Blaming the victim in car crashes: "Journalists need to scrutinize driver’s actions as much, if not more, than the behavior of pedestrians or cyclists."

Hello ... THUMP THUMP ... is this thing on?

Bill, Susan, Jason, Chris, et al ... this is the Columbia Journalism Review speaking, not some foaming-at-the-mouth Baylorite radical anarchist trying to take your cars away from you.

When covering car crashes, be careful not to blame the victim, by Meg Dalton

Please feel free to click through and peruse the entire piece ... and then can you explain what you're doing to cure this bias at the News and Tribune?

PEDESTRIAN (AND CYCLIST) BLAME is the predominant framework in a lot of news coverage, according to Angie Schmitt, an editor of Streetsblog, a news site about transportation reform. Journalists will report that the victim “darted” into traffic, a verb you see almost exclusively in stories about traffic deaths. Or they’ll emphasize that the victim was jaywalking, texting while crossing the street, or not wearing a helmet.

“The helmet fixation redirects attention away from the overarching problem of vehicular violence, assisting in its denial,” according to a report released last month by the University of Heidelberg. Even in cases when a helmet would not have prevented death, the absence of one is usually noted, as in The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s 2009 coverage of the death of a young cyclist, Sylvia Bingham. Wearing a helmet would not have made a difference in the outcome of the crash, according to Bingham’s doctor. But the reporter, in the paragraph immediately following that statement, noted Bingham wasn’t wearing a helmet and included two additional incidents in which cyclists lacked them.

Journalists need to scrutinize driver’s actions as much, if not more, than the behavior of pedestrians or cyclists.

Whether it’s speeding, running a red light, texting, or just a general lack of attentiveness, journalists need to scrutinize driver’s actions as much, if not more, than the behavior of pedestrians or cyclists in these situations. These oversights can be startling. For instance, local television station KTSM solely focused on the victim following a fatal 2016 crash in El Paso, Texas. Eduardo Dill attempted to cross a street in his neighborhood in his electric wheelchair when a driver struck him. The police cited Dill’s “failure to yield the right of way” as the contributing factor in the crash, and so did the station’s story.

In reporters’ defense, Schmitt says, crash information usually comes from flawed police reports, which inform the news coverage. Those reports tend to reflect a survivor’s bias since, in crashes with fatal outcomes, the pedestrian or cyclist is not around to share their side of the story. Instead, the reports are usually based on a single eyewitness—the driver.

"NHTSA reports record-low level of drunk-driving deaths."

Although the source is a typically self-serving Beer Institute press release, the news therein is welcomed, nonetheless. Perhaps some day it will appear in the 'Bamaggregator.

NHTSA reports record-low level of drunk-driving deaths (at BeerPulse)

(Washington, DC) – Drunk-driving deaths fell to a record-low level in 2011, according to recent data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Fatalities in crashes involving drunk drivers declined to a record-low level in 2011, down 2.5 percent since 2010 and down 53 percent since first measured in 1982.

In 2011, the overall number of highway fatalities fell 1.9 percent from the previous year, to the lowest level in more than six decades ...

 ... While Americans drove fewer miles in 2011 than in 2010, the nearly 2 percent drop in roadway fatalities significantly outpaced the corresponding 1.2 percent decrease in vehicle miles traveled. In addition, updated Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) information released shows 2011 also saw the lowest fatality rate ever recorded, with 1.10 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2011, down from 1.11 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2010.

One year later, Indiana 111 is no less dangerous than before.

Kevin Hammersmith was killed a year ago tomorrow, when his car was struck by a vehicle driven by Wesley S. Bradshaw.

While there’s always the chance, albeit slim, that our community might someday commence a substantive discussion of what might be done to alleviate the hazards on the stretch of rural highway (Indiana 111) connecting Horseshoe with its customer base, there isn’t much to say about this sad anniversary beyond asking a question that might have occurred to others who knew Kevin.

What’s the status of the legal case against Bradshaw?

Since the aftermath of the fatal accident, Bradshaw’s journey through the legal system has been mentioned on two occasions within the pages of the News and Tribune.

Toxicology results

Additional counts

The state of Indiana’s search engine can be used to see further details. Click on criminal cases, and enter Bradshaw’s name. Charges filed against him are enumerated, as well as the chronology of the case. My most recent search yielded this:

Jury Trial (9:00 AM) (Judicial Officer Orth, Susan L)
08/20/2012 Continued to 10/15/2012 - By Request - Bradshaw, Wesley S
10/15/2012 Continued to 02/25/2013 - By Request - Bradshaw, Wesley S

Yes, “justice” is a word loaded with trip wires. To the extent that the American legal system is capable of proffering justice, we’d all like to see “it” done in this case, and seemingly, the time may be drawing near.

Assuredly Kevin will not be forgotten, and since his untimely death, he has been remembered in numerous, meaningful ways, but wouldn’t the very best way to honor his memory be for us to come together to improve safety on that damned stretch of hazardous highway?