Chuck, While I agree that there is lots of automobile cultural bias I don't think that the use of accident to describe motor vehicle crashes is an example of these biases. Accident is used in exactly the same way to describe cycling crashes. The falling and colliding riders in the Tour de France are certainly not "unexpected and unforeseen" but are generally called accidents. Furthermore, if an accident is something that can't be statistically foreseen an event can only be called an accident if had no chance of occurring. I would argue that the definition of accident refers to an individual event being "unforseen and unintenional" while allowing that events of that kind may occur.
Do you have the specific URL at http://www.vtpi.org/ for the biased language? Dave Bike To Work Week wrote: > > At 12:34 AM 07/16/2003 -0500, timwong wrote: > [snip] Sheriff's officials say a 36-year-old Madison man was talking on a cell > phone when he drove through a stop sign in the town of Hustiford and crashed > his SUV into a car. The accident killed Kelly Micheau and injured her husband > Thomas and 16-month-old daughter. [snip] > > This underscores the bias that pervades our culture regarding automobiles, even > to the point of biased language. To wit: > > - granting that "accident" is defined as "an unexpected and unforeseen event" > (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=accident) > > -knowing that use of a cell phone while driving increases one's statisitical > risk of being involved in a CRASH by more than 400% (about the same increased > risk as operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, which is > clearly illegal) > see http://cartalk.cars.com/About/Drive-Now/scientific-evidence.html > > then the event posted by Tim is NOT an ACCIDENT. Neither are 80% of CRASHES, > according to the FHWA, since that's the percentage of CRASHES caused by driver > error. > > note that the dictionary definition of accident in the url cited includes the > example "car accidents on icy roads." which could conceivably fall into the 20% > of crashes not caused by driver error, assuming, of course, that the driver > that crashes was not driving too fast for conditions. > > Other examples of biased language? > "improve" a road, generally meaning "widen." for whom is it an improvement? > certainly not for pedestrians, people who live along the road, or generally for > bicyclists. > see more biased language via the excellent website > http://www.vtpi.org/ > > Chuck > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies -- Dave Erickson | email : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Weather Central | phone : 608 274-5789 5725 Tokay Blvd. | Madison, WI 53719 | fax. : 608 273-5854 CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this document is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the designated recipient(s). If the reader of this document is not the intended recipient or any agent responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this document in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this message or use of its contents is strictly prohibited. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
