Im afraid to say I'm one of the increasing number of people who dont stop.

I see at least one car each week pulled onto the hard shoulder during my 20-mile journey home up the M2.
Granted its not always possible to move over a couple of lanes in time to get to the person. Thats a lame excuse I know, but I think part of the reason is people are becoming more wary of approaching a complete stranger offering assistance. You just don't know what kind of nutbag they might/or might not be.
I have had 2 people stop to help me over the past 3 years, so I really should stop to help.
I am also reluctant to approach a bloke who might be stranded, perhaps as I see it as inferring incompetence on his behalf...

Huh, since when are tow ropes illegal in the UK?

I spotted a woman in a Fiat Punto with a really flat tyre a while back. Like so flat that it must've been obvious. I pulled up alongside her at a roundabout, wound down my window and waved her down. Told her she had a very flat tyre and needs to pull over and get the spare on. Over the other side of the roundabout, I file in behind her and she pulls over into a lay-by (coming into Stevenage).

I didn't stop to help her fit the spare tyre, and often think that maybe I should've. Unfortunately my thinking at the time was that she simply wasn't attractive enough to warrant getting mucky hands.

What a knobhead I can be.

I think it is another one of those grey areas, it depends on distance and visability of the rope and the gap between the cars, i know my rope is a bit to long to use for anything other than emergencies.

I use the golden rule of getting someone off the road = tow rope.
Getting someone home = Bar.

It's not a grey area. 4.5 metres is the maxium allowed length. Anything over 1.5 metres needs to have a coloured tag/tie/something attached to the rope to help other road users spot it.

There's no rule on distance being towed, the advice is that it's dangerous and you should consider 'Professional Recovery'.

Back to the original topic, I helped an old chap change his wheel, after he'd been in a collision with a van and burst his tyre. He'd got no proper tools and was attempting to undo the wheel nuts with an open ended spanner (by standing on it).

My wheel brace didn't fit, but as I only lived nearby, I nipped home for a socket set and came back and changed his wheel and sent him on his way. He wanted my address so he could, in his words, 'thank me properly', but I refused, as I'd stopped only to be helpful, not to be rewarded.

Yawn.

The only time I can recall having an opportunity to help was when I was waiting for my school bus a long time ago. A lady pulled up, with a flat, she may have asked or I may have volunteered, but I changed her tire for her, and missed my school bus. Live in the middle of nowhere so I had to walk back to the house and ask my mum for a lift. I didn't mind.

Bikers are a friendly bunch, I passed a mate on the hard shoulder accompanied by another bike and a police car. I assumed he'd been pulled for something and went on home. Checked my phone when i got home and he'd rang me a few times.
I phone him back and turned out he'd broken down, the other biker had stopped to see if he could help then the police arrived. They helped push his bike a couple of hundred yards off the end of the motorway and he asked me to come down and see if i could fix it.
While he was waiting for me, 3 other bikes stopped to see if they could help and one car driver offered to send her biker husband back with a transit van to help get it home (20 mile round trip in heavy traffic).

We got caught in traffic on a dual carriageway as a fiesta had broken down and everyone trying to get past and sounding their horns in indignation. As we drew up near the passenger climbed out of the car and tried to push the car off the road. She was about 80 and was very frail.

My OH immediately jumped out of the car and pushed the car off the road (he is a company director and powerfully built although no goatee). It took him 15 maybe 20 seconds and then everyone was on their way. Simple courtesy.
If one of the first people there had bothered to help, give up a few seconds of their busy schedule, then there would have been no delay and no wear and tear on everyone's car horns.

Utterly ridiculous.

I think sadly it does depend what the person who has broken down is driving.

The battery on my 1995 Mazda 626 was on the way out last year and until i could get to Hellfrauds to get a new one I ended up needing a jump/bump start on a number of occassions - I had many offers of help from people and those involved were generally cheery about the aid they gave.

Around five years ago (just after i had bought the car in fact) the 911 broke down, all hydraulics failed, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree, and the car left me stranded in the outside lane of a very busy rush hour A339 in the middle of Newbury. I had to "rock" the car to get it up onto the kerb, and then push 20 yards to get it out of the way of trafic - on my own, this proved more difficult than it sounds. Not one person stopped to help in the nose to tail traffic - many, many people however did spare the time to wind their window down, and shout useful things like "German reliability eh", "My Mondeo never breaks down mate", and in one instance "Should've bought a Mazda" (i did try to explain the irony of this to the guy, and that indeed i did also have a knackered S reg Mazda but just didnt happen to be driving it - but he wound the window up and looked straight ahead when I approached) or simply to point, laugh and stare (admittedly this could be more of a comment about my dress sense than anything else i suppose).

I always stop to help people when I can. Well done OP you did the right thing.

R.