Semantics....

[zoom-zoom]

Akin to this...when people who are texting/playing on phones while driving cause "accidents." F*ck that...that's not an accident. An accident is something that happens when a person takes all reasonable precautions to be safe, but something unforeseen occurs. Driving too fast on slippery roads and crashing is no accident, either. Or drinking, getting behind the wheel, and losing control of the vehicle.

[OakLeaf]

I've been going on about that for YEARS. It's not just the headlines either. Same thing in the body of the stories. sigh.

[malkin]

The language usage is interesting, but possibly not deliberately assigning/avoiding blame.


The linguist in me hears this as a thesis topic in search of a graduate student.

[malkin]

I heard another one recently. An article about a Mormon politician arrested for drunk driving, said "...the car ran a red light..."

[skhill]

Just this morning I saw an news interview with a state trooper who was addressing this very topic. He was talking about why the department no longer spoke of vehicle "accidents" but rather "collisions." Very very few of those incidents are truly accidents; inattention or general stupidity almost always plays a role. The focus of the interview was DUI, this was a side note, but very interesting.

[Geonz]

Just this morning I saw an news interview with a state trooper who was addressing this very topic. He was talking about why the department no longer spoke of vehicle "accidents" but rather "collisions." Very very few of those incidents are truly accidents; inattention or general stupidity almost always plays a role. The focus of the interview was DUI, this was a side note, but very interesting.

It's easy to say "car" -- I have to think about, when I'm telling anecdotes, identifying that a driver went somewhere with the car. I name 'em by name when I can.