Chris Boardman's mum

[Lee_M]

Mod note:
There is already a thread on this in the Cafe. The Cafe thread is an 'RIP' type of thread, whereas this initial post and the couple of replies are more about blame, which is why this has been left as a separate thread. If you just wish to express your sympathy, please reply in the cafe thread.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/carol-boardman.204132/unread
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So the BBC are reporting she died after colliding with a truck. Why not say she was hit by a truck or a truck was in collision with her instead of blaming the cyclist?

Very sad day and blaming the victim just makes it worse.

Ive already posted in the bbc twitter page to complain

 

[Dirk]

I wasn't there to witness the accident, so I don't know whether she hit the truck, or if the truck hit her.
By reporting that she was 'in a collision' it apportions no blame to either party.
I'm sure the inquest will answer that question.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Very curious reporting of this, most fail to mention the driver fled the scene.

It is very curious: as far as I can see it's only bikebiz that has reported that the driver failed to stop and they have the make, model and colour of the pick-up, so they must have either a good witness or got the details of the driver's car from the scene. There may be other hit-and-run reports but I haven't seen them. So, while it's unlikely that bikebiz have got it wrong, it's still a possibility.

 

[glenn forger]

If the driver was drunk they may present themselves today. They get a lighter sentence that way. Still no mention of arrests, which may not mean anything, but at the same time nothing about the driver remaining at the scene.

 

[Lee_M]

They didnt report a collision. They reported that she collided with a vehicle which does apportion blame as it places thr action on her

 

[glenn forger]

Chris never used the word accident.

 

[Banjo]

Wouldnt it be better to just pay our respects to Mrs Boardman on the other thread than go arguing about the wording of news reports?



Im sure the whole story will emerge eventually.

 

[glenn forger]

If the driver was drunk and banned would you consider this an accident?

 

[Guyincognito76]

They're always called a 'road traffic collision' or 'RTC' now until any blame is attributed or not.

If you work in A&E, for example, you are told never to call them 'accidents'.

 

[glenn forger]

Driver's been spoken to:

http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/16...ay-road-crash-that-killed-carol-boardman.aspx

 

[jefmcg]

Wouldnt it be better to just pay our respects to Mrs Boardman on the other thread than go arguing about the wording of news reports?



Im sure the whole story will emerge eventually.

I think this is a good time to discuss it.

Normally when someone dies in a collision, there is very little about it on the internet, so a grieving family member or friend who uses google to find out more about what happened and very likely stumble across the thread on CC. In that case we should be careful what we say. But Carol Boardman's death is widely reported, so it's very unlikely any of her loved ones will linger here.
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The thing is, almost all of these RTCs are reported using this language. Typically "the cyclist died when he collided with the lorry". This language is not neutral; it is saying that the cyclist was the main actor in the collision. Neutral language, which the bbc now seems to be using for this case, would be something more like "the cyclist died in a collision" or the "the cyclist died when his bike and a HGV collided ..."

 

[glenn forger]

Wording is important. The BBC had that the fatality was due to a "cycling incident"- which removed the driver entirely. The Guardian changed Chris's words, so did The Telegraph and Mail. They all changed collision to accident.

 

[Guyincognito76]

Wording is important. The BBC had that the fatality was due to a "cycling incident"- which removed the driver entirely. The Guardian changed Chris's words, so did The Telegraph and Mail. They all changed collision to accident.

'Incident' is also a correct term. Although I take your point about it not being referred to as a 'traffic incident'. Editorial standards are so low amongst our press that I'm sure these deaths will continue to be referred to as 'accidents'.

BTW should it be found that the driver wasn't to blame that doesn't let our town planners/councils off the hook.

 

[glenn forger]

If she was a pedestrian would she have died in a walking incident? It removes agency.

 

[glenn forger]

I beg the Guardian's pardon, they've amended the article "to reflect what actually happened"

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...r-killed-in-cycling-accident?CMP=share_btn_tw

This article was amended on 18 July 2016 to more accurately reflect the circumstances of Carol Boardman’s death.