Guilty Feelings

[sr71blackbird]

Do you ever feel guilty for things that happen around you but which you have no part in, except as a witness?

Sometimes I feel guilt, even though I know I did nothing wrong.


Today, while I was driving in the middle lane, there was a guy next to me in the right lane. As we were going along, I noticed this car about to pull out from a parking lot. I maintained my speed and assumed the guy pulling out would wait until it was safe to do so. But instead he pulls out and I notice the guy next to me starts heading towards me, I guess in an effort to put distance between him and the guy pulling out. He skids and is blasting his horn and I hear a thump and look in my mirror and the two of them had collided and were pulling over to the shoulder.
I debated making a U turn and go back and see if everything was okay, but I didnt.
I have felt guilty ever since, even though I had nothing directly to do with it. But part of me keeps saying "what if?" What if I veered left to give them room? What if I went back to see if I could help?"
Is this rational guilt? Why do I get this guilty feeling? Anyone else feel like this sometimes?

[donnie_darko]

you should feel guilty.
if you could've safely given room and helped avoid an accident, and you chose not to, then yes, you are right to feel guilty.

there have been many times i could've let an accident happen, and not have broken any laws in doing so.

now if you had to blindly swerve in a split second and had no idea what was next to you, then you shouldn't feel guilty at all, if you had swerved and hit someone to avoid an accident, your insurance wouldn't care cause you would've caused an accident.

[MellySmelly]

It obviously wasn't your fault. If you had made a U-Turn and gone back you may have caused more of a traffic problem. I stopped for a wreck that I saw in my rear view mirror one time and I ended up having to break up a fight between the two drivers until the police got there. It's normal to feel bad whenever you witness something like that, but you have nothing to feel guilty about.
:wub:

[DonInNC]

I've done it. If I had left home on time this morning, I wouldn't have been in the area, and maybe one of the cars would have had more room to manuever...stuff like that.