Style Guide
For reporting on driving & traffic issues
When it comes to writing, reporting, and even just talking about driving, society goes to great lengths to avoid the elephant in the room: the primary cause for the tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries on our roads is people who misbehave or make mistakes when behind the wheel.
Our collective high tolerance for misbehaviour behind the wheel is bolstered by the fact that most jurisdictions have a separate category of law for driving offences—people can literally do things when behind the wheel that would land them in jail had they done it anywhere else. Drive a car really fast down a busy street? You might get a fine or maybe lose your license. Fire a gun down that same street? You’re probably going to jail, even if the bullet doesn't hit anyone. The risk to the public is the same in both situations.
It’s time to change the narrative. And that change starts with how you, the media, choose your words when writing about driving issues.
Our collective high tolerance for misbehaviour behind the wheel is bolstered by the fact that most jurisdictions have a separate category of law for driving offences—people can literally do things when behind the wheel that would land them in jail had they done it anywhere else. Drive a car really fast down a busy street? You might get a fine or maybe lose your license. Fire a gun down that same street? You’re probably going to jail, even if the bullet doesn't hit anyone. The risk to the public is the same in both situations.
It’s time to change the narrative. And that change starts with how you, the media, choose your words when writing about driving issues.
Here's what I propose: when you write a headline or article about a driving or traffic-related incident, before you publish, search for the following words and phrases, then consider making the changes discussed below:
"Accident"
"Blame"
"Car / Truck"
"Drinking"
"Road Rage"
"Speeding"
"Traffic Calming"
"Train"
"Accident"
"Blame"
"Car / Truck"
"Drinking"
"Road Rage"
"Speeding"
"Traffic Calming"
"Train"
"Accident"
This is an overloaded word, and means different things to different people. To many, it’s a catch-all to describe anything bad that happens on the road. The rub is, though, that most of the problems we have on the road are, given the way drivers behave, quite predictable. And if they're predictable, they're not accidents—they're preventable crashes.
When someone is issued a driver’s license, they are entering into a social contract (whether they realize it or not) to follow all the relevant rules/laws. They are expected to behave. Having a driver’s license is a not a right, it's a privilege. It's revocable—it can be taken away if the driver is found to have broken one or more laws. When a person gets behind the wheel, they are responsible for operating that vehicle in a safe and legal manner. By reporting some thing as "an accident," you are at the very least giving those involved the benefit of the doubt. At worst, you're editorializing—making a judgement that the driver was not responsible.
The Associated Press is slowly coming around on this, and their stylebook now says:
accident, crash – Generally acceptable for automobile and other collisions and wrecks. However, when negligence is claimed or proven, avoid accident, which can be read by some as a term exonerating the person responsible. In such cases, use crash, collision or other terms. See collide, collision.
That’s a key point: “exonerating the person responsible.” But the reality is, when it comes to traffic collisions, it's a fair bet that one (or more) of the parties involved are responsible. Your job is to report what happened, without bias.
Suggestion: use "collision," "crash," or "incident"
This is an overloaded word, and means different things to different people. To many, it’s a catch-all to describe anything bad that happens on the road. The rub is, though, that most of the problems we have on the road are, given the way drivers behave, quite predictable. And if they're predictable, they're not accidents—they're preventable crashes.
When someone is issued a driver’s license, they are entering into a social contract (whether they realize it or not) to follow all the relevant rules/laws. They are expected to behave. Having a driver’s license is a not a right, it's a privilege. It's revocable—it can be taken away if the driver is found to have broken one or more laws. When a person gets behind the wheel, they are responsible for operating that vehicle in a safe and legal manner. By reporting some thing as "an accident," you are at the very least giving those involved the benefit of the doubt. At worst, you're editorializing—making a judgement that the driver was not responsible.
The Associated Press is slowly coming around on this, and their stylebook now says:
accident, crash – Generally acceptable for automobile and other collisions and wrecks. However, when negligence is claimed or proven, avoid accident, which can be read by some as a term exonerating the person responsible. In such cases, use crash, collision or other terms. See collide, collision.
That’s a key point: “exonerating the person responsible.” But the reality is, when it comes to traffic collisions, it's a fair bet that one (or more) of the parties involved are responsible. Your job is to report what happened, without bias.
Suggestion: use "collision," "crash," or "incident"
"Blame"
"Alcohol to blame for crash"
"Weather to blame for ten-car pileup"
"Accident caused by speeding"
Before diving into the misuse of this word, let's talk about a concept called "agency." In the context of social science, agency is a person's independant capability or ability to act on their will. Only an agent—a person who has agency—can be morally responsible for their actions. This is important when discussing human behaviour as it relates to driving.
Since only an agent can be responsible, the corollary is equally important, especially in the context of vehicular collisions/crashes: anything that is not an agent cannot be responsible. A non-agent might be a cause, or a factor, but it cannot be blamed. A six-pack of beer is not responsible for a crash—the person who drank it (the agent) is.
Suggestion: if you're going to write a sentence with "blame" in it, make sure the object of the sentence is an agent. Otherwise, use "cause" or "factor."
"Drunk driver to blame for crash"
"Drivers not driving to weather conditions cause ten-car pileup"
Suggestion: if "speeding" or "drinking" is used as a noun, you're trying to divert blame:
"Crash caused by speeding driver"
"Alcohol to blame for crash"
"Weather to blame for ten-car pileup"
"Accident caused by speeding"
Before diving into the misuse of this word, let's talk about a concept called "agency." In the context of social science, agency is a person's independant capability or ability to act on their will. Only an agent—a person who has agency—can be morally responsible for their actions. This is important when discussing human behaviour as it relates to driving.
Since only an agent can be responsible, the corollary is equally important, especially in the context of vehicular collisions/crashes: anything that is not an agent cannot be responsible. A non-agent might be a cause, or a factor, but it cannot be blamed. A six-pack of beer is not responsible for a crash—the person who drank it (the agent) is.
Suggestion: if you're going to write a sentence with "blame" in it, make sure the object of the sentence is an agent. Otherwise, use "cause" or "factor."
"Drunk driver to blame for crash"
"Drivers not driving to weather conditions cause ten-car pileup"
Suggestion: if "speeding" or "drinking" is used as a noun, you're trying to divert blame:
"Crash caused by speeding driver"
"Car" or "Truck" (as agent)
"Child struck by car in crosswalk"
"Cyclist hit by truck turning right"
"Car lost control on icy road"
As the saying goes, "cars don't hit people, drivers do." Unless you're reporting about something an autonomous (self-driving) car did, it's a safe bet that there's a human (agent) behind the wheel.
Suggestion: use "driver"
"Child struck by driver in crosswalk"
"Cyclist hit by truck driver turning right"
"Driver lost control on icy road"
"Child struck by car in crosswalk"
"Cyclist hit by truck turning right"
"Car lost control on icy road"
As the saying goes, "cars don't hit people, drivers do." Unless you're reporting about something an autonomous (self-driving) car did, it's a safe bet that there's a human (agent) behind the wheel.
Suggestion: use "driver"
"Child struck by driver in crosswalk"
"Cyclist hit by truck driver turning right"
"Driver lost control on icy road"
Road Rage
Headlines like this are all too common:
"Cyclist victim of road rage"
"Gun pointed at woman during road rage incident"
"Road rage claims life of innocent passenger"
Road rage isn't a thing—it's a behaviour exhibited by a person (an agent) who can't control their anger. We write (and speak) about violence on our roads as if it's some nebulous thing out there that causes problems. Why don't you call it what it is?
Suggestion: change "road rage" to "driver rage" or "angry driver"
"Cyclist injured by angry driver"
"Angry driver points gun at woman"
"Driver rage claims life of innocent passenger"
Headlines like this are all too common:
"Cyclist victim of road rage"
"Gun pointed at woman during road rage incident"
"Road rage claims life of innocent passenger"
Road rage isn't a thing—it's a behaviour exhibited by a person (an agent) who can't control their anger. We write (and speak) about violence on our roads as if it's some nebulous thing out there that causes problems. Why don't you call it what it is?
Suggestion: change "road rage" to "driver rage" or "angry driver"
"Cyclist injured by angry driver"
"Angry driver points gun at woman"
"Driver rage claims life of innocent passenger"
Traffic Calming
Traffic engineers have come up with novel infrastructure changes intended to slow drivers down: curb extensions, speed bumps and humps, chicanes, raised crosswalks, traffic circles, and so on. These are collectively referred to as "traffic calming."
But here's the thing: like "road rage," traffic isn't a "thing," and it doesn't need to be calmed. Traffic consists of a bunch of drivers each with independant thoughts, desires, and goals; in other words, agents. It's those people who need to be calmed down.
Suggestion: change "traffic calming" to "driver calming"
Traffic engineers have come up with novel infrastructure changes intended to slow drivers down: curb extensions, speed bumps and humps, chicanes, raised crosswalks, traffic circles, and so on. These are collectively referred to as "traffic calming."
But here's the thing: like "road rage," traffic isn't a "thing," and it doesn't need to be calmed. Traffic consists of a bunch of drivers each with independant thoughts, desires, and goals; in other words, agents. It's those people who need to be calmed down.
Suggestion: change "traffic calming" to "driver calming"
Train
The media uses an odd style when reporting on collisions between vehicles and trains (i.e. locomotives):
"Family killed when train hits SUV"
"Semi-trailer destroyed when hit by train"
A train is limited to travel in one dimension (along its tracks) and, due to its mass, takes a very long time to stop. Trains don't leap off the tracks and chase down vehicles. If there's a collision between a train and a vehicle, it's a sure bet that the vehicle's driver is responsible. If there's blame to be had, it falls on an agent.
Suggestion: don't blame the train (or its operator):
"Family killed when SUV driver fails to beat train"
"Semi-trailer destroyed when driver stops on train tracks"
The media uses an odd style when reporting on collisions between vehicles and trains (i.e. locomotives):
"Family killed when train hits SUV"
"Semi-trailer destroyed when hit by train"
A train is limited to travel in one dimension (along its tracks) and, due to its mass, takes a very long time to stop. Trains don't leap off the tracks and chase down vehicles. If there's a collision between a train and a vehicle, it's a sure bet that the vehicle's driver is responsible. If there's blame to be had, it falls on an agent.
Suggestion: don't blame the train (or its operator):
"Family killed when SUV driver fails to beat train"
"Semi-trailer destroyed when driver stops on train tracks"