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Post Info TOPIC: What to do if ... (falling elevator)
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ed11563


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What to do if ... (falling elevator)
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If the brakes fail on the elevator you're in, the "experts" recommend that you ...

 

Lie down on your side with an arm (preferably your non-dominant arm) raised up so your upper arm is supporting your head, and your knees are bent, with both feet touching the floor.

(If you're right handed, lie on your left side.)

The biggest risk of death would be from a broken neck, and this reduces the risk of breaking your spine (including your neck).

Depending on how fast the elevator is falling, and/or how far it falls (which affects its' falling speed) you will probably dislocate the shoulder that cushions your head, and you may break your hip ...

but these are usually not fatal injuries.

 

There have been reports of a small number of sky divers surviving parachute failure by doing this. Seriously injured, yes, but not always dead.



-- Edited by ed11563 on Monday 26th of January 2015 11:47:35 AM

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NAOW


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How often do elevators fall for this knowledge to be necessary? I have to say this is now my new biggest fear.

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flan327


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NAOW wrote:

How often do elevators fall for this knowledge to be necessary? I have to say this is now my new biggest fear.

 I take an escalator if one is available. I'm more afraid of being stuck inside that tiny box.

flan



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voiceofreason


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Less than 40 people a year die in malfunctioning elevators. Some because of doors closing and killing some from falling. But, billions of people use them a year so the deaths are likr .000000001%. Way more people die from falling down stairs.

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NAOW


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Good to know. Thanks VoR.

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lilyofcourse


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I once got my boot tip caught in the escalator. It ripped the metal tip off.

If we worried about everything that could go wrong, we would never leave our homes.

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Tignanello


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By the time I realized what was happening and got myself into that position, the elevator would have already hit the ground . . .

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flan327


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Tignanello wrote:

By the time I realized what was happening and got myself into that position, the elevator would have already hit the ground . . .

 I suspect you might be right!

flan



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ed11563


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I've been caught in closing elevator doors a few times, in old buildings, when nothing I did would get the door to open.

Once, in a hospital in New Jersey, an elderly lady was caught, and it was VERY DIFFICULT to pull the door off of her so she wasn't seriously injured.

It's a good thing she wasn't alone.

 

Any suggestions about this situation?

I was in an elevator once when the brakes didn't completely fail, but it was overloaded and didn't stop until it hit bottom.

Fortunately, it wasn't going very fast, and the bottom of the shaft was only 3 feet below the ground level of the building.

 

If I had it to do over again, I would hold onto two of the people next to me, bend my knees a little, and try to keep breathing.



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ed11563


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lilyofcourse wrote:

I once got my boot tip caught in the escalator. It ripped the metal tip off.

If we worried about everything that could go wrong, we would never leave our homes.

 Just like planning a safe place to go when the driver next to you swerves into your lane, it's good to at least recognize things that can go wrong, and have a plan.

Just my humble opinion.

 

 



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TrudyML


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Hey flan? What elevator you stepping into? Hmmm?

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lilyofcourse


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But Ed, you are confusing living offensively with living in a state of paranoia.

Of course you pay attention to things around you.

But to sit and think about it and make "game plans" and all that you say you do is just too much for me.

When is the last time you were out in public on a beautiful sunny day and just enjoyed it without worrying about who had what and what they were planning to do with it?

It cant be good for you physically. You need to chill.

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flan327


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lilyofcourse wrote:

But Ed, you are confusing living offensively with living in a state of paranoia.

Of course you pay attention to things around you.

But to sit and think about it and make "game plans" and all that you say you do is just too much for me.

When is the last time you were out in public on a beautiful sunny day and just enjoyed it without worrying about who had what and what they were planning to do with it?

It cant be good for you physically. You need to chill.

 You are, of course, welcome to your opinion.

And might you not be confusing paranoia with caution?

flan



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flan327


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TrudyML wrote:

Hey flan? What elevator you stepping into? Hmmm?

 Why? Are you wanting to be stuck in an elevator with me????

evileye

flan



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Thanks Ed, now I won't be able to get into an elevator for months. Oh and will think of you when I do. furious



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lilyofcourse


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flan327 wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:

But Ed, you are confusing living offensively with living in a state of paranoia.

Of course you pay attention to things around you.

But to sit and think about it and make "game plans" and all that you say you do is just too much for me.

When is the last time you were out in public on a beautiful sunny day and just enjoyed it without worrying about who had what and what they were planning to do with it?

It cant be good for you physically. You need to chill.

 You are, of course, welcome to your opinion.

And might you not be confusing paranoia with caution?

flan

Caution is fine. As long as it isn't taking up all your time and turning into out right worry.

When is the last time you were in a situation and thought about all the ways you could get hurt or killed?

I cant tell you if I ever have.

 



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flan327


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lilyofcourse wrote:
flan327 wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:

But Ed, you are confusing living offensively with living in a state of paranoia.

Of course you pay attention to things around you.

But to sit and think about it and make "game plans" and all that you say you do is just too much for me.

When is the last time you were out in public on a beautiful sunny day and just enjoyed it without worrying about who had what and what they were planning to do with it?

It cant be good for you physically. You need to chill.

 You are, of course, welcome to your opinion.

And might you not be confusing paranoia with caution?

flan

Caution is fine. As long as it isn't taking up all your time and turning into out right worry.

When is the last time you were in a situation and thought about all the ways you could get hurt or killed?

I cant tell you if I ever have.

 

 Probably once a week, when I'm driving on the highway...usually in bad weather.

flan



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lilyofcourse


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It must be hard living like that.

It is good to be aware of your surroundings. But to be worried about it and afraid is just something I could not do.

I hope this gets better for you and others who have to deal with that.

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flan327


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lilyofcourse wrote:

It must be hard living like that.

It is good to be aware of your surroundings. But to be worried about it and afraid is just something I could not do.

I hope this gets better for you and others who have to deal with that.

 I am a fairly confident driver, but it's the other cars & trucks that are the unknown.

flan



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Others are part of it. That is where being aware of your surrounding and what is going on is very important.

But I don't sit and think up scenarios of possible disasters.

That is the difference.

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ed11563


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lilyofcourse wrote:
flan327 wrote:
lilyofcourse wrote:

But Ed, you are confusing living offensively with living in a state of paranoia.

Of course you pay attention to things around you.

But to sit and think about it and make "game plans" and all that you say you do is just too much for me.

When is the last time you were out in public on a beautiful sunny day and just enjoyed it without worrying about who had what and what they were planning to do with it?

It cant be good for you physically. You need to chill.

 You are, of course, welcome to your opinion.

And might you not be confusing paranoia with caution?

flan

Caution is fine. As long as it isn't taking up all your time and turning into out right worry.

When is the last time you were in a situation and thought about all the ways you could get hurt or killed?

I cant tell you if I ever have.

 

Have you ever been hit broadside by a driver who ran a red light? I have.

Have you ever been in a car, stopped at a light, when a thug walked up to your car door and pulled the handle to open it?

I have.

Have you ever been out with friends in a boat when several people crowded to one side to see something, and when the boat tipped to that side the water level got to a few inches of the top of the side of the boat? I have.

Have you ever been hit in a parking lot when someone backed out of a space without looking? I have.

Have you ever been forced off the road when the driver on your left decided to pull into your lane? I have.

I could go on, but then someone would tell me I think about things like this too much.

 



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Southern_Belle


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I'm terrified of escalators. It all started when I was 5 and my sister told me a little kid got sucked up in an escalator. I would refuse to get on and someone would have to carry me or go on the elevator with me.

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Southern_Belle wrote:

I'm terrified of escalators. It all started when I was 5 and my sister told me a little kid got sucked up in an escalator. I would refuse to get on and someone would have to carry me or go on the elevator with me.

Escalators probably hurt more people, than elevators.

I'd rather take the stairs.cry

JMHO. 



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ed11563


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Fort Worth Mom wrote:
Southern_Belle wrote:

I'm terrified of escalators. It all started when I was 5 and my sister told me a little kid got sucked up in an escalator. I would refuse to get on and someone would have to carry me or go on the elevator with me.

Escalators probably hurt more people, than elevators.

I'd rather take the stairs.cry

JMHO. 

I used to take the stairs, then I got old. 

 



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Blankie


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DH works in the elevator industry. I believe he said it is almost impossible for them to free-fall.

Something about the hydraulics, I think.

I'll ask him when he gets home and let you know.



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ed11563


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Blankie wrote:

DH works in the elevator industry. I believe he said it is almost impossible for them to free-fall.

Something about the hydraulics, I think.

I'll ask him when he gets home and let you know.

Good, I'd like to know his thoughts. 

Some elevators are hydraulic, like the car lifts in a service station, but the height is limited.

Around here, where the buildings can be VERY tall, they seem to use cables and counter-weights a lot more.

 

The elevator I was in that bottomed out, was the freight elevator in a 9 story warehouse.

 



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Mellow Momma


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I thought on Mythbusters they said you should wait until you were almost at the very bottom and then jump up into the air, the elevator would hit the bottom and you would land - effectively just jumping up and landing as normal.

Or was that the myth that got busted?

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lilyofcourse


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Mellow Momma wrote:

I thought on Mythbusters they said you should wait until you were almost at the very bottom and then jump up into the air, the elevator would hit the bottom and you would land - effectively just jumping up and landing as normal.

Or was that the myth that got busted?

But wouldn't you have to know when you were just about to hit?  



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Blankie


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Blankie wrote:

DH works in the elevator industry. I believe he said it is almost impossible for them to free-fall.

Something about the hydraulics, I think.

I'll ask him when he gets home and let you know.

DH said this:

If a cable breaks and the elevator begins to free fall, there is a physical mechanism (safety brake) that falls into place and jams the elevator, and prevents it from free-falling.

When his guys do safety tests, they have to simulate the freefall.

The cables are normally very tight. To safety test, they let the piston come down but the car is not moving, so the tight ropes become slack. When the car senses the free-fall, the locking mechanism jams into place.

He doesn't work on high-rise buildings, but he said they are not hydraulic with pistons, because there couldn't be a piston tall enough. They have an electric motor. There are safety mechanisms in those too.



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Blankie


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NAOW wrote:

How often do elevators fall for this knowledge to be necessary? I have to say this is now my new biggest fear.

It is highly unlikely, and there are safety mechanisms built in to deal with that situation.



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cadiver


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Mellow Momma wrote:

I thought on Mythbusters they said you should wait until you were almost at the very bottom and then jump up into the air, the elevator would hit the bottom and you would land - effectively just jumping up and landing as normal.

Or was that the myth that got busted?

 They busted it for a 75 story fall.  It would depend on the height, if you drop 2 feet I am sure you could survive.  They choose 75 stories since someone did survive that fall.

 

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/jump-in-falling-elevator/



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NAOW


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Thanks Blankie. And thank you to your DH as well.

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cadiver wrote:
Mellow Momma wrote:

I thought on Mythbusters they said you should wait until you were almost at the very bottom and then jump up into the air, the elevator would hit the bottom and you would land - effectively just jumping up and landing as normal.

Or was that the myth that got busted?

 They busted it for a 75 story fall.  It would depend on the height, if you drop 2 feet I am sure you could survive.  They choose 75 stories since someone did survive that fall.

 

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/jump-in-falling-elevator/

 I don't go into many 75 story buildings anyway. Whew. 



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Bonny22Pye


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I've been stuck in an elevator before. I just took a nap until they got me out. The firefighters thought it was funny that I was so calm.

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ed11563


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cadiver wrote:
Mellow Momma wrote:

I thought on Mythbusters they said you should wait until you were almost at the very bottom and then jump up into the air, the elevator would hit the bottom and you would land - effectively just jumping up and landing as normal.

Or was that the myth that got busted?

 They busted it for a 75 story fall.  It would depend on the height, if you drop 2 feet I am sure you could survive.  They choose 75 stories since someone did survive that fall.

 

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/jump-in-falling-elevator/

 

Jump/Falling Elevator

 
jump-in-falling-elevator0-1
 
As seen in "MythBusters: Elevator of Death"
Medioimages/Photodisc
 

Finding: BUSTED

Explanation: In 1945, an airplane collided with the Empire State Building, sending elevator operator Betty Lou Oliver on a 75-story plummet to the ground. Miraculously, Oliver made it out of the deadly ride alive, earning her the Guinness World Record for longest elevator fall survived. MythBusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage wanted to know whether Oliver could've possibly saved herself by jumping immediately before the elevator hit the ground.

The MythBusters located an abandoned elevator and picked Buster the test dummy to take the plunge. Since dummies aren't exactly light on their feet, they positioned Buster on a spring-loaded cartridge that would allow him to "jump" at the right time. When the MythBusters cut the safety and counterweight cables on the elevator, the unbridled car dropped 92 feet at 51 miles (82 kilometers) per hour.

But even though Buster sprang off the floor at the right moment, he still hit the ground at a fatal speed and busted the myth.

According to the laws of physics, both the elevator car and Buster dropped at the same breakneck speed. In order to overcome that velocity and survive the impact, Buster would've had to have jumped up faster than the elevator was racing down.

Turns out Oliver didn't save herself by jumping, either. A pocket of air at the bottom of the Empire State Building's elevator shaft probably cushioned the car's landing.

 



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aergia


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THe only reason I would be worried in a stuck elevator is that I might have to pee.
Then again I worry about that a lot.
Yes I have a bladder condition.


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lilyofcourse


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That's me, too.

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If I had to pee I would just pee. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Relief. Lol

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