Question 3.1 Summarise the difference between an accident and a hazard
An accident can just happen without warning whereas a hazard can be prevented. An accident in the home can be a small accident, ie, spill some water onto the floor, to a major accident that can lead to injury or worse! For example, if you have a toddler and you have stairs, never leave the stair gate open, the child can very easily climb to the top and fall all the way down, unthinkable.
A person is not pre-warned about an accident it is an unexpected or unforseen event. For example, the earth quakes that are happening around the world at the moment, even the japanese tsunami, these are classed as accidents. A hazard is a chance of being exposed to injury or harm for example a fire.
Hazards and accidents are everywhere around us. If we ask people what are the differences between the two, most would say they are the same. Depending on the context they both have different meanings. It is always a good idea to have a good understanding of the two words. This way they can be used in the correct way.
What is a hazard? This can be a situation which already exists and is very much likely to cause damage. For example, electicity, chemicals, toxic gas all these can be very hazardous. In deed they can all be deadly! Hazard has been taken from the old french word ‘Hazard’ which means ‘a game of chance using dice’. Ref: Prabhat. In the English dictionary Accident is an unforeseen incident. Hazard can increase the chances of a loss that does not necessarily result in illness or injury.
Sometimes in the home accidents can occur because of a hazard, for example if you have the oven on and a small child goes into the kitchen, they can very easily touch the cooker door and burn themselves. The accident is burning themselves and the hazard is leaving the kitchen door open for the child to get in. The hazard can be taken away to stop the accident occuring.
Here in the middle east, particularly where I live...