WHY do so many newspaper reports substitute the word "car" for "driver" when reporting motoring collisions?

We read in the Evening Press that "a car lost control" (Yorkshire In Brief, March 1). I have read similar choice phrases, for example the car did a handbrake turn, the car drove off without paying, some cars enjoy going down green lanes, cars will find alternative routes.

Using the word "car" in this context wrongly implies a robotic action, over which a driver has no control. In fact it is the guy behind the wheel who does all these things.

If your newsroom computers change their auto correct feature so that "car" becomes "driver", then we might see more accurate reporting.

Paul Hepworth,

Windmill Rise,

Holgate,

York.

Updated: 11:12 Monday, March 08, 2004