rubbernecking

Etymology

noun

1. The act of slowing down whilst driving a vehicle, in order to see the scene of an accident.
   The resulting wreckage blocks the entire southbound side of the Interstate, while the inevitable rubbernecking slows traffic on the northbound side to little more than the speed of a brisk walk. 2004, Robert G. Ferrell, Tangent: A Novel, page 131
2. Generally, any act of observation in a manner considered unduly overt or otherwise unseemly.
   The children had never been in such a large museum and their rubbernecking was rather amusing.

verb

1. present participle and gerund of rubberneck
   Kids all up and down the Triboro corridors are staring, I can sense it. Why are they rubbernecking, what are they staring at? 2006, Jack Myers, Row House Blues, page 339