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Accidents (Unintentional Injuries)

Home > Men's Health Home > Top Health Concerns of Men > Accidents (Unintentional Injuries)

• Additional Resources

Accidents, also called unintentional injuries, are the third leading cause of death in the United States. They account for 1 of every 4 people treated in an emergency department.

Death can result from many types of accidents, such as:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Drug overdose
• Falls
• Fires

In many cases, accidental injury can be prevented. Here are just a few steps you can take to lower your risk of injury, and even death:

• Don't drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol or while sleepy. Also don't accept a ride with an impaired driver.
• Wear your seat belt.
• Drive the speed limit and obey traffic laws.
• Look for safety issues around your home and fix or remove hazards. Make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working. Remove tripping hazards that can cause falls, such as cords or loose rugs.
• Use the handrail on stairs.
• Use safety gear during sports activities, such as a helmet when biking.
• Follow workplace safety guidelines and OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) standards.
• Learn to swim.
• Use care with ladders, power equipment, and chemicals when working around the home.

Additional Resources

Publications

1.   Injury-Related Websites — This website provides links to information, resources, and organizations for those who have experienced a major injury.

   http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/injweb/websites.htm

2.   Motor Vehicle Safety — This fact sheet provides a statistical look at the problem of drunk driving and drug-impaired driving. It highlights specific groups more likely to drive impaired and suggests ways to prevent death and injury.

   http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/index.html

3.   Unintentional Injury Prevention — This website links to fact sheets, publications, prevention information, and statistics about unintentional injury. Topics include motor vehicle-related injuries and fire safety.

   http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/duip.htm

4. SOPHE Unintentional Injury and Violence Prevention (Copyright © Society for Public Health Education) — This website is designed to strengthen the connection between behavioral science and health education with more comprehensive approaches to unintentional injury and violence prevention.

   http://www.sophe.org/ui/index.html

Organizations

1.   National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC, OPHS, HHS
2.   National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT
3.   U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
4. National Fire Protection Association
5. National Resource Center for Safe Aging
6. Prevention Institute

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated June 1, 2009.