Several activist groups are trying to get the word car “accident” changed to car “crash.” They believe saying “accident” implies that a collision was inevitable as opposed to preventable (as is often the case).
Through their actions, petitions and by educating the public, the hope of these groups is to have every day people, public officials and journalists make this significant change in their vocabulary.
Vox.com states that “Using the word ‘accident’ to describe car crashes might seem natural, but early coverage of crashes in the 1910s and 1920s depicted the vehicles as dangerous killing machines — and their violent collisions were seldom called accidents.”
Over the years, the word has gradually shifted back from crash to accident, much to the dismay of advocacy groups like Families for Safe Streets.
Will this change take place? How powerful is one word in changing public perception?