RE: Incident/Accident?

[Jack_Earley@RL.GOV]

<<As an aside, the transportation industry (and perhaps DOT) have been

working with traffic reporters here in Atlanta to get them not to use the

word "accident" when referring to vehicle crashes. I seem to recall them

saying that "accident" implied that the event was totally unpredictable and

unavoidable, and that neither of these definitions applied to vehicle

crashes. This concept might also have some application here.>>



While they're at it, they might also stop blaming the weather for those

crashes. If there is any reasonable thing that could be done to avoid a

crash, then it's a consequence of a choice, not an accident.



Jack Earley

Radiological Engineer





-----Original Message-----

From: Jim Hardeman [mailto:Jim_Hardeman@MAIL.DNR.STATE.GA.US]

Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 10:07 AM

To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

Subject: Re: Incident/Accident?





Ruth —



So you're saying that the infamous "WIPP cow incident" a few years back

should actually be called the "WIPP cow accident", since it involved a

death, albeit a bovine one? <grin> I seem to remember also that there was

sufficient damage to the tractor that it had to be towed ... but I've never

heard that event referred to as an "accident".



As an aside, the transportation industry (and perhaps DOT) have been working

with traffic reporters here in Atlanta to get them not to use the word

"accident" when referring to vehicle crashes. I seem to recall them saying

that "accident" implied that the event was totally unpredictable and

unavoidable, and that neither of these definitions applied to vehicle

crashes. This concept might also have some application here.



My $0.02 worth ...



Jim Hardeman

Jim_Hardeman@mail.dnr.state.ga.us



>>> <RuthWeiner@AOL.COM> 1/24/2002 11:53:19 >>>

In transportation, we use the DOT definitiions of "incident" and "accident" 

(paraphrased below":



Incident:  any event that interferes with routine normal transportation from



the origin to the destination of a shipment.



Accident: a transportation incident involving death, injury, or sufficient 

damage to the vehicle that the vehicle cannot move under its own power. (For



rail accidents there is also some provision about lost workdays following 

injury.)



So interestingly, if there is only damage to the cargo, it's just an 

incident.  Also, most accidents don't impact the cargo at all (the most 

interesting in this respect was a light airplane crash in which all five 

people in the airplane died and the radioisotope Type A package the plane

was 

carrying excaped unscathed).  We are very careful to explain these 

definitions in environmental assessments.     



Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.

ruthweiner@aol.com



************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.

You can view the Radsafe archives at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/

************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line. You can view the Radsafe archives at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/