There are numerous sources of advice and tips on how to survive an elevator fall or accident, but are any of the guides actually accurate? We’ve all probably heard the little nugget of advice that, in the event of an elevator you are travelling in free-falling, you should jump up at the very last second before impact and you’ll be unharmed. But this has proven to be unhelpful advice as it doesn’t actually work (it was proven false on MythBusters!) and in any case, even if it was true, who could really remain calm and composed enough to follow the advice in the middle of a falling elevator?
Eliot H. Frank, a research engineer for the Center for Biomedical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in 2012 that the best thing to do would be to lie flat on the lift floor, as the G-force would mean you wouldn’t be able to hold your own head up and your legs certainly wouldn’t be able to support the weight of your body.
However, the Lonely Planet, have just released a series of short videos explaining how to survive a range of situations – including how to survive a falling elevator. They contradict Eliot H. Frank’s advice and say you should brace yourself and bend your knees slightly for impact. So who do you trust? A world-renowned travel guide, or an expert in engineering at MIT? We know who we’d put our money, and life, on!
You can see the Lonely Planet video for yourself here:
With all the conflicting advice really, the best way to safe guard yourself from a lift accident is to ensure you get regular lift maintenance and lift repairs from a reputable lift company such as Sheridan’s! Regular lift maintenance and proper lift repairs combined with an initially sound lift installation from the get-go is the best way to avoid a lift accident completely!