From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishan accident waiting to happenan accident waiting to happenused about a situation in which an accident is likely to happen because no one is trying to prevent it The boats are being left to drift; it’s an accident waiting to happen. → accident
Examples from the Corpus
an accident waiting to happen• A student helicopter pilot wallowing around in a hover in a tight clearing is an accident waiting to happen.• Another way of putting it would be that the dollar is an accident waiting to happen.• Unless, of course, it was an accident waiting to happen.• People living near the site say it was an accident waiting to happen.• Mr Stewart said that there was an accident waiting to happen and he feared lives would be lost. 