How to Be a Safe Passenger on an Elevator

How to Be a Safe Passenger on an Elevator

Despite what you’ve seen in movies and on television, elevators are an exceedingly safe way to go up and down stairs, but they can be dangerous.

Elevators are useful tools for moving between floors quickly and easily, but certain behaviors can put you in harm’s way. Here’s how to be a safe passenger on an elevator.

Jumping Up and Down

Kids — and, let’s face it, some adults — are notorious for jumping up and down on elevators.

While this isn’t going to cause the elevator to go into free fall, jumping on an elevator can cause it to malfunction, stopping the cab in its tracks. And there’s nothing worse than being stuck on a non-functioning elevator while you wait for help to arrive.

Jumping on an elevator while it’s moving can also cause you to fall and injure yourself.

To keep yourself safe, keep both your feet flat on the elevator cab’s floor!

Forcing the Door Open

If you ever get stuck on an elevator, your natural impulse might be to try to force the elevator’s doors open, but that’s never a good idea, even if you’re starting to feel claustrophobic.

Trying to open the doors can damage the elevator’s opening, potentially leaving you responsible for the costs associated with the damage. Forcing the doors open can also hurt you physically, though. It’s easy to pinch your fingers in the door and cause you a lot of pain.

It’s always a better idea to call for help and wait than try to force the elevator doors open yourself.

Smoking in the Cab

This should go without saying, but it happens: you should never smoke in a closed elevator cab, even if no one else is on it.

Elevator cabs aren’t airtight, but if you smoke on one, there’s not enough airflow to get the smoke out. The elevator’s poor ventilation will cause the smoke to build up, eventually making it difficult to breathe.

Even if you don’t mind breathing in cigarette smoke, remember that smoke lingers, and it can cause severe health problems for pregnant women and those of us who have trouble breathing. Smoking on elevators is even illegal in many states.

Take care to protect yourself and your fellow passengers while riding on an elevator!

For anyone interested in installing a residential or commercial elevator in the central Arizona area, call Celtic Elevator. Celtic Elevator is your one-stop for all your elevator needs, including new installations, repairs to existing units as well as regular maintenance. Click here for a free quote from Celtic Elevator.

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Popular Elevator Myths, Debunked

Climbing aboard an elevator is a way of life for many of us, and yet, there are still a lot of myths about elevators circulating. We use them all the time, but most of us still fall for even the most widely debunked elevator myths.

If you ride an elevator every day — or even just occasionally — you should know which elevator myths are real and which ones are false.

Here’s a list of some of the world’s most common elevator myths.

Pushing the Close Button Closes the Door Faster

It might make you feel better, but pushing the close button over and over won’t make the door close any faster. Even though those buttons are still common on new elevator installations, the truth is, they don’t actually close the doors or shorten our wait time in any way.

Since the U.S. Congress passed the Americans With Disabilities Act — also known simply as the ADA — the close door buttons have not actually worked. That Act forced elevator companies to build elevators that kept the doors open long enough for a wheelchair to easily use it.

As it turns out, pressing the close door button is more of a placebo than an actual practicality.

Putting Too Many People on an Elevator Will Cause it to Fall

You see the maximum capacity signs every time you walk on an elevator, and you might be tempted to think that if more than that number of people climb aboard, the elevator could fall, but that’s just not the case.

The fact is, modern elevators are designed to be extraordinarily safe. Even though it’s common to see free falling elevators in movies, the chances of that actually happening to you — or anyone for that matter — is extraordinarily slim.

With that said, overloading an elevator isn’t a good idea because its safety protocols won’t let it move.

You Can Run Out of Oxygen in a Stalled Elevator Cab

This one is another common trope in Hollywood movies: running out of oxygen in a stalled elevator cab.

But it’s also one that’s highly exaggerated. Elevators — by design — aren’t intended to be airtight, so there’s no way you would run out of oxygen. In fact, many modern elevators include air conditioning, so you can stay nice and comfortable whether you’re enjoying a drama-free ride up to the 15th floor or you’re one of the very few unlucky people who get temporarily stuck on an elevator.

Elevators are Maintenance-Free

Elevators aren’t quite like slow cookers. You can’t just set them and forget them! Regular maintenance is absolutely essential to keeping elevators operating appropriately and safely. Elevator companies recommended having your elevator maintained once every six months. Getting on a regular maintenance schedule with a reputable elevator company will make sure your lift stays operational.

There are a lot of myths out there about elevators, but before you get on another one, make sure you know the facts!

If you’re in the central Arizona area and are interested a new elevator installation, schedule an free estimate with Celtic Elevator.