More on near misses and unsafe acts that result in no consequence- remember this is from the 1930s and 40s
“It needs but little thought for the average person to conclude that the no-injury accident ratio herein expressed is not exaggerated. How many drivers of automobiles would care to assert that they had never had narrow escapes from injury when driving across railroad grade crossings without being absolutely sure that no train was coming, when cutting in and out of traffic, when attempting to beat the traffic lights, when passing cars on grades and hills or when, because of momentary inattentiveness, they were surprised by the sudden appearance of a pedestrian or another car directly ahead and dangerously close? And when accidents and injuries do so occur, what would probably be the ratio of accidents or narrow escapes from injury to actual injuries? When an employee in a plant stumbles, falls, and sustains an injury, is it reasonable to say that he never stumbled or fell before?”
Industrial Accident Prevention – A Scientific Approach, H. W. Heinrich, Assistant Superintendent Engineering and Inspection Division, The Travelers Insurance Company, 1941
