Birmingham: Call for language change over crashes

Harriet Barnsley suffered serious injuries when she was hit by a speeding car

Two women who had loved ones die in car crashes in Birmingham are urging the government to avoid the term "accident" in legislation.

Lucy Harrison and Harriet Barnsley say the word when used officially is problematic as it does not reflect "the devastation caused by crashes".

Ms Harrison, whose brother died in a hit-and-run, has started a petition calling for language change.

"It would be an element of justice for all families affected," she said.

She and Ms Barnsley are supporting a campaign by the charity RoadPeace which wants to stop the use of "accident" and also "incident" in the Road Traffic Act and other laws.

RoadPeace says such language "fails to acknowledge that a crime may have taken place", adding: "Many of those left bereaved or injured after a crash find the term offensive, especially where culpability is proven and the law has been broken."

Ms Harrison said: "We do not say "a plane accident", we don't say "a train accident", we say "a plane crash" and I don't know why we don't do that with cars but it is such an important starting point in changing things for the better I think."

Lucy Harrison said stopping officials using the word "accident" to describe crashes would be "an element of justice for all families affected"

Ms Harrison's brother, Peter Price, was killed by a speeding car in Quinton in November 2014 - a loss that she said was "like being punched in the stomach".

Earlier the same year, Ms Barnsley was with her friend Rebecca McManus at a bus shelter near Bearwood when a man crashed into them as he travelled at speeds of more than 100mph.

Ms McManus died in the crash while Ms Barnsley said she spent five months recovering from her injuries.

"I could not believe I had been hit by a car - someone had had the right to violate my body and life like that, let alone kill someone that was so close to me," she said.

• Hear more from Lucy Harrison and Harriet Barnsley on BBC Sounds

More than 2,300 people have signed the petition on Parliament's website but only those that gain 10,000 signatures will receive a government response.