That Was No Accident!

Whether you call them accident prone, unlucky or just clumsy, some people seem to have extremely bad luck. Psychiatrists say there are no unlucky people and the accident prone cause their own accidents. Perhaps, that’s true but until recently there has been no concrete evidence to support this view. The tendency towards accident proneness, according to some research is a function of behavioral, mental, physical and personality factors, among others.

Accident prone is generally defined as a person that suffers a greater number of accidents than normal. The question is why? Researchers are trying to find out. A study done at the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands by psychiatrist Ellen Visser, analyzed 79 studies which examined how prone people are to having accidents.

In all, the studies looked at accidents suffered by 147,000 people, from 15 countries. The results were shocking. It appears 1 in 29 have a 50 per cent higher chance of having an accident than others. Visser said her work revealed personality traits that made some more accident prone.

Other research has suggested those employed in high risk jobs tended to have more accidents, as did children with coordination problems while studies at another university found people with low -levels of dependability and agreeableness were more likely to suffer accidents. High levels of openness were also linked with an increased risk.

Madeleine Portwood, a senior education psychologist and education adviser at the Dyspraxia Foundation for Children in the U.K., said children with more sedentary lives often experienced a higher incident of clumsiness problems. Portwood claimed out of 400 three year olds 57 per cent didn’t have coordination skills comparable to more active kids their age. She also believes coordination difficulties in the general population had also increased tenfold in the last decade due to the same problems, but a structured movement program can significantly reduce these statistics.

Another team of researchers found 27 percent of the individuals they studied had more frequent accidents than usual. It was also discovered youth, job inexperience job dissatisfaction, inadequate safety training, sleep disorders, smoking, and lack of exercise were all contributing factors. Surprisingly, there was another factor, not having a personal hobby.

From these studies three key personality traits of people who are not accident prone have emerged:

· Openness: The tendency to learn from experience and to be open to suggestions.

· Dependability: Conscientious and socially responsible.

· Agreeableness: Not aggressive or self-centered.

We all know someone who seems prone to accidents and sometimes what befalls them can be humorous and amusing, as long as they’re not seriously injured. However, there are some who have been plagued their entire lives by unfortunate mishaps. Take the case of Thomas Cook.

Cook's dilemma started before birth. He nearly died as his mother nearly miscarried. As a child he broke his collarbone, suffered brain hemorrhage due to a playground accident, had his spleen removed due to an injury playing touch football. After becoming a teenager he had a go cart accident and a near fatal car crash before attending university. After enrolling in classes he spent five months in a coma due to another car accident.

Cook eventually became employed as a computer programmer; one would think a fairly safe job. But Cook broke his back three times. Additionally he broke ribs in various car accidents and falls. Finally, what little good luck he may have had ran out. Cook died at 54 after being hit by a car.

Do you think you are accident prone? Take this test and find out at: http://www.queendom.com/tests/access_page/index.htm?idRegTest=2445