elevating devices

Lately I have been fearful of elevators. It’s not a phobia yet but I think I’m on my way. I’ve never liked elevating devices but I’m somewhat comforted by the several safety features and mechanisms hidden above the car. Yet the discomfort grows.

Statistically, it’s a safe ride,” says Ray Lapierre, executive director of the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation. Out of an estimated 120 billion rides per year, about 10,000 people end up in the emergency room because of elevator-related accidents. Their injuries are most often caused by tripping or being hit by closing doors. In some cases, accidents have occurred when the doors opened onto an empty shaft. As for the odds of getting stuck in an elevator: they’re about once in a lifetime for the average person using elevators on a daily basis. Still nervous?

Hell, yeah.

What you don’t see in the picture is me hanging on to the bar along the side for dear life. I know that being hoisted several storeys into the air by thin wire cables is perfectly safe yet I have been climbing a lot of stairs this week. One jumpy and noisy elevator at work and I lose my mind.

I am also afraid of escalators.

But moving sidewalks are a-ok.

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