Crowded elevators tell a story

Eighteen people forced themselves into an elevator that could carry only 13 in an office building in Xiangyang, Hubei province, but not even one was willing to step out and lessen the load. The result: the elevator crashed to the ground floor. The incident reflected Chinese people's lack of patience and safety concern, says an article in Beijing Times. Excerpts:

Incidents similar to the one in Xiangyang have been reported from many office buildings in China. This shows that, apart from faulty elevators, people using them are also responsible for many of the elevator-related accidents. People are willing to take risks and put their lives in danger because they are ignorant of even the basic safety norms.

Even though some people enjoy a carefree and laidback life, they do not think twice before fighting for the limited opportunities available because of the lack of good education and jobs. They do so also because they do not want to be left behind. Perhaps people push themselves into already crowded elevators out of desperation.

Of course, office buildings have to take measures to ensure that elevators run smoothly and have the capacity to deal with the passenger load during peak hours. Office building managements have to understand the needs of tense and desperate white collar workers and visitors, and take measures accordingly to make their life a bit more comfortable.

Besides, building managements also have to create the proper environment for people to follow rules and deploy staff to ensure that they do so. To build a healthy social atmosphere in office buildings, the managements have to implement appropriate rules and people have to follow them. Without the joint efforts of office building managements and the people, we cannot make elevator and other services convenient for all.

(China Daily 07/18/2013 page9)