PSA:If the accident is not blocking the travel lanes....

[PeterPan09]

you don't need to slow down and scan for body parts.

Also related to this...if the accident is on the OTHER SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY there is also no need to slow down and scan for body parts.

 

[jrmasm]

You always need to stop and scan for body parts.

 

[PeterPan09]

You always need to stop and scan for body parts.

AH HAH!!! It's YOU!!! I knew I would find the person who is clogging up I-4 every time there is an accident on the shoulder!!!

 

[OK!]

Ugh, we get that here even when there is no accident. It could just be someone pulled over for speeding. But of course, everyone within a 10-mile radius feels compelled to slow down and check out the lack of carnage for him- or herself. Grrrrr.

 

[golfgal]

I don't know about everywhere else but here they call that the "Gawker's Slowdown'.

 

[PeterPan09]

I don't know about everywhere else but here they call that the "Gawker's Slowdown'.

We used to call it "rubbernecking" in the NY/NJ metro area.

 

[jrmasm]

AH HAH!!! It's YOU!!! I knew I would find the person who is clogging up I-4 every time there is an accident on the shoulder!!!

Driving is boring. I never pass up an entertainment opportunity.

 

[sue1013]

rubberneckers here

 

[OK!]

And they're also called rubberneckers here (though I also sometimes call them some words I can't say on the DIS).

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

If I am driving, I don't slow down. My wife gets mad at me. She is a rubbernecker and wants to see the body parts...

 

[PeterPan09]

Ok, so for those who admit slowing down...have you ever been rewarded with a body part sighting?

I've been forced to slow down more times than I can count and have yet to see a single one.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

Ok, so for those who admit slowing down...have you ever been rewarded with a body part sighting?

I've been forced to slow down more times than I can count and have yet to see a single one.

Once, on Long Island. I thought it would "cure" my wife of this behavior. No such luck...

 

[hippiemama76]

I cannot stand people who rubberneck - that is so creepy! My biggest stress in driving to DW is that there is almost always an accident at the intersection of I75 and I4, and people are constantly driving at a crawl just to check it out, often causing more accidents in the process.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

OMG it drives me nuts when people do this! I swear it accounts for a good chunk of the non-rush hour traffic in SE Pennsylvania.

 

[jrmasm]

Ok, so for those who admit slowing down...have you ever been rewarded with a body part sighting?

I've been forced to slow down more times than I can count and have yet to see a single one.

See that's the thing. If you don't slow down and look, there will be something to see. Can't take the chance.

 

[Acklander]

I'll slow down, but I'm looking for car parts/broken glass, not body parts. I don't want to get a flat tire from running over something I shouldn't.

 

[Jennasis]

I thought you were supposed to slow down (to a reasonable speed) for the safety of the emergency personnel and others at the scene?

 

[Deb in IA]

I agree.

Often at an accident, there are people getting out, looking at their cars, standing by the side of the road, police and EMS are trying to pull up, etc.

It is wise to slow down to avoid a secondary accident.

 

[PeterPan09]

Again, these are situations where the travel lanes are clear...

I don't know how wide shoulders or medians are in other areas, but in the situations I seem to get stuck in every other day there is NOTHING on the road and all activity is contained to the median or shoulder.

Actually, I'd be happy if people slowed down from 65 to say...40. What happens here is people either STOP DEAD-thus creating even more chaos, or they slow down to about 15 to 20. They're not only looking for body parts, they're looking for the victim's contact lens.

 

[Christine]

Again, these are situations where the travel lanes are clear...

I don't know how wide shoulders or medians are in other areas, but in the situations I seem to get stuck in every other day there is NOTHING on the road and all activity is contained to the median or shoulder.

Actually, I'd be happy if people slowed down from 65 to say...40. What happens here is people either STOP DEAD-thus creating even more chaos, or they slow down to about 15 to 20. They're not only looking for body parts, they're looking for the victim's contact lens.

Well, actually, if you've ever watched one of those traffic engineering videos (which are quite cool), they will show a flow of traffic at normal speed and then they will show what happens when just ONE car drops its speed to 40 mph or so (in a 55 mph) and the backlash that it will cause for quite a few miles. So, realistically, probably the initial cars did just slow their speed so as not to roar past the people on the shoulder and it creates a domino effect that gets worse.