A while ago, we dealt with a few common myths and legends concerning the field of elevator lore, and one of these talking points was the commonly held belief that a single elevator cable is all that stands between the elevator user and a breathtaking plummet down the lift shaft. Images abound in films where the dastardly villain severs a lift cable as part of his heinous plot, but we’ve already confirmed that this wouldn’t work in real life. However, we never really got chance to discuss why this sort of thing doesn’t happen…something that this follow-up feature is looking to amend!
Elevator Safety
Put very simply, cable-driven elevators are incredibly safe. In fact, their safety record in terms of vehicular systems is pretty much unparalleled. Free-falling elevator incidents are unbelievably rare, with only a handful of scarce occurrences ever being recorded. These robust standards of safety are brought about as a result of safety devices that will kick in should an elevator cable actually snap. When you factor in the truth that most elevator cars are held up by up to eight hoists – each one of which could support the cab single-handedly – you get a method of travel that is very safe indeed.
The ‘Governor’
Another notable elevator safety measure is known as ‘the governor’, and this device is designed to come into use should an elevator ever be descending at a more rapid rate than its maximum speed would allow; as would certainly be the case in a free-fall. Should this happen, the governor will deploy ‘brake shoes’ to halt the elevator’s progress at a steady rate. The elevator cables themselves are also made of numerous intertwined lengths of steel and are regularly maintained, so there really is very little chance of anything going wrong.
But What If…?
But what if the unthinkable happened; what if all of these safety features failed and the elevator you were in went into free-fall? Well we’ve already reassured you that this would be almost unheard of, but even so the combination of the air pressure in the elevator shaft and the in-built shock absorber at the bottom of most lift cabs would do wonders for cushioning the impact. Thinking about this topic rationally then, you’re extremely unlikely to come to harm in an elevator, and that’s a fact.
When you have a combination of about five, six, seven or even eight safety mechanisms in place within elevators, it’d take something serious to bypass them all, and of course elevator technology is still improving all of the time. Here at Axess2, our platform lifts and the like are created according to cutting-edge specifications, and that means that they’re not only safe, but are cost-effective and efficient to the extreme as well. For more information, contact us now by calling 01200 405 005 or send an email to info@axess2.co.uk.