Why should 鈥淎ccident鈥� (referring to road traffic incidents) go the way of other words like negro, midget and retarded?

Because it carries heavy baggage of unaccountability.

History lesson: In the early 1900s, when companies were looking to protect themselves from the costs of caring for workers injured on the job, 鈥淩elentless safety campaigns started calling these events 鈥榓ccidents,鈥� which excused the employer of responsibility鈥�. (May 22, 2016, quoting history professor Dr. Peter Norton.

Matt goes on sharing Dr. Norton鈥檚 history lesson: 鈥淲hen traffic deaths spiked in the 1920s, a consortium of auto-industry interests, including insurers, borrowed the word to shift the focus away from the cars themselves.鈥�

The word stuck, it鈥檚 connotation of unaccountable inevitability getting in the way of taking important steps to fix an ongoing, and growing, road safety disaster.

Overly dramatic? There is an average of over 175 collisions resulting in casualties every day in British Columbia. And crashes resulting in at least one fatality occur an average of every one and one-third days (2016 statistics). The numbers are growing.

Road safety advocates have been campaigning against the 鈥淎鈥� word for years. Here are some quotes I鈥檝e found online:

鈥淲hen you use the word 鈥榓ccident鈥�, it鈥檚 like 鈥楪od made it happen鈥� (Mark Rosekind, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration);

鈥淭he word wrongly implies that human decisions and actions have nothing to do with it鈥� (Jeff Larason, former Boston traffic reporter, now director of highway safety for Massachusetts);

鈥淭he phrase 鈥榠t was just an accident鈥� serves both as a claim of innocence and as an exoneration.鈥� (RoadPeace);

鈥淲hen we say 鈥榓ccident,鈥� we are basically throwing up our hands and saying that the deaths of children like Allison are inevitable, something no one is responsible for, like bad weather鈥︹�� (His-Pei Liao).

There is a web site dedicated to this issue: , which has a compelling introduction:

鈥淣ot all crashes are 鈥榓ccidents鈥�. Crimes are not 鈥榓ccidents鈥�. It鈥檚 not an 鈥榓ccident鈥� when a person makes a decision to drive drunk, distracted, or in a negligent manner. Stop giving criminals a pass by calling it an 鈥榓ccident鈥�.鈥�

A national (United States) to eliminate the 鈥淎鈥� word was kicked off June 8, 1997. I cannot possibly articulate the issue better than the road safety giants who carefully crafted the proclamation:

PROCLAMATION

Whereas, changing the way we think about events and the words we use will affect the way we behave. Our goal is to eliminate the word 鈥渁ccident鈥� from the realm of unintentional injury, on the highway and across the nation;

Whereas, motor vehicle crashes and injuries are predictable, preventable events. Continued use of the word 鈥渁ccident鈥� promotes the concept that these events are outside of human influence or control. In fact, they are predictable results of specific actions;

Whereas, we can identify their causes and take action to avoid them. These are not 鈥渁cts of God鈥�, but predictable results of the laws of physics;

Whereas, use of the word 鈥渁ccident鈥� works against bringing the appropriate resources to bear on this enormous problem. It allows the idea that the resulting injuries are an unexpected part of life;

Now, therefore, we the undersigned, in recognition of this life saving and injury preventing opportunity, do hereby proclaim a national campaign:

鈥淐rashes Aren鈥檛 Accidents鈥�

To eliminate the word 鈥渁ccident鈥� from the realm of unintentional injury, on the highway and across the nation, with our partners, with the media, and in all public contexts.

by Canada鈥檚 Traffic Injury Research Foundation, dated December, 2017, gives a supportive Canadian perspective.

My column last week included a teaser, that I would share the results of an on camera debate about this issue with local journalist, Kent Molgat. He was very kind and would have granted me the win regardless of my performance. Unfortunately, you won鈥檛 be able to see the debate because an example I used for how the 鈥淎鈥� word would not fit all unintentional occurrences (a sniper target shooting on a crowded beach, 鈥渁ccidentally鈥� blowing off a child鈥檚 head) failed to meet publication standards!

How about we come on board to eliminate the 鈥淎鈥� word when referring to motor vehicle collisions, crashes, and incidents in 91大黄鸭? Will the local news media sign on? Will you?

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