les vs. des

[solid stream]

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les vs. des

[dim cloak]

afin d'éviter des accidents = in order to avoid some accidents (not all of them)

afin d'éviter les accidents = in order to avoid accidents (in general)

[buoyant knot]

Is it always “les” when you refer to a category of things in general?

[dim cloak]

Yes, that's one of the two uses of "les" (the other of course being "the").

Example:
Cats are carnivorous ==> Les chats sont carnivores