Why do news stories say the weather caused the accident?

Question

How can the weather do anything other than be the weather? I just read about another pileup due to "the weather". It seems to me people were driving the cars and trucks and the weather was outside the vehicles doing what it has done for millions of years. And please I know it was a 'contributing factor' but these news stories always seem to state that the weather actually caused the accident. Why do they do that? Thank you.

Answer 1

just think about it,,,,,, this news people have to be very carefull of what they have to say or they will have a law suits left and right...  

if the news people tell exactly what happened, it might conflict with what authorities might say, and trouble strarts... driver insurance might decline , situation will just explode....  get it?

Answer 2

Because it's probably more tactful to say the weather caused the accidents than them saying a bunch of idiot drivers who shouldn't have been driving in severe or inclement weather caused them.

Answer 3

Its easyer to blame something that you have no control over. If you drive in bad weather you take that chance and if nothing else fails then blame it on something Else.