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Rubberneckers!!!!!!!!

832 views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  stan laurel 
#1 ·
Going down the A1 yesterday morning we got held up before the southern end of the Biggleswade bypass. When we had crawled over the rise and could see the roundabout all became clear. There had been a shunt in the outside lane which had pushed the front car across the roundabout and the police have had to cone off the lane so all the A1 traffic is funnelling into a single lane while north bound traffic for the town has a single lane between the broken glass and the tail of the offending white van. Once I get to the front of the queue I am ready to pull out once a car heading for the town has crossed in front of me and before the next car which I can see just coming round what is a large roundabout. All would have been fine if the first car had not slowed right up for a real gawp :furious: at what had happened allowing the next two cars to catch up so there was no chance to move on. Unfortunately the police had their backs to him or I suspect he would have got a real mouthful. Rubbernecking really does describe both the driver and passenger's behaviour, they certainly weren't watching the road ahead. No wonder there was such a queue on the southbound carriageway if this was typical of the local approach to passing what was a straightforward shunt.

Why cannot drivers pass an accident as quickly as is safe to do so, and help the traffic keep moving, rather than having to carry out their own inspection and determination of the cause of the congestion?
 
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#4 ·
The upsetting thing is not so much that anyone does this, but that so many do. A couple of times on the M11 traffic has slowed right down while people gawp at at mayhem on the opposite carriageway. Nice to think that your death or injury could provide entertainment for the curious. Ghoulish scum is far too polite a term.
 
#10 ·
Possibly but traffic coming north was, in general unaffected. If you don't know it the junction is effectively a "Y" with a roundabout with three lanes on both the north and south A1 approaches. Hence the northbound A1 traffic could flow freely and the traffic for the town (the RH branch of the Y) still had one lane. I agree it was curiosity but not due to being held up just plain nosiness and lack of forethought for other road users.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Alternative (humanist) explanations - a) it feels disrespectful to howl past at 70 mph, when there are people hurt or at least having a seriously spoiled day; b) there might well be debris thrown into this carriageway, which will be much easier to avoid at 50 or 40 than it would at 70; c) other drivers will be thinking one or both of the above, or of course not concentrating because of having a good look, so it's either slow down or plough into them at 70 mph.

When the above happens on a busy road, the dynamics of the situation brings the traffic to a complete standstill half a mile up the road, after which everyone gets going to filter past at a sensible pace. You and I will keep a good lookout for the idiots, but they will be looking at what happens. And the OP is right: they are a damned nuisance.

Edit afterthought: am I allowed to write that in the Rant Room?
 
#17 ·
from my perspective, all it would take it a taller barrier in the central reservation.
A 4 foot garden fence-type thing, between the Armco's, would stop the vast majority of rubbernecking. It might even block out the glare of the oncoming twonks who deem it necessary to put on full beam at night!

I agree that it's human nature to be curious about a crash, especially if it looks bad. Not everyone is curious though and because of this, invariably, we get calls to accidents on the opposite carriageway:(
 
#18 ·
It's an interesting contrast between cultures, where I am the rubbernecking is almost universally passive as though it's just a movie. People either don't care or are unwilling to engage. You watch the Russian dash cam videos; a big crash and people are stopping to help left and right.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I think any decent human being would love to stop and help - It's just that British motorway's don't allow that if the accident is on the opposite carriageway.

I've witnessed a few hero's bravely stop and attend to accidents on their side of the motorway, when they had no medical training whatsoever; just an innate desire to help someone in obvious need. It does happen more frequently when it's just a normal road, without the barriers and people barreling along at 90mph!

The fact that you see it on Russian Dash-cams doesn't necessarily mean the same is not happening here :)
 
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