She didn't see him walk into the hallway and pull open the elevator door, which looked like an ordinary closet door. In 2005, several elevator experts tried to change the nation's elevator safety code to shrink the door gap - and were rejected. "It's a hazard with an urgency that's second to none," said Bob Shepherd, executive director of the National Association of Elevator Safety Authorities, which certifies elevator safety inspectors. But when Tucker Smith died in 2001, the nation's residential elevator safety code allowed for up to five inches between the two doors. Shepherd, of the National Association of Elevator Safety Authorities, said he declined his invitation because the meeting included elevator manufacturers but not the people who provide safety oversight.

Source: Stuff July 19, 2019 01:52 UTC