Author Topic: Can someone scientifically explain something to me  (Read 877 times)

I was browsing instagram and saw a video of some unlucky fellow (RIP) fall into an escalator, the mechanism underneath the steps. But what I am failing to understand here, is what actually happens when you fall into this metal mechanism, how does it crush your bones and if you ever find yourself in this situation, what can you do to survive? Final destination unrealistically had one of these incidents as one of it's many deaths, but I am failing to understand here what is exactly happening. Someone explain please, for the sake of science

In china, the maintenance plates of elevators are usually loose and unwelded/flimsy. People fall through them and get their bones crushed by the thousands of pounds of metal being moved by the gears underneath the elevator, which drags them down since the bottom is moving back underneath like a chain. The only way to avoid it is to jump over the maintenance plate.



if you were going to fall into an escalator, it'd happen by the stairs failing in all likelihood. if that happened, you'd end up caught in between the stairs as they continued to go up and back down, and you'd probably get crushed up pretty bag once you got to the bottom. it'd be dark, you'd have just fallen, and the ground is moving. there's not much time to react and none of your senses are working so unless you were extremely ready for this exact circumstance, you could very easily get killed.

That's pretty interesting, say if someone was to activate the emergency stop, would you be saved? and how rare do these faults occur outside of China?

That's pretty interesting, say if someone was to activate the emergency stop, would you be saved? and how rare do these faults occur outside of China?
probably? they'd have to be pretty quick on the draw with that button though. like, almost instantly. you'd tumble down into the guts of the escalator really quick since the floor beneath you would be pulling downward. the diagrams i saw made it look like that big gear looking thing at the bottom is actually two on either end, so perhaps if you'd avoided them you might actually be fine. i've seen clips where people fell into the upper equipment room from the diagram, and i know that person died which makes sense when you consider how much weight those motors need to move at once and how much power it being exerted to make it happen.

why do we allow escalators to be this dangerous lol

the crushing issue could be entirely prevented by adding more space inside/below escalators in case someone falls in
« Last Edit: August 26, 2018, 08:26:55 PM by Planr »

yeah just use stairs you forgetin losers