The History Of The 0.50 Scof

Abstract

As Professional Engineers, We Go To Court And Testify On The Slipperiness Or Non-Slipperiness Of Walking Surfaces In Slip And Fall Cases Where Personal Injuries Occur. We Testify That A Surface With A Static Coefficient Of Friction (Scof) Of 0.50 Or Greater Is Safe And A Surface Where The Scof Of Less Than 0.50 Is Unsafe. The Courts Accept This Number As The Definitive Number, And Cash Awards May Either Granted Or Denied Based On It. But Where Did 0.50 Come From, And How Was It Established? This Paper Looks At The History Of Friction And The Threshold Number Of 0.50.