Closed petition Amend road traffic legislation to refer to 'collisions' and not 'accidents'

Closed on 23 August 2022

The term ‘accident’ continues to be used in legislation and by policy makers. We would like the Government to amend the Road Traffic Act and other legislation to refer to collisions, not accidents (or incidents), and ensure that any future legislation uses this language also.

We believe ‘accident’ represents a wrongful acceptance that crashes are inevitable and fails to acknowledge that a crime may have taken place. Many of those left bereaved or injured after a crash find the term offensive, especially where culpability is proven and the law has been broken. There have been wide calls for more constructive language to be used instead. ‘Accident’ underpins a misunderstanding by society as to the trauma and devastation caused by crashes, it is the language of denial.