A recent headline in the Knoxville News Sentinel indicated that the Knoxville Police Department was investigating a fatal accident that occurred on I-40E. Similar to many thousands of other headlines published each year, it’s nevertheless and everyday reminder of the tragic risks. But whether reporting on a single collision that caused death or injury or reporting on broad trends in road safety, newspapers all tend to use the word “accident” to describe a car crash.
Recently, however, the DC Streets Blog questioned whether this actually was the best word to describe what occurs when vehicles collide. The basic fact is, words matter and the word “accident” suggests that the collision was something unavoidable or something that just happened. It’s an argument long familiar to experienced car accident attorneys in Knoxville. Typically, collisions aren’t something that just happen randomly and they aren’t something that just occur because of bad luck or chance. Collisions happen because at least one driver breaks the rules of the road or makes a dangerous choice that puts himself or others at risk. By using the word “accident” to describe what occurred, the driver who made the dangerous choice and who injured other motorists or even took someone’s life essentially escapes full culpability for his purposeful and intentional actions.
Collisions and Car Accidents are Not the Same
Thus, use of the word “accident” to describe traffic collisions can be detrimental in a number of different ways. For example:
Thus there are serious drawbacks of using the term “accident.” The New York City Police Commissioner issued a statement warning that the term “accident” has sometimes created an inaccurate impression that no one was liable in a particular collision. The NYPD adopted a policy to stop using the term when describing traffic collisions, and the San Francisco Police Department made a similar change a few months later.
Yet even as police, who deal with the devastating aftereffects of car wrecks every day, move away from the use of the term “accident,” the press still continues to use it in numerous headlines.
One way to change this would be to alter the Associated Press official style guide to include guidance for reporters on the proper terms to use. While a supplement to the main AP Guide suggests using the term “collision” or “crash” because the word “accident” could suggest a conclusion, the word “accident” is used within the official style guide in explanatory sentences that illustrate the use of other words (for example, “accident” is used in the AP style guide’s entry for “totaled” with the explanatory sentence: “A total of 650 people were killed in holiday traffic accidents.”
The AP Style Guide routinely changes to reflect shift in cultural viewpoints on important issues, and a change to the official style guide promoting the correct description of car wrecks could have a positive impact on helping the public to take the dangers of traffic violence more seriously.
Contact G. Turner Howard III, Attorney at Law at (844) G3-Help-Me or 865-558-8030 to schedule your free consultation.
