Seeing someone on the side of the road after an accident is incredibly upsetting. It will change your driving habits too. It happens too quick so we need to be careful all the time.
I was a maniac of a driver when I was young, that whole indestructible thing of youth be it on a motorcycle or in a fast car. As I've gotten older, I came to realize that the LAST place I wanted to die was in a car wreck. Seat belts? You betcha. Speed limit? Maybe a little over, but not excessive. I care more about the few minutes I'll live rather than save by putting the pedal to the metal. Drinking? Not while driving, at all. I think back to the younger days when we judged road trips by how many six-packs it took to make the trip. There wasn't the fervor around DUI in those days that exists today.
Both Jerry and Russ are correct. Being first or so on scene of a bad accident is gruesome. Unfortunately, I have had more than my fair share of these incidents, but can usually put my instinct to wretch aside and do what I can to try and help save lives until the EMTs arrive. It
does change you and your driving habits. I still think about the rolled truck and ensuing fire on 238 earlier this year and how many people were standing there like idiots with their cell phone cameras instead of jumping in and getting the guy (Michael) away from the burning truck before it exploded. He was lucky that there were at least a couple of us that knew exactly what to do and jumped in to do it, instead of watching him BBQ in the middle of the road. (The story is posted here somewhere if you search it).
On that note, I'd add one last thing. Always carry some basic safety gear in your vehicle. Blanket, fire extinguisher, box cutter, basic tools, a decent First Aid kit. They might not save your life in an accident, but they may help you save someone else's.
