Reply to: Woman killed by lift.

[GreenLabel]

How much other utter bollocks do you believe?

It's true, although the aircraft was a B-25, not a B-52.


(Not sure if this is the only time an elevator has plunged though)

[xoggoth]

They should ban elevators. I get apoplectic waiting around while people just stand there blocking my way, no wonder there are so many unfit fat people around.

[NickFitz]

Did anybody ever go in one of these:

Paternoster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There was one at Birmingham University, which I visited a few times on school trips, and my friends and I wasted an hour or so playing on them.

Amazing that anybody ever thought it was a good idea, but as I was saying above at least you are aware of the danger.

Yes, there's one in the eighteen storey Attenborough Tower at Leicester University. I used to use it every day, and have even been trapped in the pit beneath for a few minutes when it stopped while I was passing through there for fun

In four years I never heard of so much as a sprained ankle resulting from its use, and that was with it being so busy that you had to queue for up to five minutes at certain times of day.

Edit: it's even got a Facebook page: The Attenborough Tower Paternoster Lift Appreciation Society | Facebook

Edit again: and a video

[Peoplesoft bloke]

Did anybody ever go in one of these:

Paternoster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There was one at Birmingham University, which I visited a few times on school trips, and my friends and I wasted an hour or so playing on them.

Amazing that anybody ever thought it was a good idea, but as I was saying above at least you are aware of the danger.

Yes - in the Library at (memory fails) either Leeds or Sheffield University. There was nowt wrong with 'em so far as I could see - I think they were supposed to stop if someone got jammed in the gap - although no a theory I was keen to test.

[Peoplesoft bloke]

I believe the only time that an elevtor has plunged is when a B52 crashed into the Empire State building?

How much other utter bollocks do you believe?

[Doggy Styles]

Did anybody ever go in one of these:

Paternoster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There was one at Birmingham University, which I visited a few times on school trips, and my friends and I wasted an hour or so playing on them.

Amazing that anybody ever thought it was a good idea, but as I was saying above at least you are aware of the danger.

Yes we had one at GEC in Borehamwood where I did my apprenticeship.

I'm told they used it in some episodes of Danger Man. Or The Prisoner.

[Paddy]

[TimberWolf]

I always fancied having poles to slide down at shopping centres etc, but 'elf and safety etc.

[VectraMan]

Did anybody ever go in one of these:

Paternoster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There was one at Birmingham University, which I visited a few times on school trips, and my friends and I wasted an hour or so playing on them.

Amazing that anybody ever thought it was a good idea, but as I was saying above at least you are aware of the danger.

[TimberWolf]

The lift in my old block of flats struck me as a disaster waiting to happen. It's of an old fashioned design that wouldn't be allowed today as there is no inner door, so the doors and floors slide past in front of you as you go up or down, with the potential for digits, limbs and other extraneous items getting caught up (or down). But it was made more dangerous in that someone had put a nail in the bottom door just short enough of being missed by the lift floor. The nail was used to help close the bottom door, because closing that door properly was a bit iffy too. Anyway the nail mysteriously disappeared after I'd been there for a while and later we had a recessed handle cut into the door instead.

[suityou01]

Again how hard is it to implement a failover sensor that prevents the lift from moving if the doors are open?

[vetran]

time to retrofit lifts with better safety monitoring. Disabling a safety switch without a maintenance key in should stop the elevator or sound a siren and flash a warning. Even with a maintenance key it should time out after a few minutes.

50 years ago it made sense not to do this, the technology wasn't available. now it would require a £100 - £1000 retrofit if it became law.

AIUI apart from the doors or getting into the shaft they are pretty safe.

[VectraMan]

Lifts have always scared me. With stairs, and with most potentially dangerous things like trains, cars, blow torches etc., you can see the risks; you can see what's going on and take extra care.

But with a lift you sit behind the doors, and when the doors open there's an inviting little room that magically transports you somewhere else. You can't see the 200 ft lift shaft, or the gears, or all the different things that could potentially slice and dice your soft human body.

If you think about it, as you step between floor and lift, all that stops the lift moving whilst the doors are open is a control system. That's a couple of switches, some electronics, and in modern systems it's probably all software. And it only has to fail once, and they'll be cleaning you out of the workings for the next 2 weeks.

I think I'd rather stick to the stairs, even if it means the occasional twisted ankle.

[TimberWolf]

So what's the deal with these elevators?

Did they have poor upbringings? Is this an example of society letting them down? I think New Labour need to throw some money at it.

I'm verging on blaming women's shoes and perhaps shoes in general. It's high time cobblers were brought to task for crimes against humanity, or feet at the very least.

[BrilloPad]

I believe the only time that an elevtor has plunged is when a B52 crashed into the Empire State building?