Responsible Reporting

Responsible reporting on road crashes is crucial for informing the public and promoting safety. 

According to NSW Government Statistics, road deaths on NSW Roads have increased by 31% in the same period last year*. The situation is getting worse, not better.

Full and accurate reporting of road trauma incidents can be a powerful way to inform the public about how crashes happen and what can be done to prevent them. 

With context, governments and road safety professionals can learn from crashes to tailor more targeted interventions.

One of the critical factors is avoiding the word ‘accident’ but using ‘crash’, ‘collision’ or ‘incident.’ The term ‘accident’ risks making crashes seem inevitable and unavoidable, which is often not true and inaccurate.

Road trauma has a lifetime impact. Every death of a loved one sends shock waves throughout families and communities. In NSW, 253,000 people, or four per cent of the population, have ever experienced the death of a friend or relative due to the acts of another road user. These deaths are preventable.

Minimising responsibility can have negative consequences, including inaccurately representing the risk factors and consequences and perpetuating complacency among drivers. Sensationalising events can distress those who have experienced the death of a loved one on NSW roads.

The Draft Guidelines were produced by Road Trauma Support Group’s lived experience and based on seminal research into the reach and impact of road trauma in NSW conducted by research agency FiftyFive5, part of Accenture Song. 

The Guidelines are intended to complement Australia’s journalistic principles of accurate, balanced and inclusive reporting, support people impacted by road trauma, and educate the community about the risks and consequences of road trauma.

The guidelines follow UK Road Collison Reporting Guidelines adopted and backed by the UK's National Union of Journalists (NUJ). The Mindframe guidelines for mental health reporting in Australian media have also been a reference source.

The following guidelines are intended to provide context to help accurate and balanced reporting of road crashes that educates the community and supports victims’ families. They cover:

  1. The language used to describe road trauma and the reporting of road crashes

  2. Use of images

  3. Interviewing families and friends of trauma victims from the initial crash through court cases and at milestone events such as anniversaries, public holidays and national or state-wide safety campaigns.

​We hope Australian online, broadcast and print media will endorse and adopt the guidelines.

Please contact info@rtsgnsw.org.au  for information. 

*September 2023 https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/statistics