We need a national campaign to STOP RUBBERNECKING

radha

I'm sick of it. Just sick of it.

Just move on, mind your own business and thank your lucky stars it wasn't you.

Next!!.....

jaffa20

How do you know people were rubbernecking if you didn't take a quick look yourself?;)

mike65

I just swerved over to this thread to have a closer look.

coolbeans

Hold on a minute...what's going on here!

doccy

what's going on here

radha

jaffa20 wrote: »

How do you know people were rubbernecking if you didn't take a quick look yourself?;)

Ha! It's because traffic reports will tell you while you're stuck miles back that 'accident has been cleared to side of the road but traffic still moving slowly due to onlookers'.

Seriously, though, sometimes I wish a guard would just stand on side of said road just waving traffic on. I'm a commuter so any time there's an accident it adds extra time on to my journey, and time to a commuter is precious. It also means people will more than likely up the speed once they've passed the incident to make up for this lost time.

JHMEG

Aside from giving out free lobotomies to remove the parts of people's brains that makes them curious I don't know what you could do...

radha

JHMEG wrote: »

Aside from giving out free lobotomies to remove the parts of people's brains that makes them curious I don't know what you could do...

True, although I'm now curious to know if we are actually more prone to it. Certainly other countries are more efficient at least in terms of clearing a collision off the road.

Eoin

radha wrote: »

True, although I'm now curious to know if we are actually more prone to it. Certainly other countries are more efficient at least in terms of clearing a collision off the road.

They put up screens around the accident in a lot of countries. So, yes some countries are more efficient, but it's hardly something that's unique to Ireland; it's just human nature.

RayM

I'm guilty of rubbernecking sometimes. But only if it looks like a particularly bizarre accident - like if there's just one car involved, and it's upside-down on the hard shoulder on a very straight stretch of the M7. On those occasions, curiosity just gets the better of me. Nine times out of ten though, I have no interest in gazing at someone else's misfortune.

radha

RayM wrote: »

I'm guilty of rubbernecking sometimes. But only if it looks like a particularly bizarre accident - like if there's just one car involved, and it's upside-down on the hard shoulder on a very straight stretch of the M7. On those occasions, curiosity just gets the better of me. Nine times out of ten though, I have no interest in gazing at someone else's misfortune.

Yes I hear what you're saying if it's a bizarre accident but today on the M7 southbound the traffic started to slow down. I could see ahead two cars pulled in on the hard shoulder and two people who just appeared to be talking. When I reached the point there was absolutely no sign of a collision, just two people who had pulled over, were out of their car, just talking. Now I really don't care why they pulled over, I just wanted to get home. Do other people not share that same priority?

challengemaster

I think there might be more pressing issues to have a national campaign about.... fuel prices, state of the roads, idiot transport minister, etc

R.O.R

JHMEG wrote: »

Aside from giving out free lobotomies to remove the parts of people's brains that makes them curious I don't know what you could do...

I propose Snipers located at the scene of any accident to pick off the weak who drop speed by even so much as 5km/h, and chance a glance.

For the first few it may get messy with the un-piloted cars carrying on in whichever direction they were pointing, but when word gets around that rubbernecking carried the (deserved in my opinion) death penalty, then I'm sure we'll see an end to it.

Now to sort out my name change to Judge Dredd

obviously the above isn't a sensible suggestion and it's probably something that will never change, but it is damn annoying and I make a point of just concentrating on not hitting the traffic around me rather than gawping as someone else's misfortune.

Seth Brundle

If you use snipers then the may just coast to a stop blocking traffic.
You need something that will have a bigger effect

Cabaal

radha wrote: »

I'm sick of it. Just sick of it.

Just move on, mind your own business and thank your lucky stars it wasn't you.

Next!!.....

But if we have people on the side of roads with signs saying "No Rubbernecking" people will just slow down to look at them :pac::pac:

old_aussie

Rubbernecking is good, it reminds people of the dangers when they see the carnage.

R.O.R

kbannon wrote: »

If you use snipers then the may just coast to a stop blocking traffic.
You need something that will have a bigger effect

Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

CreepingDeath

radha wrote: »

I'm sick of it. Just sick of it.

Just move on, mind your own business and thank your lucky stars it wasn't you.

Next!!.....

Sounds like a woman driver had an accident and is now giving out to casual passers-by.

Cookie_Monster

Who doesn't want to have a quick look to see if anyone is splattered all over the road?

metzengerstein

sure is annoying,

barryfitz

kbannon wrote: »

If you use snipers then the may just coast to a stop blocking traffic.
You need something that will have a bigger effect

Ah now how will more volcanoe's help

Rovi

I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm driving along a road at or about the speed limit and I see emergency vehicles and blue flashing lights in the distance, I'll be lifting off the throttle and preparing to stop if necessary or to follow the instructions of emergency services personnel or to manoeuvre around debris or other obstacles.
If I come upon the scene of a very recent accident I'll be hitting the hazard warning lights and slowing very significantly in order not to get caught up in it myself or to allow myself take avoiding action around debris and/or accident victims.
If, as in the example given above, I see cars on the hard shoulder with people walking around them (on a motorway no less, in this particular case), I'll either move to the overtaking lane if there's room and it's safe to do so, or if not, move to the right side of the driving lane, lift out of the throttle and keep a very close eye on them in case they do something that forces me to take evasive action or hit the brakes hard.

I don't think any of the above are unreasonable actions to take when encountering those sort of situations on the roads.

Are people seriously suggesting that traffic should continue at 'normal' speed (whatever that is for that bit of road under normal circumstances) in very close proximity to the aftermath of a crash, emergency services personnel, or parked vehicles and pedestrians?

When people and moving vehicles are going to be in close proximity in a 'planned' situation, like roadworks, provisions are put in place to reduce the risks for everyone: barriers, signage, temporary traffic lights, reduced speed limits, etc, etc.
A crash scene puts people and moving vehicles into exactly the same proximity, without any of the 'planned' mitigation measures, and with the potential added variable of panicked or disoriented pedestrians wandering about.
While the people who stop at the side of the road and get out for a chat or a ramble about for no apparent 'emergency' reason might benefit the gene pool by their removal, I don't want to be the one doing the removing, so I'll continue to take what I consider to be reasonable measures to reduce the risk to both them and myself.

'Shockwaves' are a well known phenomenon in traffic flow, and are unfortunately, a likely almost inevitable consequence of traffic slowing at some point on the road.
Given that it'd be unreasonable (and reckless, in my opinion) to expect motorists to continue at full speed close to potential hazards to both themselves and others, I think it's a consequence we'll just have to live with.

Eoin

Rovi wrote:

Are people seriously suggesting that traffic should continue at 'normal' speed (whatever that is for that bit of road under normal circumstances) in very close proximity to the aftermath of a crash, emergency services personnel, or parked vehicles and pedestrians?

Rubbernecking is when people slow down expressly to try and get a glimpse of some poor unfortunate smeared across the road, often ignoring any traffic in front of them at the risk of causing another collision.

There's a world of difference between that, and taking more care near the scene of a crash.

radha

CreepingDeath wrote: »

Sounds like a woman driver h ad an accident and is now giving out to casual passers-by.

You are right about the gender but not the rest....well not so far (touch wood, fingers crossed).

I'm talking about when a collision has been cleared to the side of the road, especially in minor RTAs, and it's safe to proceed. There is such a thing as making progress under the rules of the road. There have been many cases of someone being rear ended in the rubbernecking parade. That's poetic justice. I like the sniper idea, though.

Maybe we could have an ad campaign like the one how to drive round a roundabout, and the one on how to actually drive on a motorway. Just need to find a rubbernecker to play the lead role although that shouldn't be so difficult.

slimjimmc

It's not just at accidents that rubbernecking occurs, I've been held up by idiots in both lanes of the M7 gawking at some guy parked on the hard shoulder. All he was doing was getting a few things out of the boot to change a nearside rear flat.

dirtydiesel

Will the sniper have to use rubber bullets.

af_thefragile

If you've spend 30mins stuck in traffic because of an accident, you should have the full right and privilege to be able to get a good look at the cause of you becoming late. Atleast that way you get back something to make up for your lost time. You can have a story to tell to your mates at work or at the pub or wherever you were heading to!

pajo1981

People are curious. Build a bridge. Get over it.

... it's not their fault you crashed