![Hillsborough Memorial, Anfield](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Hillsborough_Memorial%2C_Anfield.jpg)
An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be
blamed
Blame is the act of censuring, holding responsible, or making negative statements about an individual or group that their actions or inaction are socially or morally irresponsible, the opposite of praise. When someone is morally responsible for ...
, but the event may have been caused by
unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researchers who study
unintentional injury
An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...
avoid using the term ''accident'' and focus on factors that increase risk of severe injury and that reduce injury incidence and severity.
For example, when a tree falls down during a
wind storm
A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
, its fall may not have been caused by humans, but the tree's type, size, health, location, or improper maintenance may have contributed to the result. Most
car wrecks are not true accidents; however English speakers started using that word in the mid-20th century as a result of
media manipulation
Media manipulation is a series of related techniques in which partisans create an image or argument that favors their particular interests. Such tactics may include the use of logical fallacies, manipulation, outright deception (disinformation) ...
by the US automobile industry.
Types
Physical and non-physical
Physical examples of accidents include unintended motor vehicle collisions,
falls, being injured by touching something sharp or hot, or bumping into something while walking.
Non-physical examples are unintentionally revealing a
secret
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
or otherwise saying something incorrectly, accidental deletion of data, or forgetting an appointment.
Accidents by activity
* Accidents during the execution of work or arising out of it are called
work accident
A work accident, workplace accident, occupational accident, or accident at work is a "discrete occurrence in the course of work" leading to physical or mental occupational injury. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more tha ...
s. According to the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(ILO), more than 337 million accidents happen on the job each year, resulting, together with occupational diseases, in more than 2.3 million deaths annually.
* In contrast,
leisure
Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...
-related accidents are mainly
sports injuries.
Accidents by vehicle
![A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/A._Provost_-_Versailles_-_Railroad_Disaster.jpg)
Vehicle collisions are not usually accidents; they are mostly caused by preventable causes such as
drunk driving
Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash.
In the United States, alcohol is invo ...
and intentionally driving too fast.
The use of the word ''accident'' to describe car wrecks was promoted by the US
National Automobile Chamber of Commerce
The Automobile Manufacturers Association was a trade group of automobile manufacturers which operated under various names in the United States from 1911 to 1999.
A different group called the Automobile Manufacturers' Association was active in the ...
in the middle of the 20th century, as a way to make vehicle-related deaths and injuries seem like an unavoidable matter of fate, rather than a problem that could be addressed.
The automobile industry accomplished this by writing customized articles as a free service for newspapers that used the industry's preferred language.
Since 1994, the US
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation. It describes its mission as "Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes" rela ...
has asked media and the public to not use the word ''accident'' to describe vehicle collisions.
*
Aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
*
Bicycles
*
Sailing ships
A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships c ...
*
Traffic collisions
*
Train wrecks
*
Trams
Domino effect accidents
In the process industry, a primary accident may propagate to nearby units, resulting in a chain of accidents, which is called
domino effect accident.
Common causes
![Accidents](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Accidents.svg)
Poisons, vehicle collisions and falls are the most common causes of fatal injuries. According to a 2005 survey of injuries sustained at home, which used data from the National Vital Statistics System of the United States
National Center for Health Statistics
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a U.S. government agency that provides statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the public health of the American people. It is a unit of the Centers for Disease Control ...
, falls, poisoning, and fire/burn injuries are the most common causes of death.
The United States also collects statistically valid injury data (sampled from 100 hospitals) through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System administered by the
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing “unreasonable risks” of inj ...
.
[CPSC]
National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS)
. Database query available through
NEISS Injury Data
. This program was revised in 2000 to include all injuries rather than just injuries involving products.
[ Data on ]emergency department
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...
visits is also collected through the National Health Interview Survey. In The U.S. the Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of t ...
has available on their website extensive statistics on workplace accidents.
Accident models
Many models to characterize and analyze accidents have been proposed, which can be classified by type. No single model is the sole correct approach. Notable types and models include:
* Sequential models
** Domino Theory
** Loss Causation Model
* Complex linear models
** Energy Damage Model
** Time sequence models
*** Generalized Time Sequence Model
A generalization is a form of abstraction whereby common properties of specific instances are formulated as general concepts or claims. Generalizations posit the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characteri ...
*** Accident Evolution and Barrier Function
** Epidemiological models
*** Gordon 1949
*** Onward Mappings Model based on Resident Pathogens Metaphor
* Process model
** Benner 1975
* Systemic models
** Rasmussen
** Reason Model of System Safety (embedding the Swiss cheese model
The Swiss cheese model of accident causation is a model used in risk analysis and risk management, including aviation safety, engineering, healthcare, emergency service organizations, and as the principle behind layered security, as used in com ...
)
*** Healthcare error proliferation model The healthcare error proliferation model is an adaptation of James Reason’s Swiss Cheese Model designed to illustrate the complexity inherent in the contemporary healthcare delivery system and the attribution of human error within these system ...
*** Human reliability
** Woods, 1994
* Non-linear models
** System accident
A system accident (or normal accident) is an "unanticipated interaction of multiple failures" in a complex system. This complexity can either be of technology or of human organizations, and is frequently both. A system accident can be easy to ...
** Systems-Theoretic Accident Model and Process (STAMP)
** Functional Resonance Analysis Method
FRAM
** Assertions that all existing models are insufficient[Dekker 2011]
Ishikawa diagrams are sometimes used to illustrate root-cause analysis and five whys discussions.
See also
General
* Accident analysis
** Root cause analysis
In science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeologic ...
* Accident-proneness
Accident-proneness is the idea that some people have a greater predisposition than others to experience accidents, such as car crashes and industrial injuries. It may be used as a reason to deny any insurance on such individuals.
Early work
The ...
* Idiot-proof
In modern English usage, the informal term idiot-proof or foolproof describes designs that cannot be misused either inherently, or by use of defensive design principles. The implication is that the design is usable even by someone of low intell ...
* Injury
An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, o ...
* Injury prevention
* List of accidents and disasters by death toll
* Safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
* Safety engineering
Safety engineering is an engineering discipline which assures that engineered systems provide acceptable levels of safety. It is strongly related to industrial engineering/systems engineering, and the subset system safety engineering. Safety en ...
** Fail-safe
** Poka-yoke
* Risk management
Transportation
* Air safety
** Aviation accidents and incidents
* Bicycle safety
Bicycle safety is the use of road traffic safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling. Risk can be defined as the number of incidents occurring for a given amount of cycling. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example ...
* Car
** Automobile safety
** Traffic collision
* List of rail accidents
* Tram accident
A tram accident is any accident involving a tram. Alternatively, any accident involving a tram or a tram system may be considered a tram accident. The latter definition is more commonly used in public safety studies.
Tram systems are typically c ...
* Sailing ship accidents
Sailing ships frequently encounter difficult conditions, whether by storm or combat, and the crew frequently called upon to cope with accidents, ranging from the parting of a single line to the whole destruction of the rigging, and from running ag ...
Other specific topics
* Aisles: Safety and regulatory considerations
* Explosives safety
* Nuclear and radiation accidents
A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility. Examples include lethal effects to individuals, lar ...
* Occupational safety and health
Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...
** Safety data sheet
A safety data sheet (SDS), material safety data sheet (MSDS), or product safety data sheet (PSDS) is a document that lists information relating to occupational safety and health for the use of various substances and products. SDSs are a widely ...
** Personal protective equipment
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, elec ...
** Criticality accident
* Sports injury
References
External links
{{Authority control
Failure