Accident-proneness

Accident-proneness is the idea that some people have a greater predisposition than others to suffer accidents, such as car crashes and industrial injuries. It may be used as a reason to deny any insurance on such individuals.[1]

Early work

The early work on this subject dates back to 1919, in a study by Greenwood and Woods, who studied workers at a British munitions factory and found that accidents were unevenly distributed among workers, with a relatively small proportion of workers accounting for most of the accidents.[2] Further work on accident-proneness was carried out in the 1930s and 1940s.

Present study

The subject is still being studied actively. Research into accident-proneness is of great interest in safety engineering, where human factors such as pilot error, or errors by nuclear plant operators, can have massive effects on the reliability and safety of a system. One of the areas of most interest and more profound research is aeronautics, where accidents have been reviewed from psychological and human factors, to mechanical and technical failures. Many conclusive studies have presented that a human factor has great influence on the results of those occurrences.

Statistical evidence

Statistical evidence clearly demonstrates that different individuals can have different rates of accidents from one another; for example, young male drivers are the group at highest risk for being involved in car accidents. Substantial variation in personal accident rates also seem to occur between individuals.

Doubt

A number of studies have cast doubt, though, on whether accident-proneness actually exists as a "distinct, persistent and independently verifiable" physiological or psychological syndrome. Although substantial research has been devoted to this subject, no conclusive evidence seems to exist either for or against the existence of accident-proneness in this sense.

Nature and causes

The exact nature and causes of accident-proneness, assuming that it exists as a distinct entity, are unknown. Factors which have been considered as associated with accident-proneness have included absent-mindedness, clumsiness, carelessness, impulsivity, predisposition to risk-taking, and unconscious desires to create accidents as a way of achieving secondary gains. Broad studies on the speed and accuracy using a specially designed test sheet of finding a specific figure on various people, such as Japanese, Brazil-born Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Filipino, Thai, and Central American with different educational backgrounds. The studies have revealed that educational background or study experience is the key factor of concentration capability. Screening new employees using this test gave drastic decreases in work accidents in several companies.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.insurancecompanies.com/insider-information-how-insurance-companies-measure-risk/
  2. ↑ Greenwood, M. and Woods, H.M. (1919) The incidence of industrial accidents upon individuals with special reference to multiple accidents. Industrial Fatigue Research Board, Medical Research Committee, Report No. 4. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London.
  3. ↑ "創造性ﾃｽﾄ、薬不要の風邪治療(妊婦､ｱｽﾘｰﾄ､NSAID)、適性ﾃｽﾄ". F6.dion.ne.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-08-15.

Further reading

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