The International Association of Chiefs of Police

29 years ago, the IACP established a policy regarding the word “accident”. 

"IACP join the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration in their efforts to eliminate the use of the word “accident”."

IACP was a national leader in recognizing that using the word “accident” to describe a crash “work(s) against bringing the appropriate resources to bear on this problem which represents a societal loss equivalent to 2.2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. 

Almost 30 years later, there is still work to be done as many states and cities continue to have "accident reports" and "accident reconstruction teams".   

Read the full text of the IACP proclamation below.