On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Jeff talks about the reason safety experts insist on the term “crash” instead of “accident.” His guest is Lloyd Brown, director of communications at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), who has been advocating on the issue since his days at the Washington State Department of Transportation two decades ago. He wrote about the issue in his blog after MDOT produced a video on the topic.

Later, they discuss the results of a number of transportation ballot issues decided Tuesday in cities and states across the country.

- For Transportation Safety, Words Matter: ‘Crash,’ not ‘Accident’
https://talkingtransportation.wordpress.com/2019/10/30/for-transportation-safety-words-matter-crash-not-accident/

- Crash, Not Accident
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_dqA9kl6JA&feature=youtu.be

Crash not accident

Before the Associated Press issued a style change for terms describing transportation collisions, a 2015 Vox column covered the evolution and history of the terms, observing that we don’t say "plane accident." We shouldn’t say "car accident" either.

Yet, the CEO at Boeing did just that in his Oct. 29 Congressional testimony.

The background also includes how jaywalking became something worthy of citations from law enforcement. As Vox explains, "At the time, the word 'jay' meant something like rube or hick - a person who didn't know how to behave in a city. So these groups promoted use of the word jay walker as a way to shame people who didn't obey traffic laws."

- Associated Press Cautions Journalists That Crashes Aren’t Always “Accidents”
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2016/04/04/associated-press-cautions-journalists-that-crashes-arent-always-accidents/

- We don’t say “plane accident.” We shouldn’t say “car accident” either.
https://www.vox.com/2015/7/20/8995151/crash-not-accident

- Boeing CEO: These heartbreaking accidents are now part of our legacy
https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6098765042001/#sp=show-clips

- Jaywalkers, Jayhawkers, Jay-Towns and Jays – a Pedestrian History and Etymology of “Jaywalking”
https://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/11/jaywalkers-and-jayhawkers-pedestrian.html

Transportation on the ballot

Jeff and Lloyd also talk about transportation ballot issues across the country and how they fared Tuesday. Especially of interest were the results in the state of Washington and the vote in Denver where Mayor Michael Hancock has committed to doubling the share of trips taken by foot, bike, bus, and train by 2030 while reducing solo driving drips to 50 percent.

Voters also approved measures in the state of Maine and cities of Houston, Albuquerque, Cincinnati, and Springfield, MO.

- Washington voters favoring Tim Eyman’s I-976 to slash car-tab fees in Tuesday’s election results
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/election-results-2019-initiative-976-car-tab-fees-taxes-tim-eyman-washington-state/

- Denver voters give the city its own transportation department