Woman breaks wrist after escalator suddenly stops at subway station

Escalator steps can be very steep. Good thing she wasn't more hurt. She's 70 and 10 steps is a long way to fall for anyone.

An escalator repairman from one of the big Japanese companies once told me that the officially recommended way of riding their escalators is to stand in the center of the step (not on the left) and to grip each side of the hand rails firmly.

I thought it would look pretty funny if everyone followed this advice but this story probably explains why they say this.

"According to police" ... How is this a police matter?

OK. Let me hazard the guess: The chances were that someone got off the escalator swiftly causing the step tread to bounce upward wrongly to abnormal level, and the safeguard system functioned instantaneously having the escalator to stop suddenly. And the woman was probably not holding the handrails. Hope the elderly woman will get back on her feet in due course.

The chances were that someone got off the escalator swiftly causing the step tread to bounce upward wrongly to abnormal level,........

During a lifetime of riding escalators and seeing people jumping on and off I have never seen a bouncing step.

I believe the maker of the escalator was Schindler.

@Triring

They probably have a list of similar incidents.

@Harry_Gatto

I have never seen a bouncing step.

Aha! I was definitely way out of line. Yes, I should have said like to lift upward wrongly to abnormal level, ... instead of to bounce upward wrongly to abnormal level,...

I believe the maker of the escalator was Schindler.

So? What is the point about who the maker is? Or are you trying to start to stir crap up by inferring something here?

Schindler is a German company and I thought they specialised in elevators not escalators.

"It"S ME" Actually, Schindler is a Swiss company, but what has that got to do with this story?

stand in the center of the step (not on the left) and to grip each side of the hand rails firmly.

I wish but that would never work in the big city here in Japan. You'd probably get rammed into and end up with something else broken haha

MonozukiMar. 22, 2016 - 04:36PM JST

OK. Let me hazard the guess: The chances were that someone got off the escalator swiftly causing the step tread to bounce upward wrongly to abnormal level, and the safeguard system functioned instantaneously having the escalator to stop suddenly.

...or, someone pushed the emergency stop button.

Who knows what happened though, it could have been a number of things...

Maybe someone pressed the emergency stop button.

Hmm. Reminds me of something I saw on QI:

The first escalator came with, at the landings, an attendant armed with smelling salts and "medicinal" alcohol, to revive the spirits when necessary of those riders who suffered shock and disorientation from the mechanism.

Tahoochi,

...or, someone pushed the emergency stop button.

Aha! Yes, that could have been the case.

My sympathy to the women but is this really news?

Let's all just blindly speculate, since none of us have any concrete information, or technical knowledge.

My sympathy to the women but is this really news?

Yes. Life in Japan is an escalator.

Who knows what might happen if you don't grip the handrail and keep within the yellow lines!

Within the past six months I have had a crowded subway elevator stop twice ... and right in front of me (I didn't have a chance to get on it ... thank goodness). What I saw was riders falling forward suddenly on the suddenly stopped steps. Don't believe anybody got hurt ... but it was pretty scary looking. Both times I ... and those behind me ... had to take the steps.