Why do people slow everyone down when they see car accidents on the highway? what are people looking for?

Question

if its the gore factor, that means people dont think at all. public officials will not let the public see gore. thats the first order of bussiness...cover it up! another thing if they want to see if they know the person, it takes me, no longer than a second to scan that person out of the hundereds of people i know...all without slowing down or hitting my brakes! what is there to stare at??????

Answer 1

Well love damage

Answer 2

Everyone has to see.  A lot of people hate cops.... but they are fascinated with everything we have going on.

The funniest thing in the world is to watch these rubber-neckers looking at everything except what is in front of them and they rear-end the car in front of them.  Then they are the ones being stared at.

I think part of it also is people want to see the idiot who crashed and caused them to lose 5 minutes on their commute time.

Answer 3

I think it's because drivers want to see how bad the accident is. I understand your point. I hate when drivers slow down the traffic especially if its on the highway. Keep it moving folks!

Answer 4

you are required by law to slow down and get into the farthest lane away from the accident so you will not be in obstruction of justice. Not only that I saw a clip of where a police officer got ran over by someone who would not yield to right of way.

Answer 5

Some folks go to work 40 hrs a wk and watch the kids another 40hrs a wk.  in their off time they care for their spouses and/or sleep.  Entertainment is a rarity so they get what they can from real life.  I guess you should consider yourself blessed to not need the casual car wreck to entertain you.

Answer 6

Its just, INTERESTING. If people infront of you are already slowed down, why not look for yourself? Its also second-nature for humans to want to know whats happening with everybody and everything around them. People want to be "in the know". When they pass the accident, they have something to talk to their spouse of friends about. Its just nature. =]

Answer 7

Maybe to see whether they can help out?

Answer 8

aparently your not a true american if u dont stop to stare. and yes, of course it is the gore factor.

Answer 9

for some people

its a matter of disbelife that something like that could happen

alot of people sit and wonder how stupid that accident is others want to see blood and guts

some are just captivated

and

for alot of people

there are law enforcment agents around so they hit the brakes

out of respect for their safety and out of fear of getting stopped

some even realize that it could have been them and slow down so they wont end up in the same situation

its a mental thing man that will never ever be resolved

Answer 10

it is the "Gore factor" and ignorance (no disrespect meant) here in Germany the accidents are most of the time fatal that is when there are 4 people in the car you can say that 3 of them are dead and this is what the people want to see (death how does it work?  can i see it, feel it, hear it,ect....)

and yes i mean you if you need to stop to see "Gore"  then walk i have some where to go and some thing to do....

Answer 11

All I know is that people slowing down to see an accident is annoying and dangerous.  If more people were paying attention to the road in front of them instead of looking at accidents on the other side of the highway, drinking a double latte crapachino  while gabbing on their cellphone, or reading the paper while driving (don't laugh I've seriously seen someone do this before), there would be less accidents.

Answer 12

Rubber-Neckers, just want to see some blood and guts.............

Answer 13

People seem to be fascinated by seeing something out of the ordinary, whether it's a horrible accident, a fender-bender, someone losing part of their load, or just about anything else.

It's hard not to take a quick glance, but for the life of me I cannot figure out whey they have to slow down and examine the entire scene, sometimes nearly coming to a stop. It's done with, move on.

One of the worst rubbernecking-caused backups I've ever been in was caused by someone changing a flat tire. The guy wasn't interfering with traffic at all - he had pulled well off onto the shoulder. No cars wrecked. No cops. No rescue vehicles. Yet people nearly came to a complete stop to get a close look at what he was doing, causing traffic to back up for three miles. Unbelievable.

I don't think anyone will ever figure out an answer.