“A miss is a miss.
A “near miss” is a collision.”
Near miss (safety)
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“Close call” redirects here. For the film, see Close Call.
A near miss, “near hit”, “close call”, or “nearly a collision” is an unplanned event that has the potential to cause, but does not actually result in human injury, environmental or equipment damage, or an interruption to normal operation.[citation needed]
OSHA defines a near miss as an incident in which no property was damaged and no personal injury was sustained, but where, given a slight shift in time or position, damage or injury easily could have occurred. Near misses also may be referred to as close calls, near accidents, accident precursors, injury-free events and, in the case of moving objects, near collisions.[citation needed]
A near miss is often an error, with harm prevented by other considerations and circumstances.[1]
The phrase “near miss” should not be confused with the phrase “nearly a miss” which would imply a collision.
I’ve heard that bit about a near miss being a collision too many times. You are correct; a near miss is still a miss, but it’s called a near miss to distinguish it from a wide miss.
“Here’s a phrase that apparently the airlines simply made up: near miss. They say that if 2 planes almost collide, it’s a near miss. Bullsh, my friend. It’s a near hit! A collision is a near miss.
[WHAM! CRUNCH!]
“Look, they nearly missed!”
“Yes, but not quite.”