How safe is that Elevator your about to get on? It depends

How safe is the elevator your about to get on? well for 99.9% of us the answer is no problem however approx. 27 deaths resulting in the use of elevators are reported annually in the USA.
Almost all of them can be traced back to poor maintenance practices by the buildings elevators owner and or company performing the maintenance and New York city which has more elevators than any city outside of Japan is having a crisis with old elevators not being properly maintained and 2 people have died there with in the last year with Criminal Negligent Homicide Charges being brought against one elevator repairman this year for an accident that happened last year which trapped and killed a woman when it suddenly went up with out warning because a safety switch had been bypassed on the door.
One New York Politician is calling for buildings to be torn down and replaced because there are so many old crumbling not well maintained buildings and elevators in NYC.

So what does it take to become a Elevator Mechanic as there commonly known in the trade.
well some states require extensive training and licensing and proved skills under a journeyman
while some states like Pa. just require repair company's not the workers to register with them, in other words fill out a piece of paper.

While many elevator manufacturers require you be certified by them to work on there elevators while there under warranty this does not stop any one from working on them because if they can they will.
This is why especially in states like Pa. you want to make sure the company you hire to do your work is properly qualified and insured.