Accidents – types, causes, and prevention
Accidents are unintended and sudden occurrences. It is not planned.
No one starts a day with a plan to be involved in a fatal motor accident or gas explosion, but it happens anyway.
That’s why we have defined accident as an unintended, unexpected, occurrence that results in a risk exposure
However unintended or unexpected accidents seem to be, it can be controlled and managed if the cause was detected early enough.
There are so many factors that causes accidents, some occur as a result of our carelessness while some are beyond our control.
A good knowledge of accidents, it’s types and causes will enable one to identify and avert any possible risk of accident around you.
Types of accident
Different types of accidents exist depending on the degree and severity of the injury inflicted on the victim.
In this article, our directives will be focused the major types of accidents.
But before we proceed, let’s establish a few facts.
An accident can be considered as a major or minor depending on the degree of injury inflicted on the victim.
An accident is said to be major, if it leads to death, a permanent or prolonged disability, while it is said to be minor, if it is an external cut or bruise that does not render the affected victim disabled ffor life.
In addition to this, an injury without an external sign or wound is called an internal injury while an injury with an external sign like a cut or bruise is known as external injury.
However, the major types of accident that exist include:
- Car Accident
- Trips and falls
- Fire outbreak and has explosion
For more clarification, we will explain each of them briefly.
Car Accident: This occur when a vehicle has a head-on collision with an object, a person or another vehicle resulting in death, damage, and injuries.
It might occur as a result of reckless driving, drunk driving, and so many other factors.
Slips and falls: This type of accident is peculiar to the young and old.
The victims might end up having a bruise, cut, lose consciousness, or a fracture.
However, If the preceding cause of the slips and fall is because the victim is drowsy or weak, then medical attention is needed.
Additionally, if the victim has a very serious injury or loses consciousness as a result of slipping or falling, it is important to seek medical attention.
Fire outbreak: Fire outbreak and gas explosion is said to occur when there is an outbreak of fire.
For example, if a house suddenly catches fire, that is a fire outbreak.
Fire outbreak results in an inferno which leads to a permanent damage to life and property, atmospheric and water pollution.
There are tons of reasons why a fire outbreak can occur and they include:
- Faulty electrical wiring
- Lapses in electrical appliances
- Overheating of cooking equipment
- Falling asleep during cooking
- Leaving dried weeds or first around the house
Other types of accidents that exist include; poisoning, drowning, suffocation, oil spill, and much more.
Having explained the major types of accidents that exist, let’s proceed to the causes of accidents
Causes of accident
There are myriad of reasons why accident occur and below is a list of the common causes of accident
- Stress
- Fatigue
- Dehydration
- Drunk driving
- Reckless driving
- Rain/wet roads
- Gas leakage
- Dropping peels or any slippery material on the floor
- Lapses in electrical appliances
Prevention of Accident
Having defined what accident is, its types, and causes, it’s now time to check out preventive measures that can be put in place to avert the incidence of accident
Put up precautions in your house based on your child development preventing the careless dropping of slippery materials on the floor
- Always ensure your gas cylinder is properly locked before and after cooking
- Before you get drunk, hire someone who is not drinking to drive or you sleep over
- Make driving carefully a habit
- Always drink water to prevent dehydration
- If you have an underlying ailment that won’t allow you to drive well, consult a physician
- Do not place babies on a cliff where they can easily fall off
- In case of a fire outbreak, be sure to have a fireguard in your house
- Keep hot substance out of the reach of children
- Avoid picking calls with your mobile devices while driving
- Use seat belts all the time
- Conclusion
- Accidents are unintended and unplanned and it’s something that is bound to happen from time to time ranging from hot water spills, oil spills to car accidents.
- It is necessary to be at alert by putting the aforementioned measures in place to enhance safety.