In Hong Kong, the government and some famous public enterprises, such as
MTR, have been looking for effective way to minimize or control the accident
rate in escalators. Within the rate, children may have more escalator accidents
in part because they bounce around when they stand on escalators, instead of
watching where they place their feet. During the past 18 months, I carried out
43 reports of escalator accidents; those have most part involved young children
and elderly riders. In fact, falls on escalator are a major source of injuries
for passengers, passengers fall on escalator for a number of reasons, such as tripping
while walking up or down, misuse of shopping cart on escalator, and losing
balance in the passage of time. I am unwilling to write such report like the above-mentioned
reasons because in my opinion, based upon the standards applicable to all
escalators in Hong Kong and upon the knowledge that escalator manufacturers
have had for years, there should never be any serious injuries involving in the
passage of time. However, escalator accidents with human factors are not
difficult to be seen nowadays. Perhaps the following some examples of the
escalator accidents of recent one year will help make the cautions more
memorable.
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Escalator
Accident (Example1)
District:
Wong Tai Sin
Detailed Description of accident
and damage incurred
On January 11, 2013, an 85-year-old woman (the victim) used the
escalator (Escalator No. 5) to go down to UG level of the mall, when she
travelled at her half-ride, she suddenly lost her balance and she rolled
forward until to the bottom of the escalator as captured by the CCTV camera
being installed at top of the UG level, the footage captured the partial course
of the incident that the victim started to roll downwards against the bottom of
the escalator, it was not clearly known where the exactly location of
the victim fell was due to the camera’s setting but the security staff who
provided information had supplemented the incident.
.
.
In the short chip, several passengers ahead of the victim on the
escalator, there was a long distance (about 10 steps long) separated from the
elderly woman and those passengers who were ahead her. This was a deadly case
as no people could be buffering while she rolled forward, she tumbled to the
bottom of the escalator just a terrifying few seconds. Someone quickly ran back
to help the victim and someone pressed the emergency stop button to stop the
moving escalator, other passengers assisted the victim to sit upright and
half-carried her to lean against the right balustrade of the escalator as shown
in the chip. From the security staff’s information, the elderly woman had a
blooding wound on her head back, and was found bruised on right knee in the
accident.
.
At the time, the security staff of the plaza was notified the incident
happened and called the Ambulance immediately. After minutes, the ambulance
staff arrived at the scene to her aid (it was recorded at 11:45 a.m.), the
victim was moved on a stretcher and sent to the nearby hospital for medical
treatment at approximately 12:00 p.m.
.
Conclusion:
Apropos of the cause of the accident, it was due to
the victim who lost her balance in the ride, she fell on the escalator until
tumbling to the bottom of the escalator.
.
Escalator
Incident (Example 2)
District:
Tuen Mun
Detailed Description of accident
and damage incurred
On February 24, 2013, a 67-year-old man (the victim) accessed the
escalator (Escalator No. 3) at level 3; he was with his shopping cart loaded a
pack of red-wines and intended to go down the bottom (the level 2 of the mall).
When he was about one-thirds of the way down the escalator, he suddenly lost
his footing and was tumbled by the shopping cart of which the carton of red-wine
was placed unevenly that caused the victim to take a fall. The escalator was
stopped in the event after the victim’s body and the cart hit to the bottom
comb-plate by activating the comb-plate safety switch of the escalator. As per
the record time of the plaza’s surveillance camera, this happened around 15:45
p.m. From the short chip, it captured only the partial course of the accident
that the victim carrying a shopping cart accessed the escalator from the level
3 of the said plaza; the man’s cart carried a carton of red-wine (approximately 12 bottles are packaged)
that the carton was most likely not even in the cart’s bracket resulted an
unbalance gravity from the front of the cart while he reached at the inclined
portion of the travel. According to the building management information, the
victim required three (3) stitches on his left hand’s little finger which had a
large gash along the last joint of his finger. He was injured by fragments of
the wine bottles which broken in the fall.
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▲The victim accessed the escalator at the
level 3; he was with his shopping cart loaded a pack of red-wines and intended
to go down the bottom of the escalator. When he was about one-thirds of the way
down the escalator, he suddenly lost his footing and was tumbled to the bottom.
.
At the time, the security staff of the plaza was notified the incident
happened and called the Ambulance at once. Minutes after the accident, the
ambulance staff arrived at the scene to treat the victim (the arrival time was
at 16:00 p.m. as the security staff recorded), the victim was brought to the
Tuen Mun Hospital for medical treatment at the time of 16:15 p.m.
.
.
▲According to the security staff’s information, the victim suffered a cut on the back of his left hand near little finger by the glass fragments and was bleeding in the accident, the victim required three (3) stitches on his left hand’s little finger which had a large gash along the last joint of his finger.
.
Conclusion:
The old man should not use the escalator when he travelled with a shopping
cart or bulky luggage, he should use a lift.
.
Escalator
Incident (Example 3)
District:
Tai Po
Detailed Description of accident
and damage incurred
At the occurrence time of 09:52 a.m. on February
27, 2013, a 68-year-old woman used the escalator alone (Escalator No. 3, it is
an up-running escalator, served from 1 level (L1) to 2 level (L2)) to go up the
level 2. As per the management officer’s information, the elderly woman who was
giddy and felt not well, she then fell on the escalator by losing her footing
while she was at the step-distance measured from the lower teeth to the fourth
step away. Fortunately, there was a passers-by witnessed the incident happened
and he pushed the escalator’s emergency stop button to stop the escalator
operation. As reported, the elderly woman was not seriously
damaged, she had just a blooding wound on her head back, and was found bruised
on left elbow.
..
Conclusion:
Apropos of the cause of the accident, it was due to the victim who lost
balance during the ride.
.
.
Escalator
Incident (Example 4)
District:
Kwai Chung
Detailed Description of incident
and damage incurred
At 14:37 p.m. on March 24, 2013, a twenty-something-year-old lady (the
victim) used the down-running escalator (Esc no. 9) to go down to Level 1 of
the mall. The lady was injured in the incident after she fell on the escalator.
It happened at a famous shopping mall located in Kwai Chung.
According to the plaza’s surveillance videos’ information, the first chip
captured the lady accessed the said escalator at Level 2 with hurried walk; she
even walked on the moving steps and passed through other passengers while she
was the way down the escalator. The second chip was captured by the another
camera installed at the top of the Level 1 area, the chip showed that the
victim suddenly lost her balance and then fell on the moving steps, this
happened at 14:37:45 p.m. as per the record time of the plaza’s surveillance
camera. Fortunately, there was at the time a passer-by witnessed the fall accident
and he pressed at once the escalator emergency button to stop the escalator
operation. From the security staff information, the lady was found bruised in
her back after the fall accident.
.
Conclusion:
Riders need to be aware of the danger while they are travelling on the
escalator, the victim should hold onto the handrail and stand on the step all
the time during the ride instead of doing the risky passenger behavior such as
walking on the moving escalator steps, this will increase the risk of passenger
falls and affect to other passengers.
.
.
To avoid falling on the escalators, I will suggest the following tips:
- Make sure your shoelaces are tied and that you are not trailing a lace before getting on the escalator.
- Avoid the edges and sides of steps where your foot could be captured. Stand in the middle of the step.
- Always face forward and hold the handrail.
- Don't use escalators when you carry the lagguage or shopping cart.
- Do not permit children to sit or play on escalator steps.
- Don't walk, run or do any dangerous act during the travel of escalator.
- Accompany children or elderly on escalators; do not let them ride alone.
.
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Prepared by Ken Ngan Chi Keung
RLE 418, REE390
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