This study is part of a research program directed at reducing stair injuries by absorbing much of the impact of a fall. Little is known about human kinetics during falls. The paper describes a laboratory stair that induces subjects to fall, but terminates the tumble before the stair is struck. The trajectory of the falling subjects provides insights into the nature of stair falls, and makes it possible to predict the forces that would be generated at impact.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ArcheaJ.CollinsB.StahlF. (1979). Guidelines for Stair Safety, NBS Building Science Series 120 (p. 1). Washington, D.C.: National Bureau of Standards
2.
CarsonD.ArcheaJ.MargulisS.CarsonF. (1978). Safety on Stairs. National Bureau of Standards, BSS 108, Washington, D.C
3.
National Academy of Sciences (1985). Committee on Trauma Research, Injury in America (p. 23). Washington, D.C: National Academy Press
4.
SnyderR. G. (1963). Human Tolerances to Extreme Impacts in Free-Fall. Aerospace Medicine, Vol. 34, #8
5.
SnyderR. G. (1977). Occupational Falls.Ann Arbor: Highways Safety Research Institute, The University of Michigan, UM-HSRI
6.
SvanstromL. (1973). Falls on Stairs: An Epidemiological Study. Diss. Lund University, Sweden
7.
TemplerJ.MulletG. M.ArcheaJ.MargulisS. (1978). An Analysis of the Behavior of Stair Users. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, NBSIR 78-1554. Washington, D.C
8.
TemplerJ. (1989) Views of the Staircase, book manuscript
9.
TemplerJ. (1984). The Forgiving Stair. In Proceedings of the Human Factors Society, 28th annual meeting (pp. 58–62), San Antonio
10.
TemplerJ. (1985). The Unforgiving Stair. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Building Use and Safety Technology, National Institute of Building Sciences (pp. 122–126), Washington DC
11.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (1986). Injuries Associated with Selected Consumer Products Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments (p. 14). Washington, D.C