thumb|During [[fire fighting, onlookers must be kept at a safe distance for health reasons, especially to avoid poisonous gases.]]
thumb|Čumil, the rubbernecker of [[Bratislava]]
Rubbernecking is a term primarily used to refer to bystanders stopping previous activity to stare at accidents. More generally, it can refer to anyone staring at an object of everyday interest compulsively. The term rubbernecking derives from the neck's appearance while trying to get a better view, that is, craning one's neck.
Rubberneck is associated with morbid curiosity. It is often the cause of traffic jams, sometimes referred to as "gapers' block" or "gapers' delay", as drivers slow down to see what happened in a crash. Rubberneck is considered as of 2007 unconventional English or slang.
Etymology
The term rubbernecking was coined in the United States in the 1890s to refer to tourists. H. L. Mencken said the word rubberneck is "almost a complete treatise on American psychology" and "one of the best words ever coined". Chinese Rubbernecks was the title of a 1903 film.
Rubbernecking and the automobile
thumb|upright=1.5|Rubberneckers are often found at [[road accidents; seen above is an accident from 1918.]]
The term is often used to refer to the activity of motorists slowing down in order to see something on the other side of a road or highway, often the scene of a traffic accident. This is sometimes also called accident gawking. A study on the English M6 motorway found that 29% of accidents and breakdowns caused slowdowns in the uninvolved opposite lanes. According to a 2003 study in the U.S., rubbernecking was the cause of 16% of distraction-related traffic accidents. Rubbernecking's impact on traffic has been the subject of studies and is said to be factored into highway design. The plastic partitions are designed to shield accidents from passing motorists in order to deter rubbernecking and improve the flow of traffic. Several types of screens have been trialed in the United Kingdom.