Abstract
Reviews of research on accident proneness have appeared at intervals for many years. In the past 20 years or so. reviewers have concluded without exception that the contribution of the accident prone to the total accident problem is small, and attempts to control accidents by attention to man machine design and the provision of appropriate safety equipment are more effective than attempts to identify those people with a high susceptibility to accidents. A recent book presents the case for the latter approach at great length and with considerable force. This paper examines the arguments presented and concludes that they are not well founded.