Vocabuilder: Traffic Accidents

collide T-bone rear-end insurance

jaws of life bumper dent

totaled whiplash skid marks breathalyzer

Fill in the blanks below with words from the box above.

1. Marys car was __________ after the accident, so her insurance company paid for a new car.

2. The __________ prove that the driver tried to stop before the accident.

3. There is a small __________ in my passenger-side door because someone backed in to my car while
I was buying groceries.

4. I accidentally __________ someone at the stop light today. I wasnt paying attention and the car in
front of me stopped suddenly, so I accidentally hit it from behind. The other driver had to go to the
hospital because he had __________.

5. My __________ wont pay to fix that dent in my car, so Im just going to ignore it.

6. After the collision, rescuers had to use the __________ to rescue the woman and her daughter from
the wreckage.

7. The passenger in my car was seriously injured when someone ran a red light and __________ my
car.

8. A car gently rear-ended me at a stop light today, but neither car was dented because we just hit our
__________.

9. The motorcyclist was seriously injured after he __________ with an oncoming car.

10. The police officer gave me a ___________ because he said he thought he smelled alcohol.

collide (v.) / collision (n.) when two things (cars, etc.) hit each other
Luckily, no one was injured in the collision.
The two cars collided, but both drivers were wearing their seatbelts.

T-bone when a car gets hit in the side by another car (it looks like a T)
The passenger was injured when the car was T-boned by a truck.
rear-end (v.) when one car hits another car from behind
Someone rear-ended me because I stopped too suddenly at a stop light.

insurance (n.) a system for protecting people when they get injured; if you buy car
insurance, the insurance company will pay for your car if you are in an accident.
Luckily my insurance paid for everything after the truck collided with my car.

jaws of life the tool used to cut people out of a car when they are trapped inside (after an
accident)
Rescuers had to use the jaws of life to rescue the woman from her car after the collision.

bumper (n.) the part of a car that usually hits other cars when they bump each other
Most cars have bumpers on the front and back to protect them from minor collisions.

dent (n., v.) a small place that looks pressed in because it has been hit (but not too hard);
usually a car is dented if it is hit by another car in a parking lot.
Theres a dent in my car because someone backed into my car in the parking lot this morning.

totaled (adj.) when a car is completely destroyed after an accident; if a car is totaled, it
lost all of its value due to an accident. It is cheaper to buy a new car than to fix a
totaled car.
After a high-speed collision, both cars were totaled. Luckily, no one was seriously injured.

whiplash (n.) a neck injury caused when the neck moves too quickly or suddenly (often in
rear-end collisions)
Im wearing a neck brace because I got whiplash when a car rear-ended me last week.

skid marks (n.) the black lines on the road that are caused when a vehicle brakes suddenly
Police can tell from the skid marks how fast the driver was going.

breath test / breathalyzer (n.) a test to determine if a person has been drinking alcohol
After the accident, police gave both drivers a breathalyzer to see if they had been drinking or
not.
English vocabulary about accidents
I hope that you'll never be involved in an accident, but if you have conversation about one, these
words and phrases will be useful.

Types of accidents
a collision = when two vehicles drive into each other.
a mid-air collision = when two planes collide in the air
a head-on collision = when two cars collide front to front
a car crash = when there's a serious car accident involving another car or object, or not involving
anything else
a derailment = when a train comes off the rails
a (multiple) pile-up = when more than one car crashes into another car, especially on a busy road or
motorway

Describing an accident
An accident occurred / happened between two cars travelling in the same / opposite direction.
One car was travelling at speed (at X miles per hour)

As the driver was rounding the corner, he drove straight into another car which was on the wrong
side of the road. The driver lost control of the car and ploughed into the other lane / overturned /
drove into an oncoming vehicle / into a tree.
As the driver was overtaking another / went through a red light / he drove straight into oncoming
traffic
A lorry jackknifed, spilling its load over the road.
A car skidded on a wet / oily surface and the driver lost control.
The brakes failed / the car driver misjudged the distance.

The car was speeding / doing 80mph in a 30mph area.

The driver was under the influence of alcohol / drugs / on his mobile phone at the time.

The accident was due to pilot / human error.

The results of an accident

There were no fatalities (people killed)
Five people were taken to hospital with major / minor injuries / for shock.
The driver was shaken, but unhurt.
The passengers were escorted safely from the train.
Firecrews had to cut the passengers out of the wreckage.
The car was a write-off. (The damage was so bad there was no point in claiming insurance)
Fortunately, there was only minimal damage / we escaped with only a couple of scratches on the
bodywork.