This safety topic hits close to home as my preschool nephew was standing close to a department store elevator and running his hands on the shiny smooth outer door when it slid open catching him in its overlapping part. Happily however, rescue personnel were able to release his arm with minor injuries.
Other children are much less fortunate. The purpose of this article is to build awareness that elevators are powerful equipment to be safety-conscious around for our children.
Did you know (?):
(Credit: Elevator Accidents & Deaths | Defective Products | ConsumerWatch.com)
City and state governments are fairly diligent in ensuring that annual public elevator inspections are carried out and reported properly. However, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is not authorized to regulate elevators as it does other products such as automobiles or personal equipment, so elevators and elevator parts are not subject to federal accident inspections or parts recalls. Without a requirement of public parts recalls due to defect, there is little widely available printed information regarding elevator defects.
When an elevator or escalator product is identified by the manufacturer as having a design defect, it is only required to send out a product letter by certified mail to equipment owners. Thus, the press and general public rarely find out about such faulty products until deaths or injuries have occurred.
Elevator Safety and Children
Posted by mowrey admin (Credit: Mowrey Elevator Company Inc. Elevator Safety and Children)
Elevators can be dangerous places for children. In fact, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, six people per year die in and around elevators, and that number includes one child under age 10 each year. The injury rate is much higher than that. About 2,000 kids are hurt each year in and around elevators, and the most common injuries occur when the elevator doors close on a part of the body. Bruises, scrapes, and strained fingers, hands, arms, elbows and wrists are all common injury types. But for kids under four, the most common injury is to the head.
About Residential Elevators: (Should you use an AirBnB with an elevator or visit in a home with an elevator)
(Credit: Otis Elevator Company Recalls to Inspect Private Residence Elevators Due to Entrapment Hazard; Risk of Serious Injury or Death to Young Children | CPSC.gov)
Hazard: Children can become entrapped in the space between the exterior landing (hoistway) door and the interior elevator car door or gate, and suffer serious injuries or death when the elevator is called to another floor.
Safety Tips for Kids on Elevators
In general, the same rules for riding elevators apply to kids as adults. If you are a parent, be sure to educate your child on the dangers of elevators. They are not toys and should be approached with caution.
Make sure your kids:
- Are especially careful around the elevator doors.
- Don’t put their hands or feet between the moving door and door jamb.
- Don’t try to stop a closing door with their hand or foot.
- Let others exit before boarding the car.
- Get in and out quickly.
- Are patient in waiting for help to arrive if stuck.
- Never press the emergency button unless you instruct them to do so in a real emergency.
- Know to use the stairs and not the elevator if there is a fire in the building.
- Watch their step when entering or exiting.
- Are aware that sometimes when the car opens, it’s not always completely level with the floor.
- Know they may push the “door open” button if they see people rushing to get on.
- Know never to climb out of a stalled elevator or pry open closed doors. Children should not be allowed to play on or near an elevator.
- Children should only operate an elevator under direct adult supervision.
To Summarize: These accidents are not just children "playing" on elevators- one accident in a residence mentioned was a preschooler simply following her Mom off the home elevator.
So as well as not allowing children to play near or on elevators, also be aware of dangers and proceed cautiously.
