• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Why is it called a motorcycle accident?

S

Schnellbandit

I see 4 lights!
Joined
Dec 16, 2016
Location
Alt-California
Moto(s)
Suzuki Bandits
I noticed, could just be me but anytime there is a collision involving a motorcycle it is called a motorcycle accident or motorcycle crash. Now hear me out just a bit.

If there is a collision between a car and a big rig, it is called "an accident involving a big rig (or tractor trailer)" or a collision between a car and truck.

There are no bus accidents, just accidents involving a bus or vice versa. There are no bicycle accidents, just cars hitting bicycles. There are no pedestrian accidents only cars hitting pedestrians.

If a motorcycle is involved, its a motorcycle accident, not an accident involving a motorcycle, not a car hitting a motorcycle.

Its easier to say "accident involving a big rig" than "big rig accident"? The same thing for other collisions or " accidents".

Why do I bring this up? Perceptions are created by what people see and hear, often via radio or TV and IMHO reporting "motorcycle accident" supports the perception that motorcycles are causing all accidents where a motorcycle is involved.

As riders, we think different but those who do not perceive what? Yeah, another motorcycle accident and who screwed up? The motorcycle rider, obviously.

I've written to the OTA Bay Area radio and TV stations asking them to change that small item.

Thanks for reading.

PS, and it can't be for brevity, radio and TV use the most verbage to describe anything, just like some people who post.
 
Last edited:
... the motorcycle description is annoying ...

my theory is
they use it an easy way to say "injury accident" ...
trying to communicate to watch out
for an ambulance ... they do seem to add
the "with injury" description for cars, trucks
and busses, when appropriate ... :dunno

... it would be really annoying
if they said "motorcycle accident
with injury" every time ... :laughing
 
Last edited:
This is starting to sound like a George Carlin stoner conversation.
You're asking why the media does what it does.
 
People who drive cars are the overwhelming majority of the American public and they strongly identify with other drivers, so they don't want to feel implicated in accidents. That's why you read headlines like "Bicyclist killed in collision with car" instead of "Driver blamed in death of cyclist". Same for motorcycles: as far as cagers are concerned, motorcyclists are the other.
 
Law Enforcement dispatch them as accidents involving motorcycles, accidents involving pedestrian, etc. I've also heard them referred to as car vs motorcycle (pedestrian, bicyclist, etc).
 
Why are any crashes or collisions called "accidents". Because in general, people refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. Characterizing a collision as an event that happened randomly with no fault or negligence on the part of the participant(s) allows this to continue.



Dog
 
Last edited:
I've heard of terms other than 'motorcycle accident' quite often. :dunno
 
mean dad said:
I've heard of terms other than 'motorcycle accident' quite often. :dunno
Click to expand...

Me too, perhaps I'm being too sensitive or maybe worse, too many accidents involving motorcycles which is always a bad thing. Could be the wince I make every time I hear about one because it means more than likely, some rider got hit or hit something and it probably ended badly.
 
It has been "collision" not "accident" for quite a few years with the CHP.
Even if you just drop it, ease it over with losing leverage, if it hits ground it is a "collision"
Over X amount of $, needs to have a collision report filed with police.
 
jwb said:
People who drive cars are the overwhelming majority of the American public and they strongly identify with other drivers, so they don't want to feel implicated in accidents. That's why you read headlines like "Bicyclist killed in collision with car" instead of "Driver blamed in death of cyclist". Same for motorcycles: as far as cagers are concerned, motorcyclists are the other.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this.

Media and news are about getting viewers, NOT relating facts (unless it helps with the prime directive). They are a business. Since most people identify as drivers and see motorcycles as the proverbial road "bad boys" they will twist headlines to encourage views and returning customers....and there are a lot more cage drivers than riders of any 2-wheeled transit in this country.
 
The 10 most recent stories in my archive of motorcycle crashes motor vehicle crashes that happen to involve a motorcycle. Headline and lead paragraph only.


Speeding Motorcyclist Runs Light, Dies in Grantville Crash
A 28-year-old man was killed Monday when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a car in the Grantville section of San Diego.

DUI suspect arrested in fatal motorcycle crash
A 26-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of driving intoxicated in a crash that killed a motorcyclist in Linda Vista Monday night, San Diego police said.

Motorcyclist killed after being struck by suspected drunk driver
SAN DIEGO – A man riding a motorcycle was killed when a suspected drunken driver ran a red light and crashed into the motorcycle in the Linda Vista area of San Diego, a police officer said Tuesday.

Motorcyclist killed in Hemet crash is identified
A motorcyclist who died in a collision early Friday in Hemet has been identified.

La Puente motorcyclist identified as fatal South El Monte crash victim
SOUTH EL MONTE — The coroner’s office today released the name of a motorcyclist killed when his 2013 Ducati Monster crashed into a vehicle that had stalled in the fast lane of the westbound 60 Freeway in South El Monte.

Motorcyclist dies in West Sacramento collision
A 65-year-old Novato man died Sunday night after his motorcycle crashed into a vehicle on a West Sacramento freeway, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Motorcyclist killed in Ceres ID'd. He turned quickly as traffic slowed.
The motorcyclist killed in a crash on northbound Highway 99 in Ceres on Thursday afternoon has been identified by the Stanislaus County Coroner's Office as [identification snipped].

Motorcyclist killed in head-on collision in El Dorado County
A 62-year-old Placerville man was killed Tuesday afternoon when the motorcycle he was riding crossed into the path of an oncoming vehicle in El Dorado County.

Motorcyclist hospitalized after hit-run crash in SF
A hit-and-run Saturday evening in San Francisco sent one man to the hospital with serious injuries, police said.

Motorcyclist killed in Roseville crash
A motorcyclist was killed when he collided with another vehicle Monday night in Roseville.
​
 
And that very last one (I know because I read the story) - the car made a left turn out of a Safeway shopping center in front of the bike.

Article title wasn't "Car driver kills motorcyclist" - no, sounds like the rider was at fault until you actually read the article.

The bias is strong with the media.
 
DataDan, that's quite a collection of editorial bias! Thanks for posting it.

I like to refer to this article and the cited academic research about how writers and editors systematically relieve drivers of responsibility when writing about crashes. It's from a bicycling perspective but it holds for motorcyclists and even pedestrians.

http://road.cc/content/news/226710-...es-shift-blame-drivers-riders-says-researcher
 
KCBS typically paints a clearer picture, ie: "Motorcyclist vs. a van", or "Big rig vs. a motorcycle"

They also typically make it point to call out SUVs, flat-beds, box vans, scooters etc. Although this morning they stated a motorcycle had crashed in the YBI tunnel when in fact it was a scooter hit by a Prius.

jwb said:
DataDan, that's quite a collection of editorial bias! Thanks for posting it.

I like to refer to this article and the cited academic research about how writers and editors systematically relieve drivers of responsibility when writing about crashes. It's from a bicycling perspective but it holds for motorcyclists and even pedestrians.

http://road.cc/content/news/226710-...es-shift-blame-drivers-riders-says-researcher
Click to expand...

Thaks for that; sheds a lot of light on the typical un-favorable bias towards motorcyclists.
 
Last edited:
What OP describes is a case of a minority population being marginalized by the majority. As Elton John asks in his song "island girl", what do you want in this white men's world?" What do you motorcyclist expect in this drivers' world? Equal treatment? Don't hold your breath. The worst part about it is that the bias is unconscious.
 
Last edited:
Whammy thinks this could be a game of prove the proverb.
Or.... Maybe a really bad class of Sociology.
Gawd I hated that class.

Why?
Cause we do.
How come?
But why do we do that?
Well cause we do, that's why, but why do we in the first place?
I don't know, shit because we like to.

Then we ask Why do fools fall in love?

:wtf
 
Last edited:
Victim Blaming / Victim Shaming

If she/he hadn't been wearing/riding . . . .

It lets drivers avoid acknowledging they did anything wrong or take responsibility for their actions and the consequences. Like the three yo that thinks if they tell you they're not taking cookies then it doesn't matter that you're looking right at them while they have their hand deep in the jar.

There's a reason they don't ride :rolleyes
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top