Roger Lanctot Drops the "A" Word

Automotive Writer Drops the "A" Word

Crash Coalition Founder Candace Lightner had a talk with Roger Lanctot about his use of the word "accident".  

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/accident-roger-c-lanctot

There is a hard core of campaigners for vehicle safety in the U.S. – railing against the conditions that enable a daily toll of nearly 100 highway fatalities in this country. Within this community of individuals and organizations there are no references to traffic accidents, only crashes.

I recently ran afoul of one of the most outspoken leaders of this fragmented movement, Candace Lightner. Candace is president of WeSaveLives and founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Candace expressed her displeasure with me after I referred to “accidents” in a blog about California legislation (http://tinyurl.com/oukscr9 - Assembly Bill 1264) for the creation of a database for the notification of the next of kin of crash victims.

Twitter: @rogermud   

What’s the harm in calling it an “accident”?

This is something we hear quite a bit when we try to get people, especially reporters to stop using the word “accident”. 

• “It doesn’t make any difference.” 
• “So what?”  
• “People don’t think about what the definition is.”

It's our belief that the prevalent overuse of the word "accident" puts people in the mindset that they are not responsible for the actions in crashes.   It's not just drunk, drugged or distracted drivers.  It's the rest of us who make errors in judgement or thoughtless decisions that lead to crashes.   We all need to take responsibility for our actions, no matter how small if it led to a crash.  The word "accident" allows us all to deflect that responsibility.  

Scott Marshall wrote this excellent post on this blog The Safe Driver some time ago.  It’s a MUST read.

“If you believe these are accidents then they will happen to you. If you change not just the word but the mentality to ‘crash’ or ‘collision’, then you’re making the switch to believing they are preventable.”

https://safedriving.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/is-it-an-accident-or-a-collision/

Scott Marshall - The Safe Driver

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. 

Oxymoron - Intentional Accident

There are numerous egregious examples of media using the word "accident" reflexively and incorrectly.  

Road Rage: 

Casco, Maine – February 23, 2015

Despite considerable evidence that this was an intentional act, the Portland Press Herald referred to this incident throughout the story as an “accident”. 

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/02/23/car-goes-off-road-into-river-in-casco/

Murder:

Los Angeles, California – January 29, 2015

Rap mogul Suge Knight runs over and kills man in altercation in parking lot.  Charged with murder in this allegedly intentional act.  Yet media around the world, including the Daily Mail, referred to it as an “accident”. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2943577/Family-man-killed-fatal-hit-run-Hip-Hop-mogul-Suge-Knight-say-grief-stricken-losing-pillar-family.html

Fraud:

Long Island, New York – January 7, 2015

5 people arrested for allegedly staging crashes in an insurance fraud ring.  Despite the clear intent, media refer to the incidents as “accidents”. 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/01/07/5-arrested-in-alleged-accident-staging-insurance-fraud-ring-on-long-island/

2 drunk 2 care:

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida – February 18, 2015

Woman tweets “2 drunk 2 care” then drives the wrong way on a highway killing two girls.  Media call it an “accident”.

The problem is that media no longer consider the meaning of the word "accident".  It is now used without thought about whether the circumstances fulfill the definition of "accident".   Very rarely do traffic reporters, or general assignment reporters have any awareness of intent, fault or blame when reporting on roadway incidents.