I have heard people state that 100% of accidents could/can be avoided. I don’t believe this one bit! I think this is another example of how schooling does not reflect the real world. In theory and hind sight a person could eliminate all accidents but in reality accidents will happen.
My brother-in-law recently received 6 staples in his head for a head wound. While working in his yard he stumbled while walking. Normally this would be no big deal and he would have gone on his business like nothing had happened. Unfortunately for him, he happened to be right next to the latching system for the gate in his fence. That little stumble caused his head to unpleasantly meet the latching system. He didn’t even realize he was cut until he went to wipe the sweat off is forehead and noticed it was blood red. In hind sight he could have prevented this accident by stepping around the unknown hole or moving the latch to the other side of the gate but in reality it was a classic “accident”.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary one definition of an accident is: “an unexpected happening causing loss or injury which is not due to any fault or misconduct on the part of the person injured but for which legal relief may be sought”.
Based on this definition, I would like someone to explain to me how they think every accident is preventable? I’m sorry but “stuff” (or your own word) happens. My belief is not every accident is avoidable and that makes it all the more important to prevent the avoidable ones!
With such a conscious presence of safety in the workplace today I’m always shocked to see how all the knowledge seems to stay at work when employees go home!
Now that it’s warm out and people are working out in their yards it’s easy to spot how unsafe people are at home. One example I seem to notice quite a bit is with weed whacking. Weed whackers have approximately 3,000 at idle to 12,000 at full throttle rpm’s yet homeowners are out in their sandals and no safety glasses trimming their yard. Of course they are also using a lawn mower while in their sandals also. (I also hear the occasional injuries like someone that decided to try and be safe by securing their ladder to the large limb that they are trimming but that is a whole different issue!)
Safety in the workplace can not be stressed enough and it should be the same while at home also! Your own house should be treated like a construction site. A little common sense and approaching home projects with safety in mind can help you avoid a trip to the emergency room.
