More like you can't do that in the USA because of insurance/liabilities. In most of Europe, assuming you found a friendly soul, they'd give you a hand. Liability is mostly an "american" thing. (I'm from Europe)
This culture became so strong that the Health and Safety Executive started issuing rebuttals in an effort to protect the brand.
Here's one example:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/myth-busting/2014/case317-store-n...
Hint: they speak German.