Serious stair injuries can be prevented by improved stair design.
An estimated 2.5 million injuries, and a further 4000 deaths in the UK in 1995 were due to home accidents. About 230,000 of these injuries and 497 deaths resulted from falls on stairs. When exposure is taken into account, stairs are one of the most hazardous locations in buildings. Of these falls, those where the person falls forward are most likely to cause severe injuries. One aspect of stair design, the "going" (the horizontal distance between two consecutive nosings) can be changed to decrease the potential number of serious trip accidents. Builders should therefore be encouraged to build stairs with larger goings.
Building Research Establishment Ltd, Garston, Watford, UK. roysm@bre.co.uk
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D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000061:Accidents, Home / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006804:Ergonomics; D006801:Humans; D007374:Interior Design and Furnishings / Q000592:standards*; D009068:Movement; D012449:Safety; D013499:Surface Properties; D006113:United Kingdom; D016138:Walking