Don’t Forget How Dangerous Steps And Stairs Can Be

When it comes to healthy things that we can do in our daily lives, taking the stairs is one of those things. Although a good form of exercise, stairs are also overlooked when it comes to safety; many businesses don’t give thought to the maintenance of stairwells, or the many building codes and requirements that go into maintaining a safe stairwell.

Uniformity of Size

You probably never noticed that each step that you take on a given stairwell, is about even in depth and height. There’s a reason for that, aside from the fact that most building codes require that.

It’s because your body subconsciously braces itself to feel the impact of the next step, as you step up or down. Your body adjusts itself to prepare to brace for your weight upwards or downwards, as you encounter the next step, but it does so based on the consistency of the height and depth of each step.

You may have noticed when you ascend or descend stairs, your body falls into a rhythm or pattern; it can do that safely, because the height and depth of each step is uniform.

If some steps were deeper, or longer than others, you would constantly have to look down, to make sure you are properly hitting the next step. And, if you did not, you would do some serious damage to your ankle, knees, or lower back, as your body unexpectedly hit the next step. You could also shatter your shins in the event you misjudge how high the next step up is.

Striping on Ledges

Have you ever noticed that many stairs have a strip of neon or bright color, at the edge of each step? That’s because most stars are all the same material, and thus, the same color. That means that it can be hard to discern where one step ends, and the other begins.

You may not notice it consciously, but the brightness of the tape on the edge of each step, alerts you and your body, how far you need to step up or down to properly hit the next step.

Handrails

You may take for granted handrails; as long as they are there, you assume they are safe. But building codes have strict requirements about the height of handrails. Too low or too high and they can either be dangerous, or people just won’t use them.

Many property owners also don’t give thought to the condition of stairway handrails, leaving them wobbly, or unstable, which can also cause you to fall on stairs.

Many property owners may build stairs, or add onto an existing stairwell, but fail to also extend the hand railing. Hand railing should never end before the stairs do.

Call the West Palm Beach personal injury attorneys at Pike & Lustig today for help if you have been injured on stairs, or on a stairwell, on someone else’s property.

Sources:

up.codes/viewer/florida/fl-accessibility-code-2020/chapter/5/general-site-and-building-elements#:~:text=All%20steps%20on%20a%20flight,(280%20mm)%20deep%20minimum.

hunker.com/13402630/florida-building-codes-for-residential-stairs