- Author
-
Templer, J. A.
|
Mullet, G. M.
|
Archea, J.
|
Margulis, S. T.
- Title
- Analysis of the Behavior of Stair Users.
- Coporate
- Georgia Inst. of Tech., Atlanta
National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Sponsor
- Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC
- Report
-
NBSIR 78-1554,
November 1978,
74 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
safety
|
stairways
- Abstract
- The National Bureau of Standards has conducted research for the Consumer Product Safety Commission the objective of which is to recommend ways to reduce the frequency and severity of stair and landing accidents. One of the several approaches to identifying stair hazards is to videotape stair use in a variety of public settings. About 50 hours of videotape of stair use have been collected and it has been processed in various ways to provide information on typical human responses to stairs and landings. This report of an analysis of videotape of stair use focuses on the relationship between the occurrence of incidents, including falls, and the stair users' characteristics, user behavior, and environmental conditions. The analysis relies, in part, on a comparison of matched samples of incident and non-incident user groups. Based on the findings of the analysis, a literature review, and other research on stair use by the authors, 44 performance statements are proposed which, if applied to stair design, should substantially reduce the frequency and severity of stair accidents.