Traffic collision, motor vehicle collision, vehicle accident, car accident, car crash, road vehicle collides, poor driving, lack of skills, pedestrian
While it is true that some accidents on icy roads are the result of drivers not exercising due care in the face of a visually apparent hazard, the actual data shows that many cannot be classified as such. Many accidents result from drivers who were not operating their vehicles in a careless manner, but had no advance warning of an icing hazard being present before they encountered it. This is especially true for bridge icing, which will have few visual indicators until the driver is about to cross the bridge. There is also currently not a high level of awareness of the degree of the road ice threat to life and property, which influences driver response. It is viewed as, and often portrayed as by official sources and the media, a 'travel nuisance' that is simply an inconvenience for the motorist. Some organisations have begun to avoid the term "accident". Although auto collisions are rare in terms of the number of vehicles on the road and the distance they travel, addressing the contributing factors can reduce their likelihood. For example, proper signage can decrease driver error and thereby reduce crash frequency by a third or is why these organisations prefer the term "collision" rather than "accident". However, treating collisions as anything other than "accidents" has been criticized for holding back safety improvements, because a culture of blame may discourage the involved parties from fully disclosing the facts, and thus frustrate attempts to address the real root causes.
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Location: Lincolnshire
Photo credit: © Steve Welsh / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
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