The major difference between an accident and an incident is distinguishing if the associated event outcome was _____

• A. Preventable
• B. Caused By
• C. Predictable
• D. Unavoidable

Answer: (A)

The key idea is preventability. In safety investigations, the difference between an incident and an accident hinges on whether the outcome could have been prevented. If the resulting harm or loss could have been avoided with better controls, procedures, training, or actions, the event is treated as an incident (a near miss or preventable event) and prompts corrective actions to stop recurrence. If the outcome could not have been prevented despite reasonable measures, it would be considered an accident. The other descriptors like who caused it, whether it was predictable, or whether it was unavoidable don’t capture the practical distinction used to drive learning and improvement.