An accident is a specific, unexpected, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances In the criminal law in the United States, the definition of a given offense generally includes up to three kinds of "elements": the actus reus, or guilty conduct; the mens rea, or guilty mental state; and the attendant circumstances. The reason is given in Powell v. Texas, 392 U.S. 514, 533 (1968): leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence.
Experts in the field of injury prevention Injury prevention are efforts to prevent or reduce the severity of bodily injuries caused by external mechanisms, such as accidents, before they occur. Injury prevention is a component of safety and public health, and its goal is to improve the health of the population by preventing injuries and hence improving quality of life. Among laypersons, avoid use of the term 'accident' to describe events that cause injury in an attempt to highlight the predictable and preventable nature of most injuries. Such incidents are viewed from the perspective of epidemiology Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventative medicine. It is considered a cornerstone methodology of public health research, and is highly regarded in evidence-based medicine for identifying risk - predictable and preventable. Preferred words are more descriptive of the event itself, rather than of its unintended nature (e.g., collision A collision is an isolated event in which two or more bodies exert relatively strong forces on each other for a relatively short time. The g-force can be very large during a short time, drowning Drowning is death from asphyxia due to suffocation caused by a liquid entering the lungs and preventing the absorption of oxygen leading to cerebral hypoxia and myocardial infarction, fall Falling is a major cause of personal injury, especially for the elderly. Builders and miners represent worker categories representing high rates of fall injuries. The WHO estimate that 392,000 people die in falls every year.[citation needed] In 1972, Vesna Vulović survived a fall from 33,000ft without a parachute, etc.)
Accidents of particularly common types (auto, fire, etc.) are investigated to identify how to avoid them in the future. This is sometimes called root cause analysis Root cause analysis is a class of problem solving methods aimed at identifying the root causes of problems or events. The practice of RCA is predicated on the belief that problems are best solved by attempting to correct or eliminate root causes, as opposed to merely addressing the immediately obvious symptoms. By directing corrective measures at, but does not generally apply to accidents that cannot be deterministically Determinism is the philosophical view that every event, including human cognition, behaviour, decision, and action is causally determined (completely predictable) by previous events predicted. A root cause A root cause is an initiating cause of a causal chain which leads to an outcome or effect of interest. Commonly, root cause is used to describe the depth in the causal chain where an intervention could reasonably be implemented to change performance and prevent an undesirable outcome of an uncommon and purely random Randomness has somewhat disparate meanings as used in several different fields. It also has common meanings which may have loose connections with some of those more definite meanings. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "random" thus: accident may never be identified, and thus future similar accidents remain "accidental."
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Definition
Narrowly defined, the designation may refer only to the event, while not including the circumstances (facts The word fact can refer to verified information about past or present circumstances or events which are presented as objective reality. In science, it means a provable concept. surrounding) or results A result is the final consequence of a sequence of actions or events expressed qualitatively or quantitatively. Possible results include advantage, disadvantage, gain, injury, loss, value and victory. There may be a range of possible outcomes associated with an event depending on the point of view, historical distance or relevance. Reaching no of the event; i.e., ‘accident’ is constrained Garner provides a thorough discussion of various forms of constraint with application to pattern recognition and psychology to an immediate incident, the occurrence of which results in an unplanned outcome. In common use, however, ‘accident’ may include the entire interacting circumstantial framework (chance, pre-existing, or uncontrolled dynamically developing conditions; commonplace actions; random time and place; participants; etc.) leading up to, including, and resulting from, the accident's immediate occurrence.
Types
Physical and non-physical
Physical examples include, e.g., unintended collisions or falls, being injured by touching something sharp, hot, or electrical, or ingesting poison. Non-physical examples are, e.g., unintentionally revealing a secret Secrecy is often controversial, depending on the content of the secret, the group or people keeping the secret, and the motivation for secrecy. Secrecy by government entities is often decried as excessive or in promotion of poor operation; excessive revelation of information on individuals can conflict with virtues of privacy and confidentiality or otherwise saying something incorrectly, forgetting an appointment, etc.
By activity
- Accidents during the execution of work or arising out of it are called work accidents 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 health of or loss of the life of the employee. In worst cases, it causes occupational fatality.
- In contrast, leisure Leisure or free time, is a period of time spent out of work and essential domestic activity. It is also the period of recreational and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities such as eating and sleeping, going to work or running a business, attending school and doing homework, household chores, and day-to-day stress. The-related accidents are mainly sports injuries Sports injuries are injuries that occur to athletes participating in sporting events. In many cases, these types of injuries are due to overuse of a part of the body when participating in a certain activity. For example, runner's knee is a painful condition generally associated with running, while tennis elbow is a form of repetitive stress injury.
By vehicle
- Bike accident Bicycle safety is the use of practices designed to reduce risk associated with cycling. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example, the discussions as to whether bicycle helmets or cyclepaths really deliver improved safety. The merits of bicycle lighting are less controversial
- Tram accident A tram accident is generally an accident in which a tram is involved . When general traffic safety is evaluated, as in traffic accident statistics, any accident involving a tram or a tram system can be considered to be a tram accident. Some statistics concerned with public safety collect information on any incident in a tram or a tram system
- Traffic collision A traffic collision is when a road vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other geographical or architectural obstacle. Traffic collisions can result in injury, property damage, and death
- Sailing ship accidents Sailing ships were frequently put in the way of 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 whole destruction of the rigging, and from running aground to fire
Most common causes
See also: List of preventable causes of death The World Health Organization traditionally classified death by either disease or injury. It however may also be classified in terms of preventable risk factors which then lead to the traditional classification of disease states Incidence of accidents, sorted by activity.For physical traumas Physical trauma refers to a physical injury, generally of a considerable degree. A trauma patient is someone who has suffered serious and life-threatening physical injury, with the potential for secondary complications such as shock, respiratory failure and death or injuries leading to hospital discharge, most common causes are traffic accidents and falls
Further information: Physical trauma#Common causes Physical trauma refers to a physical injury, generally of a considerable degree. A trauma patient is someone who has suffered serious and life-threatening physical injury, with the potential for secondary complications such as shock, respiratory failure and deathSee also
- Injury Injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside agent or force, which may be physical or chemical, and is either unintentional (For e.g. accidents at work, sports injury) or intentional (For e.g. suicide, homicide). A severe and life-threatening injury is referred to as a physical trauma
- Accident-proneness Accident-proneness, also known as clumsiness, is the conception that some people might have predisposition, or that they might be more likely to suffer accidents, such as car crashes and industrial injuries, than other people. It may be used as a reason to deny any insurance on such individuals
- Air safety Air safety is a term encompassing the theory, investigation and categorization of flight failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulation, education and training. It can also be applied in the context of campaigns that inform the public as to the safety of air travel
- Aisles: Safety and regulatory considerations An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on either side or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other. Aisles can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings such as churches, Cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments and legislatures, courtrooms, theatres, and in certain types of passenger vehicles
- Bike
- Car
- Automobile safety Automobile safety is the study and practice of vehicle design, construction, and equipment to minimize the occurrence and consequences of automobile accidents
- Traffic collision A traffic collision is when a road vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other geographical or architectural obstacle. Traffic collisions can result in injury, property damage, and death
- Explosives safety The United States Air Force counterpart to the DDESB is the Air Force Safety Center . Similarly safety functions are found at major command headquarters, intermediate command headquarters and at unit level as the weapons safety office. Quantity-Distance (QD) has evolved into the foundation of DOD 6055.9-STD, Ammunition and Explosives Safety
- List of rail accidents:
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- Rail accidents pre-1950 Categories: Lists of rail transport accidents | Railway accidents by year | 19th-century railway accidents | 20th-century railway accidents
- Rail accidents 1950–1999
- Rail accidents 2000–2009
- List of train accidents by death toll This section lists peacetime shipping disasters only. For wartime shipping disasters, see List of battles and other violent events by death toll
- Nuclear and radiation accidents This article covers notable accidents involving nuclear devices and radioactive materials. These accidents can hurt or kill almost anything that is around it while the accident is happening. In some cases, a release of radioactive contamination occurs, but in many cases the accident involves a sealed source or the release of radioactivity is small
- Risk management Risk is defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on objectives . Risk management can therefore be considered the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the
- Sailing ship Sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large sailing vessels and when steam power came along the
- Safety Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be considered non-desirable. This can take the form
- Safety engineering Safety engineering is an applied science strongly related to systems engineering and the subset System Safety Engineering. Safety engineering assures that a life-critical system behaves as needed even when pieces fail
- Fail-safe Fail-safe or fail-secure describes a device or feature which, in the event of failure, responds in a way that will cause no harm, or at least a minimum of harm, to other devices or danger to personnel. Fail-safe components of a system are distinguished from fail-secure components in that, in the former, component failure allows, but does not cause
- Poka-yoke Poka-yoke (IPA: [poka joke]) is a Japanese term that means "fail-safing" or "mistake-proofing". A poka-yoke is any mechanism in a lean manufacturing process that helps an equipment operator avoid (yokeru) mistakes (poka). Its purpose is to eliminate product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors
- Human error model
- Tram accident A tram accident is generally an accident in which a tram is involved . When general traffic safety is evaluated, as in traffic accident statistics, any accident involving a tram or a tram system can be considered to be a tram accident. Some statistics concerned with public safety collect information on any incident in a tram or a tram system
- Workplace safety In most countries males comprise the vast majority of workplace fatalities. In the EU as a whole, 94% of death were of males. In the UK the disparity was even greater with male comprising 97.4% of workplace deaths
- Material safety data sheet A material safety data sheet is a form containing data regarding the properties of a particular substance. An important component of product stewardship and workplace safety, it is intended to provide workers and emergency personnel with procedures for handling or working with that substance in a safe manner, and includes information such as
- Personal protective equipment PPE can also be used to protect the working environment from pesticide application, pollution or infection from the worker . The protection may be important in both ways, as with the use of disposable gloves by surgeons and dentists
- Occupational safety and health Occupational health and safety is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of all occupational health and safety programs is to foster a safe work environment. As a secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers,
- Criticality accident A criticality accident, sometimes referred to as an excursion or a power excursion, is an accidental increasing nuclear chain reaction in a fissile material, such as enriched uranium or plutonium. This releases a surge of neutron radiation which is highly dangerous to humans and causes induced radioactivity in the surroundings
- Accident analysis Accident Analysis is carried out in order to determine the cause or causes of an accident or series of accidents so as prevent further incidents of a similar kind. It is also known as accident investigation. It may be performed by a range of experts, including forensic scientists, forensic engineers or health and safety advisers
External links
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Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:39:54 GMT+00:00
on Farmingville road Newsday (subscription) A Coram woman was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center following a three-car crash that closed County Road 83 in Farmingville for several ... One hurt in accident on Farmingville road Newsday (subscription)
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On Thursday I was involved in my first car accident while I was the driver that is I will no longer be able to boast that I ve never been in one I used to pride myself on that not
