Tragic Elevator Accident at Ohio State University Leaves One Student Dead

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around a tragic elevator accident at Ohio State University that resulted in the death of a student. Participants explore various aspects of the incident, including human behavior, engineering safety, and personal anecdotes related to elevator use. The conversation touches on themes of responsibility, safety mechanisms, and the potential for design improvements in elevators.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express disbelief at the behavior of the students who overloaded the elevator, suggesting a lack of common sense.
  • Others share personal experiences with overloaded elevators, highlighting the dangers and potential for accidents.
  • A few participants propose that elevators should be designed to prevent overloads, suggesting mechanisms such as weight-sensitive triggers or locking systems to enhance safety.
  • There is discussion about the adequacy of existing safety features in elevators, with some participants questioning whether current designs are sufficient to prevent such tragedies.
  • One participant reflects on the idea that engineers should account for human behavior in their designs, implying that safety measures should be more robust.
  • Several comments reflect on the nature of human stupidity and the need for "idiot-proof" designs in engineering.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the incident, with some blaming the students for their actions while others emphasize the need for better safety mechanisms in elevators. There is no consensus on the primary cause of the accident or the adequacy of current safety measures.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various assumptions about human behavior and engineering design, but these assumptions remain unresolved. The discussion includes anecdotal evidence and personal opinions that may not reflect broader engineering standards or practices.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying engineering safety, human factors in design, or individuals concerned with building safety regulations and practices.

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Student crushed to death when 24 Ohio State students crowd onto dorm elevator.

"The 2,500-pound weight capacity of the elevator was exceeded by as much as 1,100 pounds, said Doug Smith, a battalion chief for the Columbus Division of Fire."

The human capacity for idiocy continues to astound me.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/24/elevator.death.ap/index.html
 
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That's why I never use elevators.
 
It is in cases like this one is almost tempted to say he deserved it.

The worst case of similar stupidity I know of from Norway, is the following:

On the west coast of Norway, there are frequently storms, and the spectacle of the raging sea is well worth a sight FROM A DISTANCE!

Now, a few years back, some urban idiots from Oslo got it in their beer-bedazzled heads to crawl out on a molo (pier) and hold tight in order to really feel the forces of nature around them. They washed up on the shore a week later.
 
arildno said:
It is in cases like this one is almost tempted to say he deserved it.

The worst case of similar stupidity I know of from Norway, is the following:

On the west coast of Norway, there are frequently storms, and the spectacle of the raging sea is well worth a sight FROM A DISTANCE!

Now, a few years back, some urban idiots from Oslo got it in their beer-bedazzled heads to crawl out on a molo (pier) and hold tight in order to really feel the forces of nature around them. They washed up on the shore a week later.

He may have been innocent and simply walked on the elevator while 23 others crammed in!

Yeah, he definitely deserved it. :rolleyes: That's a really low blow.

Correction:

Polakowski, a pre-business major, was the last person in a group of students to enter the elevator on the dormitory's third floor when it unexpectedly began to descend with the doors open, campus police said.

I take back my comment. Yeah, that was freaking stupid. He was asking for it.
 
JasonRox said:
He may have been innocent and simply walked on the elevator while 23 others crammed in!
:rolleyes: I don't think you can simply "walk on" an elevator that already has 23 people in it. Not to mention the over limit warning buzzers that would have been going off. I blame everyone on the elevator, unless the first few weren't aware that a bunch of idiots were going to cram themselves in.
 
I really do hope that none of those students were into structural engineering..
 
Now, a few years back, some urban idiots from Oslo got it in their beer-bedazzled heads to crawl out on a molo (pier) and hold tight in order to really feel the forces of nature around them. They washed up on the shore a week later.
I guess some people do not realize the density of water ~1000 kg/m3. That can do damage to a person who is only 50-80 kg. It's like getting hit by a car. :rolleyes:

I occassionally catch some new program, particularly related to weather. I was watching a program about a flood. It showed emergency vehicles standing on a road watching a river overflowing the road. One could tell that the current was swift and water was deep. Some lady drove by the emergency people who began shouting for her to stop. She didn't. The truck was immediately swept off the road and started downstream. They did rescue her. :rolleyes:

I too have been caught on an elevator that got overloaded by some idiots. In one case, the elevator actually slipped a few inches. In another case, where I was not on the elevator, it actually fell downward. One student was pulled out of the doorway before the elevator fell, otherwise he would have been bisected. After that, I pretty much took the stairs, which was good exercise anyway (running 10 floors as fast as possible - got to where I could bet a nonstop elevator :biggrin:).
 
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Knowing just how stupid people will act, wouldn't it be a good idea to size elevators and their lift mechanisms so that it is impossible to overload them by crowding people in? I know that sounds like nanny-overkill, but think of it - it an engineer designs an elevator car that could theoretically be packed with 24 average-sized persons, shouldn't the rating of the lift mechanism be high enough to handle that load? I'd hate to have been one of the first people on the elevator, only to get crammed to the back by idiots crowding in, wondering if the car was going to drop like a stone.
 
One option might be to have weight-sensitive triggers in the floor.
If the elevator is overloaded, hatches open in the walls and bolts are shot out from a suitable number of hidden arbalests. That should teach the idiots.

(Okay, I admit it: I DID play AD&D and RuneQuest at an earlier age..)
 
  • #10
turbo-1 said:
...an engineer designs an elevator car that could theoretically be packed with 24 average-sized persons, shouldn't the rating of the lift mechanism be high enough to handle that load?...
They did. The elevator was rated for maybe 8, they add a 200% safety factor - it could hold 16.

But the specs don't account for vertical stacking...
 
  • #11
Hmm. I know I responded to this thread. It must have gotten lost in the server shuffle.

I also think that because people are stupid, engineers must make things idiot proof. It shouldn't be possible for an overloaded elevator to drop more than a few inches. It would be a relatively simple thing to attach a locking mechanism to the doors that slides through a hole in the rails when the doors open, preventing the elevators from moving with the doors open and allowing the elevator electronics the opportunity to decide if the elevator should be allowed to move.
 
  • #12
It is hard for me to believe that elevators don't already have a fail-safe to prevent operation when overloaded. Really a no-brainer in my line of work.

I certainly did a few bone-headed things in my late teens and early twenties, but I remember quite a few people who were much worse -usually drinking alcohol.
 
  • #13
You did respond, I think that posts are going to two different servers. I posted about it in the mentor's forum, but my post isn't visible on this server. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone. There are currently two PF's with a different number of members posting on each and their posts can't be seen by each other. :bugeye:

I was on the phone with my friend and he was on PF and he wasn't online in my version. We could not see each other's posts, and we each saw different members online. I had to reboot twice to enter this dimension.
 
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  • #15
Ivan Seeking said:
It is hard for me to believe that elevators don't already have a fail-safe to prevent operation when overloaded. Really a no-brainer in my line of work.
The article states that the idiots entered on the third floor and that's where he was crushed and the elevator stopped. He apparently fell between the elevator and the inside wall.

Many times when a bunch of fat people try to get on an elevator and the "overweight" alarm goes off, the doors will keep opening and closing. Perhaps this is some mistake of design that needs to be addressed. Or maybe it's some fat person's butt preventing the door from closing.

I think the elevator dropped a bit and the "safety" devices stopped it from falling, but because he tried to get off and fell between the wall, he got crushed. Had he not panicked and remained inside, he would have been all right.
 
  • #16
Ah, when I heard about this earlier I thought that the elevator was operating. I would imagine that the emergency brake was engaging, but not in time.
 
  • #17
Am I the only one drifting back and forth between 2 PF's?

scorpa and George Jones are stuck in the other PF.

SOMEONE ANSWER ME!
 
  • #18
Evo said:
Am I the only one drifting back and forth between 2 PF's?

scorpa and George Jones are stuck in the other PF.

SOMEONE ANSWER ME!
I know there was a Star Trek episode about this at one time...
 
  • #20
I thought I read somewhere that the elevator DID have some failsafe or something, but it failed (lol). Or at least it was supposed to not be able to move until the doors are closed, but something went wrong...
 
  • #21
From what I've heard, there was a failure in the elevator. There's been a spate of inspections since, which a majority of the other elevators on campus failed!

It seems the student that was killed tried to escape through a gap between the elevator ceiling and the floor outside when the elevator stopped after an initial drop. If only he'd stayed put and braced for the possible 3 floor drop...
 
  • #22
Evo said:
You did respond, I think that posts are going to two different servers.
I only see what sounds like his second post. I must still be in the server twilight zone. :cry: I'll try clearing the cache in the morning if I'm still in the twilight zone.
 
  • #23
human errors takes human lifes...