Introduction

Introduction by report author Laura Laker

Why we need road collision reporting guidelines

Every 20 minutes someone is killed or seriously injured in road collisions in the UK. Worldwide, 1.35 million people are killed each year, with road collisions the biggest killer of young people aged 5-29.

Accurate reporting of these deaths and injuries matters. There is growing evidence that poor reporting can confuse or misdirect concern, obscure the solutions, and even engender aggression.

Good reporting can help us better understand the problems and potential solutions. Transport can both aggravate and address some of society’s pressing challenges; from access to work, education, leisure and social opportunities, to climate change, physical and mental health, and air pollution. Through coverage of issues such as road collisions, good journalism shines a light on them, improving accuracy and clarity without sacrificing word counts.

While many journalists already follow good practice, there is always room for improvement.

This could mean describing all human actors in collisions neutrally, such as “driver and pedestrian in collision”, rather than, say, “pedestrian hit by car”, which research shows unintentionally shifts focus to the only named human actor, and implicitly attaches a degree of blame.

It could mean providing crucial context in coverage of road collisions, which research tells us is key in helping us understand wider issues and trends. By including local or national crash statistics, for example, publishers can avoid treating crashes as isolated incidents. Research suggests portraying crashes in that way blocks debate about possible wider causes, such as street design features that tend to put pedestrians at higher risk.

It could also mean avoiding use of the term ‘accident’, which risks making crashes seem inevitable and unavoidable, or avoiding ‘grouping’ road users by negative characteristics, to protect those road users from becoming targets of aggression.

Most road collisions are avoidable. After concerted efforts since 1997, by 2009 Sweden halved road deaths via improved street design, policing and legislation, protecting the most vulnerable on the streets; a process known as Vision Zero.

In the UK, as in many European countries, road fatalities are no longer in decline. Road danger and traffic violence, even where no injury occurs, can make people feel unsafe on the streets, reducing their choices and quality of life, while the impacts of road trauma can last a lifetime.

These guidelines are intended to provide an industry standard by consensus, acting as a supplement to existing industry codes of practice to help journalists, publishers and broadcasters produce the highest standards of reporting on road collisions. They have been produced in collaboration with academics, road safety and policing organisations, and with journalists, broadcasters and editors in the media.