Transportation Alternatives of New York City recently posted a good article, No Accident, on the use of the term "accident" to describe a car crash. The word accident implies an unavoidable incident when in fact most car crashes have a cause that could be avoided, either speeding, distracted driving, aggressive driving, etc.
The dictionary definition of accident is "a: an unforeseen and unplanned event or circumstance b: lack of intention or necessity : chance." While it may be appropriate to use the term in some cases, crash is a much better term. Fairfax police use that term when discussing bicycle crashes. However the press continues to use the term accident. In today's Post I searched for the term and the first article found, a summary of local traffic conditions by Dr Gridlock, contains 14 references to "accident" and none to "crash."
There is a subtle difference between the terms "accident" or "crash" and using the more neutral term "crash" is more appropriate in most cases.
From BikePortland.
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