Car Accident Vocabulary

source: Learn English with Let's Talk      2015年1月26日
I HATE CAR ACCIDENTS. Well, who doesn't? A car accident is something that happens when your car bangs against a person, a tree, any other object or maybe just another car. Well, that’s a horrible thing. But we need to know certain important expressions which relate to car accidents. Here are some of them:

Slammed on the brakes/ Hit the brakes-
To stop suddenly because of an emergency
I slammed on the brakes when I saw a little child running across the road.

Run over
Car passes over an object, person or an animal.
My friend Joe ran over a dog last night.

Side swiped
Hit the side of a parked car.
I side swiped my dad’s car while parking the other day.

Rear ended
Hit the back of the car.
The traffic was so crazy that the van rear ended the taxi this morning.

Lost control
Unable to control the car at high speeds due to inexperience or car defects.
The driver lost control of his car and ended up colliding against the tree.

Skidding
Slide without control over a slippery surface
The bike skid because of the wet road, but fortunately no one was seriously hurt

Roll over
Vehicle turns upside down.
I couldn't believe my eyes-two big cars just rolled over in that huge accident.

Speeding
To drive too fast
If you are caught speeding, you will get fined

Tailgating
Driving extremely close behind another vehicle.
That truck practically tailgated me down the entire highway, it was so annoying.

Drunk driving
Driving under the influence of alcohol.
Drunk driving is very irresponsible and the major cause of accidents.

Reckless driving
Driving dangerously or impatiently without careful observation.
I used to drive recklessly but I don’t do that anymore.

Road rage
Driving aggressively because you get angry at another driver.
You won’t believe the road rage when you drive during working hours.

Distracted driving
Driving without concentration (talking on your cellphone, with your friends, fidgeting with your stereo).
I don’t wish to ride with Tim, he is always so distracted while driving, I’d rather take the bus.

Hit and Run
When your car hits someone or something and you just speed way.
The hit and run driver is still being searched by the police.

Pile up
Multiple cars involved in an accident due to bad weather or road conditions.
There was a massive pile up on New Year’s Eve. We just couldn’t reach my friend’s house on time.