Police no longer describing road collisions as ‘accidents’ – but over two-thirds still refer to vehicles instead of drivers, new research finds

When was the last time you noticed a Ford Fiesta behaving suspiciously?

According to new analysis of public communications issued by the UK’s police forces, the vast majority of collision news reports still refer to vehicles instead of the person behind the wheel, with almost a quarter referring to the vehicle as an active participant in a crash.

This example of “absent driver” language, road safety campaigners say, shifts the public’s attention towards those injured in a crash and impacts perceptions of road danger.

Nevertheless, the research also found that the use of the term ‘accident’ to describe a road collision has been almost phased out entirely from police public communications in the UK, while an increasing number of police forces are adding additional context to their news releases, allowing audiences to understand crashes are not isolated incidents.

Conducted by journalists road.cc contributor Laura Laker, the author of the UK’s Road Collision Reporting Guidelines, and funded by the Foundation for Integrated Transport, the research analysed 227 press releases from 45 police forces across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, along with utilising Freedom of Information requests.

> “Language matters” – Road collision reporting guidelines launched

Launched in 2021, the Road Collision Reporting Guidelines, coordinated by Laker alongside the Active Travel Academy at the University of Westminster, encourage media and police to avoid using the word ‘accident’ until the facts of the collision are known – noting that ‘crash’ or ‘collision’ leave the question of who or what is to blame open – and to acknowledge the role of motorists in crashes.

At the time of the guidelines’ launch, Professor Rachel Aldred, the director of the Active Travel Academy, noted that “language matters, as it helps shape how we see and treat others”.

The new analysis carried out this month found that the use of ‘accident’ is now the exception in police news reports, rather than the rule, appearing just eight times across the 227 press releases, generally as apparent “slips of the tongue” in quotes from officers.

However, 70 per cent of the reports still referred to vehicles as participants in crashes, while 22 per cent described vehicles as ‘acting’ in those collisions, with no mention of a driver as an active participant.

The most extreme example of this “absent driver” language – a typical variation of which would feature “a collision involving a cyclist and a Mercedes” – included police news reports detailing vehicles “attempting to drive the wrong way”, “intentionally swerving”, or even “acting suspiciously”.

According to Laker, characterising the vehicles involved in collisions as such – instead of focusing on the driver – instead focuses audience attention, and therefore blame, towards those injured in a collision, by as much as 30 per cent.

Simply adding the terms ‘being driven’ or ‘driver’ to a sentence can create a more balanced public understanding of collisions, Laker notes.

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Meanwhile, 49 of the 227 press releases included wider collision statistics relating to a sentencing outcome or police operation, helping readers understand that collisions are not isolated incidents, but part of predictable and preventable trends that contribute to road danger, such as speeding, distracted driving, and drink and drug driving.

Grouping the press releases into four categories (collision news, sentencing news, operations and initiatives, and tributes), the analysis found that collision news reports tended to feature the most ‘active vehicle’ language, and lacked context on wider collision trends.

A Freedom of Information Request also revealed that, since their launch over three years ago, only five forces (Greater Manchester, Gwent, Northamptonshire, South Yorkshire, and Warwickshire) have formally adopted the Road Collision Reporting Guidelines, and just one of them is using them in practice, prompting Laker to issue a new handbook to help continue to improve and provide more balance to the police’s use of language in the UK.

“Media descriptions of road collisions, particularly those involving pedestrians or cyclists, tend to be unbalanced, describing a victim first, and the person behind the wheel of a vehicle later, and sometimes not at all,” Laker said in a statement.

> “We try to use language that ordinary people use”: BBC defends use of “accident” to describe road traffic collisions

“Pedestrian casualties are depicted as isolated tragedies, cycling casualties as typical, while erasing the presence of drivers in collisions. News outlets commonly copy their use of language from police press releases verbatim.

“In more than a year working on this project I’ve met with blue light service staff committed to best practice, as well as services who still have further to go. Our emergency services are under a number of pressures and I’m grateful to all who engaged with me.

“It is encouraging to see an almost total absence of the word ‘accident’ in their communications – apart from what appear to be slips of the tongue when officers provide quotes – but this research shows there is room for improvement.

“When describing the mechanics of collisions police can dramatically improve balance by simply mentioning a driver, rather than just their vehicle, early on in the story, and the wider collision trends that impact communities.

“Crashes are not accidental, random, or isolated – they concern people, infrastructure, and systems, which can change. It’s great to see the language professionals use start to reflect this, and I hope the new reports help make even greater strides toward a shared goal of shifting thinking around road collisions.”

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The National Police Chiefs Council’s (NPCC) roads policing lead, Jo Shiner, also praised forces for improving their use of language concerning road collisions, but noted there is room for improvement.

“I am incredibly supportive of these Road Collision Reporting Guidelines because we know how important using the right language at the right time is, not just for accurate reporting, but also of course, for victims, families, friends and communities,” Shiner said.

“A key pillar in the NPCC Roads Policing Strategy is about ‘Changing Minds’. Language matters if we are to change minds and inform the public of the truly devastating consequences death and injury has on our roads every day. 

“It is also important to ensure anyone with information that can help a police investigation can come forward with confidence and therefore how we describe a collision, and all of the elements involved in it, is vital to securing that public support.”