{"id":60909,"date":"2020-02-12T15:59:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T15:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hildasibrian.com\/blog\/car-accident-or-traffic-violence-crash-vocabulary-is-changing\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T16:36:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T16:36:22","slug":"car-accident-or-traffic-violence-crash-vocabulary-is-changing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hildasibrian.com\/en\/blog\/car-accident-or-traffic-violence-crash-vocabulary-is-changing\/","title":{"rendered":"Car Accident Or Traffic Violence? Crash Vocabulary Is Changing"},"content":{"rendered":"

When there is a collision between vehicles, a pedestrian, or a bicyclist, it is often described as an accident. New research, however, shows that this type of rhetoric is dangerous.<\/p>\n

The term \u201caccident\u201d indicates that no one was at fault and that the event was unpreventable, even though most car crashes can be prevented, research shows. This is why safety advocates want people to remove the term \u201caccident\u201d from their vocabulary when describing car crashes. Advocates are particularly urging changes from the media and law enforcement officers who arrive at the scene after a crash.<\/p>\n

Car Accident vs. Traffic Violence<\/h2>\n

The biggest problem with the term \u201caccident\u201d is that it downplays the seriousness of car crashes. A new study published in Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives shows that it is true that the vocabulary used when discussing car crashes is important and affects the way people view these collisions.<\/p>\n

When the term \u201caccident\u201d is used, people tend to think that nothing could be done to prevent the event. This type of wording may also lead people to think there is nothing they can do to stop these crashes from occurring in the future. They may believe that these collisions are simply the price people pay when they live in a society that requires vehicles to interact with other cars and people.<\/p>\n

Safety advocates argue that using terms such as \u201ccollision\u201d and \u201ccrash\u201d simply is not enough. They want law enforcement and the media to start using the term \u201ctraffic violence.\u201d Using this term, safety groups say, will indicate that a driver was at fault for the crash and will more effectively show just how dangerous and preventable these crashes are.<\/p>\n

The term \u201ctraffic violence\u201d should be used especially when a crash is caused by a drunk driver, or when a pedestrian or cyclist is injured, safety experts say.<\/p>\n

How Wording Affects Perception of Fault<\/h2>\n

Safety advocates state that changing the perception of crashes is much more than just removing the term \u201caccident\u201d and replacing it with \u201ctraffic violence.\u201d When talking about these collisions, there are better practices that everyone should use. According to the study, these include:<\/p>\n