An average of six people dies annually in and around elevators, according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) National Electronic Injury and Surveillance System data.
In 2007, Indiana University pediatrician Joseph O’Neil and his colleagues analyzed elevator injury data from 98 hospital emergency departments nationwide (CPSC) and found that approximately 2,000 children were injured each year in and around elevators.

About 26 percent of elevator injuries occurred in children between the ages of 1 and 2.
O’Neil’s team’s study reveals that children under five years of age are not well developed in the strength, coordination, balance, and protective reflexes required to avoid an elevator-related injury.
The Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation recommends parents and caregivers to comply with the following rules for safe elevator use.

* Watch your step
* Do not interfere with closing doors manually
* If the doors do not open, ring the alarm button and wait
* In case of fire in the building, use the stairs

Again, according to a study conducted by the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation; There are hundreds of accident reports where hands, feet or shoes (mostly flip-flops) got stuck on the escalator,
Experts recommend that you comply with the following items for the safety of your children on the escalator.

• Tie your child’s shoelaces before getting on the escalator
• Stand in the middle of the escalator, look forward, take your child’s hand, and then take a step
• Avoid sitting or playing on the escalator – do not treat it as an amusement park ride.

Perhaps most importantly, find out where the emergency shutdown button is so you can close the escalator if someone is trapped while driving.
Lifts can  be dangerous for children and parents. Although most elevator injuries and fatalities involve people working and maintaining elevators, passengers can also be harmed. According to a study conducted by Center for Construction Research and Training, (Construction Research and Training Center) in 2017, approximately 2,000 children are injured in and around elevators each year, and the most common  occur when elevator doors are closed to a body part such as fingers, hands or arms. It is revealed.

What You Should Know About Elevator and Escalator Hazards

To keep your children safe while taking the elevator, make sure that:
• Be very careful and watch out for young children, especially toddlers and preschoolers while getting on and off the elevator.
• Teach your children not to try to prevent the elevator door from closing with their hands or arms.
 Teach older children and teens to stay in the elevator if they get stuck in the elevator door, and wait for help (pressing the alarm button or using the elevator phone) instead of trying to get out on their own, even with the elevator door.
• If your child has to take the elevator regularly without supervision, ensure that they carry a mobile phone, a call or a message device so that they can call for help in case the elevator jams or the elevator phone does not work.

Children in Elevators

The rules for using elevators are almost the same for children as for adults.
• It is a good idea for children to be especially careful to the door.
• Children should never put their hands or feet in the area between the moving door and the door jambs.
• Children should never try to stop a door that is closing by putting their hands or feet on their way.

Children on the escalators

Help kids get in and out of the escalator.
• Do not let children sit on the escalator steps – clothing or fingers could be caught.
• Never let children ride the handrail or play with it.
• Do not let children use unattended escalators.
• Do not allow children to walk or run from the “down” escalator or the “up” escalator.
• Do not let children drag their feet on the sides of the escalator. As tempting as it may be to make this distinctive “squeaking sound,” a child’s foot can get caught between the step and the side panel, causing serious injury.
• Never take a stroller on the escalator. Use the elevator instead

Technology serves our highest benefit first with precaution, then with confidence, Stay safe.

Ceyla AKIN
Mechanical engineer.

Director ,Miracleengineering & Consultancy,

LONDON, UK