By Greg Vanden Berge
For many years, people have been walking up and down
stairways without any problems. Thanks to building codes and
conscientious stair building professionals, these people have created
stairs that are safe and easy to walk up and down. Years of accidents
and even some deaths in the past have given building code writers the
ability to find out what works and what doesn't. The stuff that doesn't
work falls by the wayside as new building codes take their place,
creating safer building environments.
The biggest reason for any types of accidents involving stairs is the
fact that most of these people aren't paying attention. How many times
have you walked up or down a set of stairs, while thinking of something
else? If you don't live in a multi-level home or work in a multi-level
office building and rarely use any type of stairway, you might not be
inclined to worry about this, but for most of us it's almost a daily
event.
I have been building stairs for quite some time and would like to share
two experiences I had, when I fell down a set of stairs. It was a winder
set of stairs that I built in my home, because I thought it looked neat.
I had the room to build a different set of stairs that went up to a
landing, made a 90° turn and then continued up to the upstairs hallway,
but I didn't. I was about to learn a lesson that I would never forget.
I was in a hurry both times and thinking about something else, when I
misplaced my foot and tumbled down the stairway. I could have been
severely injured, but wasn't, someone had to have been watching out for
me. I could only imagine what type of injuries and a frail person would
have suffered from the same event. These two falls plus two other
members of the family falling, forced me to remove the winder set of
stairs and install a single landing. No one has fallen since and
hopefully never will ever again.
How can you reduce stairway accidents? There's a good chance that we
won't be able to stop all stairway accidents in the future, but there
are things we can do to reduce the amount of stairway accidents that
will. Start by following your local building codes and designing stairs
that are safe to use. Then, share my stories with others. Tell other
people to be mindful and pay attention while walking up and down stairs.
Remember, if you really want to reduce the amount of accidents you could
possibly have, with anything that you do, make sure that you're paying
attention to what ever it is that you're doing. Send this article to a
friend, to show them that you care.
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