At the same time though, several have noted that the drivers at the front of the traffic jam often proceed very slowly, even though they aren’t constrained by anyone in front of them. For this reason, I think it would be naive to think that these problems are only due to a tiny handful of rubberneckers. A couple of rubberneckers might initially cause the problem, but it is often aggravated and perpetuated by a culture of rubbernecking.
With regard to these people, DB says, “Your ‘as soon as it is safe to do so’ is most likely his ‘good looooooong look.’” Personally, I think that’s naive as well. When I compare this behavior to the way people accelerate under normal traffic conditions, I see a very marked difference indeed. The worst such example happened just a few weeks ago, when I was caught directly behind one such rubbernecker. How do I know that she was rubbernecking? Because when we finally made it past the accident site, I saw that there were no other vehicles on the highway in sight. In other words, all the other cars and trucks were long gone, yet she was still there, inching her way slowly. This goes far beyond merely waiting until it is safe to proceed!
I can’t tell if you are trying to mock me, but I’ll take it anyway. It’s about time too, after all I’ve done for the economy while I’m stuck in traffic.
At worst,. I think that people who otherwise wouldn’t sl;ow down to look if they hadn’t been part of a long traffic holdup are curious about what has held them up so long. I don’t think there a “culture of rubbernecking”
I agree. This is part of the problem. Rubbernecking feeds on itself.
“Gol-darn-it, Ethel, we’ve been creepin’ along for must be fifteen minutes now. Must be somethin’ right tragical at the front of this line–maybe a big ol’ fire, or maybe wild animals wandrin’ round like in that circus movie. Take a good long look, now, Ethel, y’hear?”
But no, there’s nothing there except a broken-down beater with the hood up. Get a fucking move on!
You’re entitled to do so, but I would obviously disagree on that point.
Oh, please. It’s not as though people only have a few moments in which to see what caused the delay. When there’s a long traffic holdup, people have PLENTY of time to take in the sights. Once they reach the end of the traffic jam, they have every opportunity in which to speed up… and yet very few do.
You’re saying that people are simply curious about what caused the delay. I don’t fault them for being curious. Holding up traffic in order to satisfy this curiosity is another matter, especially when you’re no longer penned in by cars in front of you. Such behavior is all part of that “culture of rubbernecking” of which I spoke.
Right. It only takes a moment to see what caused the problem, and you have plenty of time to do that while waiting in traffic. Let’s not use this as an excuse for dragging one’s proverbial feet. Move it, people!
That can happen due to the traffic wave dynamics, Ogre. Or in theory, it could also happen because SOME people have a modicum of sense, and so they move snappily once the traffic in front of them clears.
There aren’t enough of those people, unfortunately.
