Accident: Difference between revisions

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			{{Short description\|Unforeseen event, often with a negative outcome}}
	:''Alternate meanings: ], ], ], ]''
			{{Other uses\|Accident (disambiguation)\|Accidental (disambiguation)}}
			]]]
			An '''accident''' is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans.<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Woodward\|first=Gary C.\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ce_WAAAAQBAJ\|title=The Rhetoric of Intention in Human Affairs\|year=2013\|publisher=Lexington Books\|isbn=978-0-7391-7905-5\|pages=41\|language=en\|quote=Since 'accidents' by definition deprive us of first-order human causes…}}</ref> The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be ], but the event may have been caused by ]. Most researchers who study ] avoid using the term ''accident'' and focus on factors that increase risk of severe injury and that reduce injury incidence and severity.<ref name=Robertson2015>{{cite book \| last = Robertson \| first = Leon S. \| title = Injury Epidemiology: Fourth Edition \| year = 2015 \| publisher = Lulu Books \| url = http://www.nanlee.net/ \| access-date = 2017-12-09 \| archive-date = 2018-01-26 \| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180126185850/http://www.nanlee.net/ \| url-status = live }}</ref> For example, when a tree falls down during a ], 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 ] are not true accidents; however, English speakers started using that word in the mid-20th century as a result of ] by the US automobile industry.<ref name=":0" />

			==Types==
	An '''accident''' is something going wrong unexpectedly. Physical examples include an unavoidable ] (including a person or object ] by chance). The term is also loosely applied to mean any undesirable outcome, even if it could have been avoided, such as getting injured by ] something sharp, hot, ] live, ingesting poisons, or other injuries caused by lack of ordinary precautions.
			[[File:Unintentional injuries world map-Deaths per million persons-WHO2012.svg\|thumb\|Unintentional injury deaths per million persons in 2012
			{{Div col\|small=yes\|colwidth=10em}}{{legend\|#ffff20\|107–247}}{{legend\|#ffe820\|248–287}}{{legend\|#ffd820\|288–338}}{{legend\|#ffc020\|339–387}}{{legend\|#ffa020\|388–436}}{{legend\|#ff9a20\|437–505}}{{legend\|#f08015\|506–574}}{{legend\|#e06815\|575–655}}{{legend\|#d85010\|656–834}}{{legend\|#d02010\|835–1,165}}{{div col end}}
			]]

			===Physical and non-physical===
	Technically, "accidents" do not include incidents where someone is at fault, i.e., negligent: where someone fails to take reasonable precautions under the circumstances. If the results of such negligence were foreseeable, they were certainly not "accidental" at that level, and the negligent person can be held liable for damages and personal injuries. In an "accident", there is simply nobody to blame, because the event was unforeseeable or very unlikely. For example, a pharmacist negligently mixes the wrong chemicals and mislabels them for sale; a person ingesting the chemicals according to the label instructions has been "accidentally" poisoned, but the pharmacist's mistake was not accidental — it was negligent.
			Physical examples of accidents include unintended motor vehicle collisions, tongue biting while eating, electric shock by accidentally touching bare electric wire, drowning, ], being injured by touching something sharp or hot, or bumping into something while walking.

			Non-physical examples are unintentionally revealing a ] or otherwise saying something incorrectly, accidental deletion of data, or forgetting an appointment.
	A common misconception is that a ] can "go off" accidentally, where in truth, such gun accidents are extremely rare. Most gun injuries are caused when someone puts a bullet into the gun, points it at someone and pulls the trigger — a series of intentional acts that usually result in the expected outcome: an injury. A defective gun that goes off when dropped could qualify as being "accidental", however, one would still have to examine the cause for the gun being intentionally loaded and being handled carelessly.

			===Accidents by activity===
	50,425 people were ]ed by "accidents" (not including ]s) in the U.S. in ]. That's 19 people in 100,000.
			* Accidents during the execution of work or arising out of it are called ]s. According to the ] (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.<ref>" {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119054051/https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/lang--en/index.htm \|date=2022-01-19 }}". International Labour Organization (ILO)</ref>
			* In contrast, ]-related accidents are mainly ].

			===Accidents by vehicle===
	Often accidents are investigated so that we can learn how to avoid them in the future. This is sometimes called ], but does not generally apply to accidents that cannot be predicted with any certainty. For example, a root cause of a purely random incident may never be identified, and thus future similar accidents remain "accidental."
			{{Main\|Vehicle collision}}
			Vehicle collisions are not usually accidents, given that they are mostly caused by preventable causes such as ] and intentionally driving too fast, and as such should not be referred to as ''accidents''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web\|last=Stromberg\|first=Joseph\|date=2015-07-20\|title=We don't say "plane accident." We shouldn't say "car accident" either.\|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/7/20/8995151/crash-not-accident\|access-date=2021-09-07\|website=Vox\|language=en\|archive-date=2021-09-07\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907052859/https://www.vox.com/2015/7/20/8995151/crash-not-accident\|url-status=live}}</ref> The use of the word ''accident'' to describe car wrecks was promoted by the US ] 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.<ref name=":0" /> The automobile industry accomplished this by writing customized articles as a free service for newspapers that used the industry's preferred language.<ref name=":0" /> Since 1994, the US ] has asked media and the public to not use the word ''accident'' to describe vehicle collisions.<ref name=":0" />

	~~Another~~ ~~definition for~~ accidents ~~is a human pooing~~ ~~their~~ ~~pants.~~		==== Aviation accidents and incidents ====
			{{Full article\|Aviation accidents and incidents}}

			{{Section expansion needed\|date=December 2023}}
	== Work accident ==
	An accident at work is defined as an external, sudden, unexpected, unintended, and violent event, during the execution of work or arising out of it, which causes damage to the ] of or loss of the life of the employee (the ]).

			==== Bicycle accidents ====
	For qualification as an accident at work to apply, there must be a causal relationship (direct or indirect relationship of cause and effect) between the violent event and the work. Only if the accident is due to "wilful misrepresentation" on the part of the employer or the employer's appointed representative is the employer under an obligation to compensate the victim. Under U.S. law, injured workers are often compensated according to the type of injury, rather than permitting them to sue the employer for the actual damages.
			{{Full article\|Bicycle safety}}

			{{Section expansion needed\|date=December 2023}}
	There is a significant proportion of work accidents occurring in the ].

			==== Maritime incidents ====
	See also: ], ], ].
			{{Full article\|Maritime incident}}

			{{Section expansion needed\|date=December 2023}}
	== Bicycle accidents ==
	A bicycle accident, an incident in which a ] ride goes wrong, can result in ] to the rider or another person in their path, and damage to the bicycle or nearby objects. In ], an accident occurred that has been described as the earliest bicycle accident. ], the inventor of the ] (an early bicycle), rode his new invention for 40 miles (64 km) from his home to ]. On his approach to the city, crowds gathered on the road and, unfortunately, Kirkpatrick collided with a young girl.

			==== Motorcycle incidents ====
	Although she was only slightly injured, he was subsequently charged with causing the first-ever bicycle accident. The ] could not believe Kirkpatrick had travelled the 40 miles to Glasgow in only five hours, but after much explaining, he was allowed to return home.
			{{Full article\|Motorcycle safety}}

			{{Section expansion needed\|date=December 2024}}

			==== Traffic collisions ====
			{{Full article\|Traffic collision}}

			{{Section expansion needed\|date=December 2023}}

			==== Train wrecks ====
			] in 1842]]
			{{Full article\|Train wreck}}
			{{Section expansion needed\|date=December 2023}}

			=== Domino effect accidents ===
			In the process industry, a primary accident may propagate to nearby units, resulting in a chain of accidents, which is called ].

			==Common causes==
			{{See also\|Preventable causes of death}}
			]
			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 ], falls, poisoning, and fire/burn injuries are the most common causes of accidental death.<ref>{{cite journal \|vauthors=Runyan CW, Casteel C, Perkis D \|title=Unintentional injuries in the home in the United States Part I: mortality \|journal=Am J Prev Med \|volume=28 \|issue=1 \|pages=73–9 \|date=January 2005 \|pmid=15626560 \|doi=10.1016/j.amepre.2004.09.010 \|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

			The United States also collects statistically valid injury data (sampled from 100 hospitals) through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System administered by the ].<ref name=NEISS>CPSC. {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313071450/http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Safety-Education/Safety-Guides/General-Information/National-Electronic-Injury-Surveillance-System-NEISS/ \|date=2013-03-13 }}. Database query available through: {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423073415/http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Research--Statistics/NEISS-Injury-Data/ \|date=2013-04-23 }}.</ref> This program was revised in 2000 to include all injuries rather than just injuries involving products.<ref name=NEISS/> Data on ] visits is also collected through the ].<ref>NCHS. {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711015731/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/ervisits.htm \|date=2017-07-11 }}. CDC.</ref> In The U.S. the ] has available on their website extensive statistics on workplace accidents.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.bls.gov/iif\|title=Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities\|website=www.bls.gov\|access-date=2014-04-02\|archive-date=2019-06-02\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602190845/https://www.bls.gov/iif/\|url-status=live}}</ref>

			==Accident models==
			]s have been proposed to model the number of minor problems vs. the number of serious incidents. These include Heinrich's triangle<ref name="Heinreich 1931" /> and Frank E. Bird's accident ratio triangle (proposed in 1966 and shown above).]]
			Many models to characterize and analyze accidents have been proposed,<ref>A long list of books and papers is given in: {{cite book\|title=Enhancing Occupational Safety and Health\|url=https://archive.org/details/enhancingoccupat00tayl_968\|url-access=limited\|date=2004\|author=Taylor, G.A.\|author2=Easter, K.M.\|author3=Hegney, R.P.\|publisher=Elsevier\|isbn=0750661976\|pages=–245, see also pp. 140–141, 147–153, also on Kindle}}</ref> which can be classified by type. No single model is the sole correct approach.<ref>{{Cite book\|last1=Kjellen\|first1=Urban\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wW9GDgAAQBAJ\|title=Prevention of Accidents and Unwanted Occurrences: Theory, Methods, and Tools in Safety Management, Second Edition\|last2=Albrechtsen\|first2=Eirik\|year=2017\|publisher=CRC Press\|isbn=978-1-4987-3666-4\|pages=75\|language=en}}</ref> Notable types and models include:<ref>{{cite book \|url=http://www.ohsbok.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/32-Models-of-causation-Safety.pdf \|title=OHS Body of Knowledge \|author1=Yvonne Toft \|author2=Geoff Dell \|author3=Karen K Klockner \|author4=Allison Hutton \|chapter=Models of Causation: Safety \|editor=HaSPA (Health and Safety Professionals Alliance) \|publisher=Safety Institute of Australia Ltd. \|date= 2012 \|isbn=978-0-9808743-1-0 \|access-date=2017-03-25 \|archive-date=2017-02-25 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225133142/http://www.ohsbok.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/32-Models-of-causation-Safety.pdf \|url-status=live }}</ref>
			* Sequential models
			** Domino theory<ref name="Heinreich 1931">{{cite book \|author=H.W. Heinreich \|year=1931 \|title=Industrial Accident Prevention \|publisher=McGraw-Hill}}</ref>
			** Loss causation model<ref>{{cite book\|last1= Bird \|first1= Frank E.\|last2= Germain\|first2 = George L. \|date = 1985\|title = Practical Loss Control Leadership\|publisher = International Loss Control Institute \|isbn = 978-0880610544\|oclc=858460141}}</ref>
			* Complex linear models
			** Energy damage model<ref>Gibson, Haddon, Viner</ref>{{full citation needed\|date=April 2022}}
			** Time sequence models
			*** Generalized time sequence model<ref>Viner</ref>{{full citation needed\|date=April 2022}}
			*** Accident evolution and barrier function<ref>{{cite journal\|last = Svenson\|first = Ola\|title = The Accident Evolution and Barrier Function (AEB) Model Applied to Incident Analysis in the Processing Industries\|journal = Risk Analysis\|date = September 1991\|doi = 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1991.tb00635.x\|volume = 11\|issue = 3\|pages = 499–507\| pmid=1947355 \| bibcode=1991RiskA..11..499S }}</ref>
			** Epidemiological models
			*** Gordon 1949{{Citation needed\|date=February 2024}}
			*** Onward mappings model based on resident pathogens metaphor<ref>{{cite book \|chapter=Too Little and Too Late: A Commentary on Accident and Incident Reporting \|last=Reason \|first=James T. \|year=1991 \|pages=9–26 \|title=Near Miss Reporting as a Safety Tool \|publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann \|editor1-last=Van Der Schaaf \|editor1-first=T.W. \|editor2-last=Lucas \|editor2-first=D.A. \|editor3-last=Hale \|editor3-first=A.R.}}</ref>
			* Process model
			** Benner 1975{{Citation needed\|date=February 2024}}
			* Systemic models
			** Rasmussen
			** Reason model of system safety (embedding the ])
			*** ]
			*** ]
			** Woods 1994{{Citation needed\|date=February 2024}}
			* Non-linear models
			** ]<ref>{{cite book\|last = Perrow\|first = Charles \|date= 1984\|title =Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies\|isbn = 978-0465051434\|publisher = Basic Books}}</ref>
			** Systems-theoretic accident model and process (STAMP)<ref>{{cite journal\|last = Leveson \|first = Nancy\|date = April 2004\|journal = ] \|title = A new accident model for engineering safer systems\|volume = 42\|issue = 4\|pages = 237–270\|doi = 10.1016/S0925-7535(03)00047-X\|citeseerx = 10.1.1.141.697}}</ref>
			** Functional resonance analysis Method ()<ref>Hollnagel, 2012</ref>
			** Assertions that all existing models are insufficient<ref>Dekker 2011</ref>{{full citation needed\|date=April 2022}}

			]s are sometimes used to illustrate ] and ] discussions.

	== See also ==		== See also ==

	* ]
			===General===
	* ]
			* ]
	* Aircraft
	** ]		* ]
			* ]
	** ]
			* ]
	** ]
			* ]
	* ]
			* ]
	**]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			** ]
			* ]
			* ]
			** ]
			* ]

			===Transportation===
			* ]
			* Road vehicle safety
			** ]
			** ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			** ]

			===Other specific topics===
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			** ]
			* ]

			==References==
			{{Reflist}}

	== External links ==		== External links ==
			{{wikiquote}}
	* "" - an opinion article from the ''Plainview Herald'', by Robert R. McMillan, dated Friday, June 18, 1999
			{{Commons category\|Accidents}}
	*. A free guide to workplace accidents and related compensation claims.
			{{wiktionary}}
	*

	]

	* (CARE)
			{{Disasters}}
			{{Authority control}}

	]		]
	]		]
			]
	]
			]
	]
	]
	]

Latest revision as of 23:05, 10 January 2025

Unforeseen event, often with a negative outcome For other uses, see Accident (disambiguation) and Accidental (disambiguation).

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 researchers who study unintentional injury 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, 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 by the US automobile industry.

Types

Physical and non-physical

Physical examples of accidents include unintended motor vehicle collisions, tongue biting while eating, electric shock by accidentally touching bare electric wire, drowning, falls, being injured by touching something sharp or hot, or bumping into something while walking.

Non-physical examples are unintentionally revealing a secret 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 accidents. According to the International Labour Organization (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-related accidents are mainly sports injuries.

Accidents by vehicle

Main article: Vehicle collision

Vehicle collisions are not usually accidents, given that they are mostly caused by preventable causes such as drunk driving and intentionally driving too fast, and as such should not be referred to as accidents. The use of the word accident to describe car wrecks was promoted by the US National Automobile Chamber of Commerce 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 has asked media and the public to not use the word accident to describe vehicle collisions.