I Heard this on the radio . . .

Peter Norton, with the University of Virginia, was being interviewed by Audi Cornish on NPR radio. It seems that there is a movement to use the term “Crash” in place of the word “Accident” when referring to a vehicular incident. ‘Accident’ was explained as ‘denoting no fault’ while ‘Crash’ requires responsibility and accountability it was said.

Believe it or not, New York City and San Francisco have changed the wording in their laws and policies. The discussion was interesting and of course got me thinking.

1.    What is the definition of ‘accident’?
An undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and         usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss; casualty; mishap. (per         dictionary.com) It is used as a noun.

2.     What is the definition of ‘crash’?
a. (of moving vehicles, objects, etc.) to collide, especially violently and         noisily. Used as a verb.
b. a collision or crashing, as of automobiles, trains, etc.  Used as a noun
(per dictionary.com)

Now, after many decades of being told that it is ‘Not your fault’, ‘you are a victim’, etc. we are suddenly supposed to “Take Responsibility”. Not an easy road ahead me thinks.

I have been a passenger in a few auto accidents and a few times as a driver. I believe both incidents when I was a passenger were truly accidents. In one, our car was broadsided when the other vehicle didn’t stop for a red light. Thankfully, it hit the front part of the car and no one was seriously injured. Yes, bumps, bruises and headaches but that was all. The other one, while riding with my sister, the car in front of us suddenly stopped for no reason. It felt as if everything was happening in S—L—O—W motion. I remember looking over at my sister and then back to the front. It was very surreal.

One event when I was driving occurred as I was making a left turn. Oh, I made it through the turn okay. It was the driver that sped out of the strip mall without looking, causing the truck in front of me to slam on his brakes that was the problem. I slammed my brakes on too, but ended up giving him a ‘tap’. We exchanged information. I called the insurance company as soon as I got home. No injuries in that one thank goodness.

Another driving episode happened on the freeway in California. A group of us were heading back from a day of white water rafting. I wanted to pass the large truck in front of me and changed lanes. As I pulled into the left lane to pass, too late, I saw something in the lane. Somehow a Semi Truck had lost one of it’s tires with the rim attached in the middle of the road. No room to get into the lane to the left or back into the lane I had been in. I hit that sucker straight on. Yup. That tire slipped under my car and then slingshot out ahead of me. I had to get to the side of the road as the tire took out everything under the car and I lost power. We made it to side. Good thing for cell phones.

When the Highway Patrol finally showed up, the officer explained that they had known about the tire for about an hour and a half but were trying to catch a drunk driver. They had made the conscious decision to let the tire stay. Wow, guess there weren’t enough patrolmen on duty that Sunday. We were towed home and again, a call was made to the insurance. Thankfully, this one was considered a ‘road hazard’ and the repairs were made to the car.

Yes, I take responsibility for rear ending the truck. The one who does the rear ending is always at fault, plus I was making a left turn, an additional onus. The incident with the tire and rim in the road, uh, ACCIDENT!

It is an interesting concept this Crash vs Accident conversation. In my Humble Opinion, I’m going to stick with Accident.