Sunday - January 03, 2010

ANOTHER WORD BANNED?  YUP.  “ MOTORIST “ TO BITE THE DUST.  HEY, I JUST PASS THIS STUFF ON.

I’d bet money that not one single person at this site is surprised in any way.  And that fact alone says how bad things have become.  Surely there should be some things we can look at and be surprised by.  But these days?  Now if this isn’t stupid and made up by folks with nothing to do, I don’t know what else is.
And they get paid!  These loooney tunes get a salary.  Or the quango that dreams it up.  Was a time ppl like this would be tossed out on,, wait. No. Was a time they’d have never thought of it and if they did they’d be laughed at. 

There might be a few things here that make sense, but overall? Don’t think so.

Highways Agency staff told not to use word ‘motorists’

Government officials have banned Highways Agency staff from using the word ‘motorist’, saying they should say ‘road user’ or ‘driver’ instead.
By Ben Leach
03 Jan 2010

The edict is included in a lengthy set of guidelines issued by the Agency, setting out what language its employees should and should not use. Other terms to be avoided include “winter maintenance”, “off-peak hours” and “the travelling public”.

The move has brought an angry response from motoring campaigners.

“We’ve had years of increases on fuel duty and policies that have worsened road travel for the majority of people because ministers are wedded to the idea that public transport is good, while most forms of private transport are bad.”

James May, the television presenter, called the guidance a “complete waste of time and money”.

“It’s pretty preposterous,” he said. “It’s not the Government’s job to tell their staff how to speak. They should tell them not to be racist or not to incite murder, but not the correct word for someone who happens to be in a car. For God’s sake, we’re all grown-ups.

“The word ‘motorists’ covers people driving cars very well. Admittedly it doesn’t cover people on bicycles but then we have the word ‘cyclists’ for that, and ‘pedestrians’ for people who are walking.

“They’re very useful words with very definite meanings that have been worked out over many centuries so I’m quite happy to stick with them. With the weather we’ve been having they should spend the money on some more salt.”

Asked to justify the ban on “motorists”, a spokeswoman for the Department for Transport said: “The dictionary definition of a motorist is a car driver. As an agency we target all road users, including those in vans, buses and on motorcycles, not just those that travel in cares. The word ‘driver’ is a more inclusive term.”

The Highways Agency lexicon, released by the Department for Transport in response to a Freedom of Information request, also suggests that staff required to write about roadworks should avoid the word “works” as a general term and instead “describe what is happening so the reader can visualise it”.

Under a section entitled “Words and phrases to avoid” the guidelines state: “Don’t slip into jargon by thinking that’s how it ‘ought to’ be said. We are trying to get away from agency speak. Think of our customers out there on the network.

“Above all, if a word or phrase doesn’t make sense, or if it seems wrong, then don’t ignore it. Question it.”

The five-page note to Highways Agency staff advises that the phrase “winter maintenance” should be replace with “agency winter services”, “off-peak hours” with “outside of peak hours” and “the travelling public” with “road users”.

“Speed up” should be dropped in favour of “accelerate” and “manned” in favour of “staffed”.

The rule book also advises staff to avoid using “access” (to be replaced by “travel to"), “carriageway” ("lanes"), “improving congestion” ("reducing congestion") and “improve safety” ("make the route safer").

It also includes sections entitled: “How do we sound human?”, “How do we sound helpful?” and “How do we sound active?”

Guidance in the first section includes: “Empathise with your reader. Acknowledge their feelings and show we have them too,” “Include references to our concern for the environment where appropriate,” and “Choose active verbs to make us sound involved. Passive words can make us seem more distant.”

Meanwhile, staff at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have been told not to use the word “unfortunately” along with the phrases “I’m afraid ...”, “not possible” and “I can’t”.

Other words and phrases to be avoided include “no problem”, “yeah”, “bear with me”, “What’s your problem?” “I will pop you on hold”, “maybe”, “probably” and “basically”.
SOURCE

Posted by peiper     on 01/03/2010 at 12:49 PM   
Filed Under: • CULTURE IN DECLINE • Daily Life • Stoopid-People • UK • work and the workplace •  
• Comments (9) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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