Safe Streets is about traffic. The primary space to discuss traffic is on the dial of the car radio. All too often the voices we hear on KCRW, our local radio station, reinforce the sense that accidents, well, fall from the sky. One drops here, another one here, and this one is already moved to the side of the road. Between Sigalerts and traffic updates, drip drip, the sense that collisions are sheer "accidents" has been firmly, and falsely, established. That is why the language of the traffic news on the local radio station must change.
There are many reasons why we default to the term "accident". One is that accidents seem free from guilt. They just happen. Nobody is to blame. Call the ambulance. Call the undertaker. Don't block the traffic. Talking about collision raises the very uncomfortable question of guilt. But if we want to live in a safer city, then it is indeed time to get uncomfortable.
Now it is time to motivate the public radio station located in Santa Monica to start a concerted effort to educate the listening public about the difference between collisions and accidents, and educate them, through a inclusive process, that each crash is the result of certain decisions of road users and road builders, often combing speed and distraction into a deadly and painful mix.
This change of language should happen in a reflective and explicit manner: The radio announcer repeatedly explaining the reasons for a change of terminology will become in itself a very important public safety message. Dwelling on the difficulty of a change in the language we use to speak about traffic and collisions will become a moment of insight for many road users. It can not fail to make our drivers wiser and our streets a safer place.