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When reporting incidents of collisions between pedestrians and motor vehicles, the Bangor Daily News has used the passive construction and attributed the event to a vehicle ( Student hit by truck, Sept. 8; Presque Isle man hit by SUV, May 8). I request that Bangor Daily News change this phrasing to be consistent with shootings, stabbings, or other incidents where objects are used by operators in the injury of another party. The headline and initial parts of such reports do not state “stabbed by knife” or “shot by gun.” Rather there is no attribution (“was stabbed last night”) or the person wielding the weapon is noted (“fatally shot by a person”).
The use of passive construction that attributes the act to a vehicle diminishes accountability for the event from the vehicle operator. I have no doubt that most incidents are unintentional for the drivers. I have no doubt that there are multiple contributing factors to these events, including some out of the drivers’ control. I am also sure – absent a self-driving car – that these cars are operated by people. Assigning agency to vehicles when reporting pedestrian-car incidents fails to acknowledge that cars are controlled and driven by people.
Given the hundreds of crashes involving pedestrians each year in Maine, I ask that BDN rephrase reports to be consistent with other events where equipment is operated to cause injury or death to other persons.
Anne Dunham
Bath