IELTS SPEAKING CUE CARDS - DESCRIBING AN ACCIDENT

Speaking Part 2 - Self Presentation

Take a look at an IELTS Speaking cue card below! There are four questions that you need to answer. Before answering the questions, you have one minute to prepare you speech (you can take a note using paper and pen given to you by the assessor). After that, you will be given two minutes to speak without any interruption.

Describe an accident that you saw

You should say:

• Where the accident occurred
• Where were you then
• How the accident affected you

give detailed explanation about the accident

Possible Answer:

One of the most terrible accident that I saw happening in front of my eyes was a mishap involving a motorcyclist and a car. It happened in one of the major roads in my city. The road is always busy, and some people say that an accident often happens in this road. If the traffic is jammed, people are driving very close to each other. There is always a case in which a driver is accidentally smashing other car's side mirror, that's probably one of the most common case. In addition, there are more motorcyclist having road accident in this road, and this happens mostly when the road is not jammed. 

The road itself is very wide and has four lanes. When the traffic is good, motorcyclists tend to speed up their bike. In some occasions, an accident happens because they keep rolling on the throttle and eventually lose control of the bike. When the bike is accelerating uncontrollably, there is a higher chance that the bike will crash. Besides, some accidents involving motorcyclists are also caused by some other factors like potholes, gravel, as well as bad weather conditions.

When the accident happened, I was walking on the sidewalk with some of my school mates. We were on our way to school when we suddenly a very loud sound like the sound of two enormous things colliding. We were so shocked and looked around. We found out that a motorcyclist just had an accident with a car. The motorcyclist was lying down on the ground, it seemed like he was not able to endure the pain in his stomach, and kept screaming for help. The car driver was getting out of the car and panicked, it seemed like he was dialing his mobile phone to call for medical help.

The accident happened because the car driver haphazardly changed lane without any apparent sign. He suddenly slammed the brake in front of the motorcyclist. The motorcyclist rode the bike quite fast and did not anticipate the sudden move. He tried to slow down by rolling off the throttle and hit the rear brake so hard. It was so hard that the rear tire produced loud screeching sound. This did not work well due to the speed of the bike. The motorcyclist then hit the front brake and until it got locked up. The bike came to a sudden halt, and the biker flipped in the air and landed real hard.

Seeing this accident has affected me in many ways. First, I become more and more insecure when riding motorcycle in such busy road. I am always afraid that a car might run me over. I am now becoming more cautious when riding a motorcycle, and trying to control my emotion especially when it comes to throttle control. Secondly, I also anticipated the possibility of encountering reckless drivers. Every time I see other people drive furiously, I chose to slow down a little bit and keep a safe distance with their vehicle. Lastly, I am now checking my motorcycle more regularly, just in case there are some defected parts that need fixing. This is particularly necessary for any parts that will directly affect the riding safety, such as brake, side mirror and turn signals.

Speaking Part 3 - Two Way Discussion

Follow up questions

• What should be done to reduce road accident?
• Who should be responsible for the accidents?
• What losses do you think occur when an accident happens?

Possible Answer:

Q: What should be done to reduce road accident?

A: There are many things to improve in order to reduce accidents. First, there has to be improvement in terms of regulation on driving. There are many examples of this method, one of them might be the effort to strengthen regulation on driving license test. There has to be several some other considerations other than someone's age and driving skill. These considerations may include whether or not the person is alcoholic, or whether or not the person has a history of major accidents. This is a preventive approach to minimize the possibility of road accident. 

Secondly, the people need to be aware of driving safety, and this can be done through early education. In many cases, accidents happen not because somebody is not capable of driving properly, but because somebody is driving while drunk, or simply when somebody is driving while they are not alert. Some terrible will definitely happen if a driver does not concentrate on their wheel, so we need to avoid any distraction like phone or extremely loud music while driving.

Q: Who should be responsible for the accidents?

A: Well, it really depends on the case, although the driver is most likely be responsible for any damage or casualty. Everyone should realize that driving comes along with responsibility, especially when it already comes to public safety. Many people take defensive driving course, just to make sure that they master all the know how before they hit the road. However, it is also true that sometimes, accident a driver is not entirely responsible for an accident. Using the public road is just the same as using any other public facility, and this requires manners. Driver needs to control their behaviour when driving, just the same way a pedestrian, for example, must follow all street signs and rules. In the case of jaywalking, the pedestrian is also responsible for his action because they cross the road unlawfully without any regards for the surrounding traffic.

Moreover, automobile companies are also responsible for making sure that the vehicles they produce have met certain standard of safety. If an accident happens due to the manufacturing or design defects of an automobile, for example, then the company should be partly responsible as well. The same thing goes for the government. A significant number of accidents happens because of several things that the driver never expects, a pothole, let's say. The government has to make sure that there enough traffic signs. Accident caused by hazardous roadways is certainly the government's liability.

Q: What losses do you think occur when an accident happens?

A: There are many kinds of loss that might happen when someone has an accident, depending on the severity level of the accident. There are some cases in which the loss is mostly material lost, like when we have small accident and we got scratches on our car. In some more unfortunate occasions, the accident may physically injure somebody, whether it is a minor or serious injury. When somebody is run over by a car, for example, they may got a little scratch or bruise. The victim may be fine, but they may also take legal action for what happen to them. In the case of major accidents, there may be some fatalities, and this is probably the worst possibility of all.

Tips for IELTS Speaking part 2 and 3

a. Have a lot of practice with some uncommon verbs

In some of the answers above, there are several example of typical verbs that are commonly used when talking about accident. These terms are not often heard in everyday conversation, especially among non-native speakers. Some of them are:

Run over (phrasal verb): To hit someone (or something) with a vehicle, and drive over them

Rolling on (the throttle): an expression used to mean when you gradually open the throttle wide open (instead of snapping it instantly) to accelerate the engine. This term is usually used when talking about riding a motorcycle

Rolling off (the throttle): The antonym of rolling on the throttle, used to explain of reducing the speed of a motorcycle by releasing the throttle

Slam the brake: Hit the brake in a sudden

Change lane: Moving into the desired lane, can be used both when talking about car and motorcycle

Concentrate/focus on the wheel: Pay maximum attention while driving (usually a car)

Hit (the front or rear brake): To quickly engage a vehicle's brake to stop or slow down

Flip in the air: When someone is thrown away from vehicle as a result of a very sudden halt

Jaywalk: Cross or walk in the street or road unlawfully without paying attention to surrounding traffic

Flip over (slang): Turning over something very quickly

b. Be careful of some uncommon terms

There are some terms that are not commonly used in everyday life. These are some of them:

Sidewalk/curb: A paved path for pedestrians at the side of road

Throttle: A device controlling the flow of fuel to an engine

Casualty/fatality/loss of life: an occurrence of death in accident

Potholes: Deep hollow in the road surface caused by wear

Here are some related topics that can be answered in a pretty similar fashion:

• Describe a bad experience that you have
• Describe something terrible you witnessed
• Describe a bad experienced you wish you never had

To read the complete version IELTS Speaking Section about accident, click here 

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