7-11 Stair Argument
Weak
To the Editor:
I would like to comment on the
letter in reference to the "7-11" stair
rule ("Steep Stair Blues," Letters,
4/93). I attended the BOCA convention
in 1983 in Grand Rapids, Mich.,
where 7-11 was the main topic, and
so had the opportunity to listen to
the testimony of the proponents. My
honest impression is that the data
supporting 7-11 is, at best, totally
inconclusive and doesn't prove that
stair steepness is an overriding factor
in stair accidents. At worst, the supporting
data is a wild conclusion
extrapolated from unsorted data from
some hospital emergency room accident
reports — in essence a case of
making the "facts" fit the predetermined
conclusion.
I know from experience that