Subj : Re: Totally
To   : Nightfox
From : Adept
Date : Fri Aug 11 2023 18:40:39

 Ni>  pF>> I was in an accident with my well-loved 2014 Toyota Plug-in Prius, a
 Ni> I'm not sure what you mean about the phrasing..  How does it imply that
 Ni> the car crashed itself?  I don't think that's what the phrasing says.  I

Think of it this way -- imagine if it was a drunk driver who caused the damage. Would we say, "I was in an accident", or would we say, "A drunk driver crashed into my car"? Even if the damage was exactly the same?

 Ni> think it gets the point across and can be easier than saying something

Quite possibly. But, from the phrasing, it very well could be a car that was driving itself.

I've sometimes tilted at windmills a bit on this, but mostly because of how news articles tend to use this sort of passive language with cars, outside of drunk drivers or extreme negligence.

But if a bicyclist crashed, people probably wouldn't say, "my bike got into an accident and now I have to get a new frame.". And news articles don't use that passive language, either.

With cars, things are generally a step removed, with passive phrasing. And that seems weird to me.

But, then again, people drive cars and ride bikes, and _that_ is like driving on a parkway and parking on a driveway.

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