11.08.2023

The old ladder and van method

Spotted by a Vertikal reader in France, the combination of a van with an extending ladder to work at height or rather reach a window ledge around seven metres up.

The user has at least parked his van close to the building and in a safe place, but that is the full extent of his safety consciousness. In the words of our correspondent: “I took these pics last week, near Lyon here in France just around the corner from my house. The guy has positioned his ladder on the roof of his van. No protection, nothing fixing the ladder to stop it slipping, and nothing stopping the roof from just buckling and causing the ladder to fall. And finally, no idea what they were doing with it!”
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Well they might have been burglars taking advantage of an open window… but this is probably one of the most basic cases, in past examples the ladder is footed on a roof rack or they have taken some basic steps to overcome the obvious risks - not here though. The biggest risk is probably the roof ‘dimpling in’, if that is a word, under one foot causing the classic sideways fall of the ladder, especially as its only relying on the ladder side rails resting on the window ledge. Climbing off the ladder into the window would also not have been that easy.
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Definitely one for our Death Wish series.

Have a safe weekend.