Drop the 'A' Word: 2015

Friday, November 13, 2015

Day of Remembrance for Road Victims - Social Media Support

Below is a list of organizations who have express support for the November 15 Day of Remembrance for Crash Victims by using #CrashNotAccident

USDOT
NHTSA

National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS)

Delaware DMV

Vermont DMV

Michigan DOT

Texas DOT

Georgia DOT

Tennessee Governors Highway Safety Office

National Safety Council

National Safety Council – Arizona

Vision Zero Massachusetts
Vision Zero Network

Vision Zero Trans

Vision Zero NYC

Walk San Francisco

Merrimack Valley TMA

Livable Streets Boston

Bike Jersey City

Adelaide Cyclists

The Mark Wandall Foundation

Transportation Alternatives

Brooklyn Spoke

Bike Houston

NY Families for Safe Streets

Kostelec Planning

America Walks

Walkable Princeton

Pedal Love

Zero Fatalities Nevada

Vision Zero Austin

Boston Cyclists Union

US PIRG

Samaritan

Biking Minneapolis

Bicycling Magazine

Savannah Bicycle Campaign

Georgia Bikes

We Save Lives

Cycle Nation UK
Green Lane Project

Family Cities

BC Safe Communities

KanBikeWalk

DriversEd.com

I Drive Safely

Walk Toronto

Cycle Toronto

Bicycling Monterey

Hang Up and Drive

Maria’s Message

EndDD

StopDistractions

Decide 2 Drive

The Conor Lynch Foundation

Washington Bikes

AllAboutTheSafe

Project Yellow Light

WISE Safety Wisconsin

Walk Boston

CAZBike

StreetsBlog New York

Raleigh Moves

Safe Routes PNW

Portland Police Department

Drive Easy App

Road Crash Victims Foundation

Bike San Gabriel Valley

Because of Casey

Bike Miami Valley

America Walks

NE Seattle Greenways

Seattle DJC

Canada Walks

Safe Way Right Way

TrafficSchool.com

VA Bicycling Federation

Open Streets Cape Town

PhilaBikes

ATS Road Safety

It’s Your Driver

Safe Active Mobility

Cyclenation UK

Make Queens Safety

Bike Portland

Committee for Taxi Safety

Bike Walk Tulsa

911 Driving School

Family Cities

Safe Driving Scheme

CellControl

Walk Bike Oakland

National Foundation for Teen Safe Driving

DriveWise

Defensive Driving Arizona

Monday, October 26, 2015

The definition of "accident" - a closer look.

We hear a lot from reporters who defend use of the word “accident” by saying that no-one crashes intentionally. But let’s look at the definition. When you Google “accident definition” this is what you get.

ac·ci·dent

1.  an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.

2.  an event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.

So lets break this down.

Unexpectedly – Drunk, drugged, negligent, and criminal driving crashes are not unexpected. A driver may not intend to crash, but the resulting crashes, and the tragic results, are wholly predictable.

Apparent or Deliberate Cause – The causes of most crashes are apparent. There is little doubt when a driver is drunk, drugged, distracted and/or speeding as to the cause.

In 2013 alcohol-impaired driving crashes accounted for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. Approximately 10% of motor vehicle fatalities result from Distracted Driving. Some data indicate that as much of 90% of crashes result from human error, or poor decisions. These are not “accidents”.

“Accidents” are rare. Crashes are common.

There certainly are “accidents”, but reporters make a mistake when they use the word “accident” as a ubiquitous description of all crashes. By definition an accident is an “act of god”. A tree falling on a car, or a crash resulting from a mechanical failure could be defined as “accidents”.

Friday, October 23, 2015

The #crashnotaccident emoji's

Thursday, October 22, 2015

What Traffic Reporters say about the word "Accident"

Posted by Jeff Larason

Prior to working in roadway safety I spent many years as a Traffic Reporter. I worked with DOT’s around the country setting up 511 systems and overseeing Traffic Operations Centers. In those jobs I used the word “accident” literally tens of thousands of times. It never crossed my mind that the word was wrong.

I am a member the Traffic Reporters Group on Facebook. There have been several discussions within the group regarding whether it’s correct for traffic reporters to call crashes “accidents”. There are smart, thoughtful, professional reporters with opinions on both sides of the subject. Below is a snapshot of some of discussion.

Note - I’ve removed identifying photos and names from the commenters and edited for brevity. I’ve tried to keep the spirit of their comments, and hope I have represented their statements accurately.

______________________________________________________________________

MW - Prove it WASN'T an accident. Accident is perfectly fine. It's part of the lexicon.

KB - Even though someone is drunk or drugged they still do not intend to get in a crash. Therefore it’s still an accident. Neglectful yes, but not intentional. Every incident is unintentional. It is simply part of a traffic reporters vernacular and has been forever. Everyone listening knows what it means.

MH - If you want to call it a crash or collision. Go for it. I won't tell you you're wrong. But don't tell me I'm wrong to call it an accident. It is what the average person in the world calls it and that's my audience. It is the most conversational term for what frequently happens on the road. It is, also, by definition, the correct term about 99.99% of the time. In the common vernacular of a listening audience it's correct 100%. Your issue with it is that you ascribe all this deeper meaning to it that I don't think has any basis in provable fact. Calling an accident an accident when it ultimately involves a DUI or texter or whatever other poor behavior does not, tell people it's okay to engage in said behavior. It does not excuse those that do and I can't possibly see that anyone would think it does because they hear me say whilst driving about in the Traffic Tracker.

‪Further, the main point of my argument falls into the "common parlance" arena. I'm speaking to audience who cares about getting from point A to point B and the word they would use is accident.

TK - We always called them accidents or incidents. We had no idea who or what caused them.

EG - Anyone with half a brain knows that "accident" means (in this context) "at least one car collided with something".

SS - The listeners don't care what we call it. They care if we have the backup wrong.

EG - For the purposes of a traffic report, I'd call them accidents, since there usually isn't the time (or need) for details. If I were writing a piece for a newspaper, website, or blog, on the other hand, I might even avoid using terms like accident or crash altogether.

SS - Now if you can prove in the moment that a crash was intentional, you have a point in not calling it an accident. But in the moment of reporting we often don't have that luxury. And in the end the listener only cares if it's still there in their way and will they be late. They really don't care what we call it, and the word accident is a recognizable term to them..

ND - I got an angry phone call at one point. The woman on the other end was upset because she said the term "crash" was insensitive.

PS - It's an accident until proven otherwise.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Wired and BoingBoing discuss #CrashNotAccident

This weekend, two highly regarded sites posted strong, compelling arguments about how the word "accident".

Wired:

Stop Calling My Daughter's Death a Car Accident

By Hsi-Pei Liao

BoingBoing

Car Accidents Aren't Accidents

By Cory Doctorow

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Policy - Riverside PD - Not all crashes are "accidents"

Riverside, Illinois Police Chief Tom Wentzel has established a policy that his officers are avoid use of "accident" in reference to road crashes.

NYC and SF have similar policies.