One-the-job shortcuts are one of the most common causes of workplace injuries. A shortcut places a priority on speed over safety. Employees who take shortcuts believe they are aware and savvy enough to avoid injury in exhange for saving time, hassling with safety gear, meeting quotas, or some other advantage. Insurance companies, which calculate risk and protect businesses, will tell you that the increased risk from an "unsafe work practice" is about 600 percent higher than doing it safely. When you bypass a safety step, you automatically enter a world of probability called the "Law of Large Numbers." Also called the "law of averages" or "gambler's fallacy," it states that you may escape injury once or twice, but your chance of injury because nearly certain as time passes.