The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-
|
|
Re: Accident vs Crash
Wilt Nelson (WIL7MO@aol.com)
Tue, 11 Aug 1998 14:37:00 -0400 (EDT)
It doesn't seem possible that all the people who have reviewed the term "crash" would have used it improperly. Please not that the word "collision" below in my dictionary has the following meaning which includes the word crash. I don't have any arguement over which to use where, just so we don't use accident. Some responders think it is political or doesn't make any difference. Well it does when your addressing a jury of people who don't have the training you do or the experience in knowing there were causes to a crash. To the jurers an accident could happen to anybody, anywhere, anytime. No one is responsible for an "accident." So when you use the term accident you reduce the onus on the driver or drivers. If you work in traffic law enforcement part of your job is to make the community safe and get the bad guys off the road. A roadblock to helping you do your job has been the use of the word accident.
Definitions---
Accident:
1) noun Absence of positive plan or intent.
Syn.: chance, fortuity, hap, luck
Rel.: fluke, fortune, hazard
Cont.: design, premeditation
Ant.: intent
2) noun A chance event bringing injury, loss, or distress.
Syn.: casualty, misadventure, mischance, mishap
Rel.: calamity, catastrophe, disaster, tragedy,
misfortune, chance, destiny, fate, kismet
Cont.: foreordination, predestination
Collision:
1) noun A forcible or enforced contact between two or more things.
Syn.: impact, blow, bump, clash, concussion, crash,
impingement, jar, jolt, jounce, percussion, shock,
smash, wallop
Rel.: brunt, buffet, hit, pound, punch, rap, slap, smiting,
strike, stroke, bounce, quake, quiver, rock, shake,
tremble, tremor, encounter, meeting
Wilt Nelson
WIL7MO@aol.com
Quick Reply
Use this form to reply to
this Thread