Jim Bauman <[log in to unmask]> writes:

>On a slightly less humorous note, my former brother-in-law
>(sister's ex-husband) fell off a lift in Utah when he was 17
>years old.  It paralyzed him from the waist down.

I'm not saying that it doesn't happen- it does, and the consequences are
often devastating.  The classic was the failure of the clutch on the
main lift at Hyak, WA back in the '70s which caused the lift to freewheel
in reverse, jarring many from the chairs as they passed the lift poles
(some falling as far as 50' to the ground!)  and catapulting a few who'd
managed to hang on into the parking lot when they spun through the loading
station.  It was a serious disaster, with many serious injuries and a few
deaths, many of which might have been mitigated or avoided had there been
safety bars.  Most lifts are designed in such a way that that can't
happen, probably _all_ lifts currently in operation in the US today.

In normal operation lift falls are very rare.  Unfortunately _jumping_
from lifts is less rare- and very dangerous not only for the jumper, but
for those on the lift as well.  There has been more than one instance
where the rebound of the cable caused a cable derailment at a lift pole
(and consequent injuries) and several instances where the same rebound
launched an unaware lift rider off the chair. In most cases the injuries
are less than life-long disasters for the victims, if only because people
who choose to jump tend to do it at a point where they're close to the
ground. But if you've ever jumped a lift or contemplated it- don't, even
if the lift is stopped and there are safety bars.

I sure somebody has an actuarial table somewhere with the ratio of
severe injuries caused by safety bars compared to those avoided by them
and it must be at least somewhat in favor of having them or they'd be
banned.  But the large numbers of less severe but still temporarily
debilitating injuries caused by safety bars have got to count too.

But I'm sure riding any lift is a lot safer than skiing, it's just that
you _feel_ less in control of the safety when you're on the lift. It's
sort of like the difference between driving or flying in a commercial
jet- feels safer to lots of folks to drive, even if it's not.

dana

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