Media: How the “car” is blamed for accidents

Accurately, INA highlights a tendency to assign blame to “the car” rather than the driver for road accidents.

In the media, it seems that the inert object “car” is responsible for many road accidents. Clearly, it only responds to the movements of the driver inside.

Thus, the National Audiovisual Institute (INA) calls out newspapers and various media outlets that cover the topic to make them aware of their incorrect reporting on the matter. Part of the fault appears to lie in how these reports are conducted. Journalists conduct interviews with conscious individuals on the scene, and victims of reckless drivers are generally not in a state to answer questions.

What does the INA report say? 

The INA believes that blaming the car for an accident reduces the driver’s role in the incident. This formulation portrays victims as unlucky humans. It does not consider the person who did not have full control of their vehicle as at fault.

A Twitter account has decided to report these newspaper headlines, sometimes humorously, to raise awareness among journalists and users. For example, it catalogs some of these tweets that personify the “car” and hold it responsible for the death of a young girl in Clermont-Ferrand:

A man named Nicolas has been collecting these newspaper headlines since July 2021. INA’s analysis finds that the phrase “a car” frequently appears in headlines and lead paragraphs. The names of reckless drivers appear later. Moreover, it seems that the word “shocked” is commonly used:

“It is very common to read that the driver is ‘shocked’, even if they are most likely at fault (…) An article dated January 4, 2023, published by France Bleu Lorraine Nord first details that ‘a car’ which was speeding in a city center hit and seriously injured a 47-year-old pedestrian, before stating that the driver and the passenger “of the vehicle in question” are both very shocked (in bold).”

Now that the public is more alert, journalists will need to pay attention to how they report on road accidents.

Also read: Is the risk of accident higher in electric cars?