Photo via Pixabay
We probably don’t spend too much time thinking about it, but at their worst, the machines of transportation that we depend on every day can get really darn scary. Elevators are enclosed metal boxes that operate on pulley and wires. Cars are speedy death traps on wheels. And escalators… well, they’re moving staircases that have grinding teeth for stairs.An investigation by Channel News Asia reveals that escalator accidents happen almost once a day in Singapore. More than 350 incidents were recorded last year and 60 percent of those incidents involved someone going to the hospital.But it’s not the machine’s fault. We really only have ourselves to blame.Risk communications expert Dr. Christopher Cummings told Channel News Asia that part of the problem is that escalators are so common that people take them for granted. An experiment conducted by the network shows that even with warning stickers placed strategically around escalators, people tend to ignore the signs and use it the same way.More than half of escalator accidents involving trolleys end up in the hospital, Dr. Sharon Goh of KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital told Channel News Asia. A quick Google search confirms as much. Babies, trolleys, and escalators, are not a good mix. In two separate incidents in Singapore, a trolley ended up dislodged between the escalator’s steps, causing the escalator to stop.The same issue on self-discipline can be found in Singapore’s neighbors. In the Philippines, for example, escalator etiquette was a debated topic in social media, following a supermall chain’s campaign to implement a “stand right, walk left” system in their escalators.But many of these accidents can be avoided if only people used the escalator the right way, which is, with some common sense. That is: Hold the handrail, look where you’re going, and just stand straight. Just in case you needed reminding.
Advertisement