammed under the wheel well of the truck, lifting the truck enough to deny the tire traction, while the weight of the truck on the corner of the trailer prevented lifting the trailer from its hitch.  We quickly stumbled through a few potential approaches as traffic squeezed past us.  After establishing that no jack was available, we settled on wedging supports under the lifted truck tire to restore its traction and enable the truck to pull free.  After wedging a board, one man pulled his truck out to create the necessary space in traffic, the driver pulled forward, and several handshakes later we were all back on the road going our separate ways.

The whole event lasted only a few minutes.  It's likely none of us will ever directly interact with each other again.  There was no suggestion of payment or compensation.  None of those who stopped to help had any ethical obligation to do so, and there's no blame or shame to be placed on those who drove past.  I can't definitively say why the others stopped, but I think we all did so simply because a society in which people voluntarily help each other out is a more efficient, productive, and prosperous society, and that's the kind of society in which we all want to live.  There are situations in which the overhead costs of setting up monetary transactions or negotiating exchanges are prohibitively expensive, and it's those cases that reveal social capital: the trust and helpfulness among strangers that keep things running smoothly when nothing else could.