Change langauge about tradgedies to save lives

Forget losing the “Quarantine 15.”For those looking for an easy-to-stick-to New Year’s resolution that will make a difference, look no further than changing the way car crashes are talked about. Namely stop calling them “accidents.”

The language people use to think about and describe things, affects the value judgments made about acceptable behavior and as a result, the way that people behave. When calling a crash, collision or wreck an “accident,” people believe that these tragedies are inevitable, and that they’re beyond human influence or control.

After all, “accidents” happen, don’t they?

When it comes to car crashes, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, according to comprehensive research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 94 percent of all crashes are the result of driver error. That means that 36,000 of the 38,800 people who lost their lives on American roadways in 2019, could still be here today, if drivers made different choices.

Consider also, the outcomes for the 4.4 million people injured seriously enough to require hospitalization – or the billions of dollars spent on auto insurance claims, incurred losses, medical bills and litigation each year. All told, nearly 95 percent of it could have been avoided completely.

Crashes aren’t accidents and they don’t have to be an inevitable, acceptable fact of life. In Wisconsin, the following data from 2013 shows:

• Almost 19 percent of all crashes were the result of inattentive driving. Nobody “accidentally” texts and drives. They choose to look at their phone while behind the wheel. The crashes may not have happened intentionally, but the causal behavior did.

• Another 18 percent of crashes are because of speeding. Speeding can be deadly and increases crash severity, as crash energy increases with speed. People often drive faster than the speed and a large proportion of drivers confess to exceeding posted speed limits.

• Over 13 percent of crashes are from failing to yield. The purpose of right-of-way laws is to prevent conflicts resulting from one driver failing to yield and give right-of-way to another. All drivers are required to exercise due care to avoid a collision and whoever has the last clear chance to avoid a collision, has an obligation to do so.

According to research published in the December 2019 issue of Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, use of the word “accident” tends to shift blame to the victims of car crashes, and prevents people from thinking about these deaths and injuries in the context of a preventable public health challenge.

In the new year, Wisconsinites hoping to take this important first step in preventing traffic violence, can sign a pledge at CrashNotAccident. com.

“In 2021, let’s change our language to reflect the fact that car crashes aren’t something that just happen,” said Nick Jarmusz, director of public affairs for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Accidents happen, but most crashes don’t have to.”