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No More Accidents...

This page was reviewed or revised on Thursday, November 10, 2011 3:02 PM

What is an accident?

1. An event that happens for no apparent reason.
2. An act of fate: an unpredictable event that could not be avoided. 
3. An event that is without apparent cause, or is unexpected; an occurrence of things by chance.
   

Source: The Canadian Oxford Dictionary

So why No More Accidents?

Most crashes, collisions, injuries and incidents are predictable and preventable, and therefore, by definition, are not accidents.

By removing the 'A' word from our injury vocabulary, we can shift our focus to factors that cause injury, and focus on the strategies we can adopt to prevent them from happening.

There are some events we cannot prevent, like an Act of Nature such as lightning strikes, earthquakes, and storms at sea. However, we can:

• Refuse to drink and drive
• Wear seatbelts 
• Wear helmets while riding bicycles and snowmobiles
• Wear reflective gear while walking at night
• Childproof our home 
• Prepare for emergencies
• Avoid using cell phones while driving or walking
  

An estimated 9 out of 10 incidents causing injury or death can be predicted, and therefore prevented.

Here is what Lambton residents said!

In 2009, 17.9% of Lambton residents reported an injury within the past 12 months that limited normal activities (CCHS 2009).

In 2009, Lambton residents, age 12 and older, were less likely than Ontario residents to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle in the past year (23.5% vs. 34.3%) (CCHS 2009)

When you hear the word accident, what immediately comes to mind? Language is a powerful tool, so let's call it what it is... injury, collision, incident or crash.

Watch the video and decide: Were these injuries accidents? Did the events happen for no apparent reason, or could they have been predicted or prevented?