Anywhere you go, at some point you will be faced with the decision to use an elevator or a flight of stairs to reach your destination. Many factors are considered when deciding which method to use. At times, stairs are the common choice when trying to incorporate fitness into your daily routine. Other times, elevators are the prime selection due to the time saved by choosing the quicker route. The last thing on the minds of the masses of people utilizing either method is safety.

When it comes to stairs, there are many factors that can contribute to unsafe conditions. The volume of probability for accidents is much higher when choosing to use the stairs. Stairs have a surface area that can easily be manipulated. Indoor and outdoor stairs can have slippery surfaces, broken handrails, or uneven depth and height within the structure. There are thousands of deaths a year relating to stairway accidents and even more injuries.

An elderly couple in Greater Manchester both died after accidentally falling down the stairs. When Mary Murphy reached to stop her partner John Wood from slipping, she likely also fell. A senior at UCC Ireland died tragically when he fell down campus stairs. The odds are stacked against your safety when it comes to stairs.

Elevators are not without its risk. Although the variables are significantly lower for an accident, there are several cases in which someone has died or been injured as a result of simply choosing to ride an elevator. With the population increasing, high-rises are constantly on the rise. Using an elevator is more of a necessity than using stairs. For some it is the only option. More people use elevators than stairs, yet an elevator accident is less common.

While using the stairs has an array of possible problems, the elevator’s main cause of death is mechanical. Elevators are machines. Like any machine, an elevator can malfunction. For example, a woman in New York was killed when she stepped into a malfunctioning elevator that suddenly thrust upward. That’s why it’s so imperative to have a quality elevator company service elevators regularly to ensure they’re in working order.

Whether or not you are riding an elevator or running up a flight of stairs, the advice is the same: be careful.