Topic: Monday Rant: 'I Wonder If Anyone's Dead' (And Other Rubbernecker Musings)

[Autos_Editor]

YOU! Yes, you with the wandering eyes, I'm going to honk at you!
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[jjc]

I agree but I think you missed an important point. It's not about what it does to traffic at all, not one little bit.

Dear Rubberneckers:

You are voyeurs. While this scene you come across is certainly happening in an all too public place it's someone's private tragedy.  How much more horrible would it be for you to have people staring at you at such a time. Put yourself in their place and then maybe you can see why what you're doing is wrong, immoral, cruel. Perhaps when it starts being discussed that way more laws will be passed to stop it.

[tooscoops]

i've driven with rubberneckers.. and they don't know that they are doing anything... they think they are going with traffic... they don't realize that the delay of 4 seconds to get on the gas because they were distracted is exactly what caused the slow down/stoppage on the other side of the road (x300 drivers).

while i hear what you are saying jjc, people are wrong, immoral and cruel. don't think talking about it will change a whole lot. i'd prefer to get to the heart of this by getting the bad drivers where it hurts them.. in their commute. that's all they think of. everyone is selfish these days, so you might get a solution to rubberneckers by ticketing, convincing them how much faster it would be or something like that... calling them names will just make them think, "they must be talking about all those other people... yeah, they ARE horrible".

[Noto]

Quite the rant...

...but I disagree with you, here:

When the first responders come, move on, unless you think you’re the only witness in what’s probably going to become a court case.

All too often, people who ARE witnesses leave because they think "meh, I don't need to be here."

I've had some clients who lose limbs in accidents on the 401 during rush hour, and yet not a single person stops to say "I saw what happened."  It's not about money, but it's about properly laying charges for drivers that need to have their right to drive revoked.  With more eyewitnesses sticking around to say "hey, I saw the driver," hit and runs would be less of a problem, insurance money wouldn't be spent on lawyers arguing over liability, and police would be far better able to do their jobs.  You're correct that witnesses should pull over IN FRONT of the accident (i.e. beyond it), but they shouldn't leave until instructed to by police.

[Oldsguy]

Gotta say it: terrible article.

[quadzilla]

Gotta say it: terrible article.

Why?

[tooscoops]

Quite the rant...

...but I disagree with you, here:

When the first responders come, move on, unless you think you’re the only witness in what’s probably going to become a court case.

All too often, people who ARE witnesses leave because they think "meh, I don't need to be here."

I've had some clients who lose limbs in accidents on the 401 during rush hour, and yet not a single person stops to say "I saw what happened."  It's not about money, but it's about properly laying charges for drivers that need to have their right to drive revoked.  With more eyewitnesses sticking around to say "hey, I saw the driver," hit and runs would be less of a problem, insurance money wouldn't be spent on lawyers arguing over liability, and police would be far better able to do their jobs.  You're correct that witnesses should pull over IN FRONT of the accident (i.e. beyond it), but they shouldn't leave until instructed to by police.

also, on a busier road, people are more likely to think, "someone else will stop"... then no one does! they say you are more likely to get help on the side of a country road with one car passing than on the side of the highway in rushhour.

[Scaerio]

They say "Nota bene" in Italy.  They say other things in Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania, Malta, Cyprus, San Marino, and the Vatican, which, if I recall correctly, are also in southern Europe.

[blotter]

With more eyewitnesses sticking around to say "hey, I saw the driver," hit and runs would be less of a problem

so true.