I was in a lift (our Yankee friends call it ‘elevators’ for some strange reason) the other day at a tall-ish building in KL and the lift wasn’t functioning normally. It kinda.. moved around more than what lifts normally do. It wasn’t a very comfortable lift ride to say the least.
Suddenly morbid thoughts crossed my mind. What if by some freakish incident, the lift cable snapped and the lift fell down? Would anyone survive the fall? Would the lift even fall down? Maybe there’s those brake things and other clever stuff that smart people put into the lifts so that it doesnt fall down, killing all passengers and incurring legal lawsuits for the bosses of those smart people.
The question bugged me and so I turn to Uncle Google and the other members of my family for a satisfactory answer. The end result of my research is as follow:
Apparently there are numerous failsafe devices attached to lifts.
- Firstly there’s redundant numbers of cables, so if one breaks, the others will still hold the lift up.
- Secondly, there’s the safeties which apparently will slow down the lifts should the cable breaks.
- Thirdly, there’s a shock absorber system that should cushion the impact should the lift still fall.
But, just playing Eeyore, what if all the cables snap, the safeties fail, and the absorber down below didn’t work, due to whatever reason ie: catastrophic material failure or *gasp* mismanagement of funds?
What if we’re caught in a falling lift and our lives flashed before us? Well count yourself lucky that in that flashing life of yours, you managed to stumble upon this blog and remember this tip:
In case you’re in that lift and there’s space… lie flat on the floor, face down and cover your head with your hands. This is to spread out the force of impact when the lift hits the floor.
Hopefully by following the tip above, your odds of surviving goes up.
So there you go gentle readers, a tip on surviving a falling lift in KL. It kinda makes you wonder if next time you’re squeezing yourself to get inside a lift full of people.. is it really worth that few minutes you gain but on the other hand lose in the available lie down space in case something goes wrong??
Pro graphic for people who don't like to read "Surviving a Falling Lift in KL"
Filed under: Random Tips, KL, Lift, Surviving, Tips
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