Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
"Accidents"

Attention Ray Kelly: NYPD Still Using “Accident” to Describe Traffic Crashes

The NYPD web site and crash data reports don't reflect the post-"accident" policy announced by Ray Kelly three months ago.

Earlier this year, Commissioner Ray Kelly announced that the word "accident" would be eliminated from the NYPD lexicon. Not only would the Accident Investigation Squad be rebranded as the Collision Investigation Squad, Kelly said, but "accident" would be changed to "collision" on all departmental materials.

In a letter to City Council transportation chair James Vacca, Kelly said what safe streets advocates have long wanted to hear from NYC's top cop.

The term "collision," which is utilized by other jurisdictions throughout the country, provides a more accurate description. In the past, the term "accident" has sometimes given the inaccurate impression or connotation that there is no fault or liability associated with a specific event. The term "collision" will now be utilized in all relevant Department materials, forms and manuals.

From the outside, it appears the department has barely changed its terminology in the three months since Kelly’s announcement. The AIS is now the CIS, but NYPD still uses "accident" on monthly crash data reports, and on the department's web site.

And in a recent interview with the Times, Highway Patrol chief Inspector Paul Ciorra used "accident" to describe a typical DWI hit-and-run, though such a crash would be a potential felony.

“These accidents out here, it’s not two drug dealers on a corner that shot each other … Almost every time here, it’s regular folk; it’s Mr. Jones who had maybe one too many beers, hit someone and fled the scene.”

Ray Kelly said it himself: words matter. This shift won’t permeate every level of NYPD right away, of course. But as the supervisor of the Collision Investigation Squad, if anyone else in the department should have adopted the NYPD's new language, it would be Inspector Ciorra.

We have asked the NYPD Public Information office if or when "collision" will replace "accident" on the department's web site and crash data reports.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Blood On His Hands’: Cyclists Slam Eric Adams After Judge Lets Him Remove Brooklyn Bike Lane

Mayor Adams will have “blood on his hands” for his decision to rip up three blocks of the popular protected bike lane.

July 10, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Fourth of July Hangover Edition

That Fourth of July lasts longer for some than others. Plus more news.

July 10, 2025

Brooklyn Judge Lets Eric Adams Rip Up Bedford Avenue Protected Bike Lane

The mayor's move to rip up the bike lane did not require advanced notification, Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo ruled.

Universal Daylighting Has Majority Support on the City Council — Will Speaker Adams Give It a Vote?

Adrienne Adams is sitting on a landmark daylighting bill that could make every intersection safer for pedestrians.

July 9, 2025

‘Anti-Car Crusade’: Dinowitzes Slam Bronx Harlem River Greenway Bike Lane Touted by Mayor

The father-son duo are throwing a tantrum over the first leg of Mayor Adams's Harlem River Greenway.

July 8, 2025
See all posts