What is an important safety tip when using ladders?

Maintaining your center of gravity within the ladder rails is crucial for ensuring stability and reducing the risk of falls while working on a ladder. This principle helps to keep your body weight balanced over the ladder, which is essential for safe ascending, descending, and performing tasks at height. When your center of gravity is aligned with the ladder, you minimize the likelihood of tipping or losing your balance, which can lead to serious accidents.

Other options present dangerous practices. Working quickly can lead to hasty movements, increasing the chance of missteps or loss of balance. Requiring only one hand to maintain contact with the ladder compromises stability because it reduces the support and balance that two hands provide. Lastly, assuming there is no need for safety precautions due to experience is misleading; complacency can lead to oversights that raise the risk of accidents, regardless of one’s skill level. Thus, keeping your center of gravity within the ladder rails stands out as a fundamental safety tip for ladder use.