News Hitachi explains why it is dangerous to walk on escalators

Hitachi, one of Japan's major escalator producers, has launched a website to explain the dangers of walking on escalators despite ongoing calls from administrative bodies and railway companies to stop this practice. In Japan, it's common for escalator users to stand on one side, leaving a lane open for those who want to move quickly. Some social media users even claim they have "the right to walk" on escalators. In May, Tokyo-based Hitachi Building Systems Co. unveiled a website detailing the risks of walking on escalators, emphasizing that they are not designed for walking. The website highlights that due to the difference in step height between staircases and escalators under the Building Standards Act, there is a risk of stumbling or misstepping if people walk on escalators.

The company had long warned clients about these dangers, but this is the first time it has called on users to avoid walking on escalators. Kaichiro Koizumi, a public relations official, explained, "It's necessary to inform the public of the basic fact that escalators are not staircases." The website also warns of the risks of falling over or harming others while walking on escalators. There have been many accidents involving unruly escalator walkers. According to a Tokyo-based Japan Elevator Association survey, of the 1,550 accidents that occurred on escalators between 2018 and 2019, 805 were caused by improper use, such as walking or not holding on to the handrail. Railway operators have also asked people to stand still on escalators and stop leaving the other side open for walkers. This is because station escalators have seen a significantly high number of people walking up and down the steps. Starting 22 July, rail operators, including Japan Railway companies, airports and local governments across the country, will jointly launch a campaign urging people to "stop walking and stand still" on escalators. The campaign will run until the end of August.

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And here are Hitachi's detailed instructions on how to safely ride an escalator:

日立ビルシステム エスカレーターを歩行することの危険性について

I noticed one way they seem to be combating this "problem" is that many newer escalators only have room for single file use. So it's impossible to pass other people.

" This is because escalators at stations have seen an especially high number of people walking up and down the moving steps. "
Hard to believe the numbers have changed much. Haven't people walked up/down escalators since they were first introduced?
It's not clear if there are really more accidents now or not but if there are perhaps it has more to do with using one's phone while walking on the escalator.

I'm glad my cell phone has not "invaded" and taken over me.

Nagoya and Saitama City implemented ordinances urging people not to walk on escalators, but those measures were ineffective.

Given Japan's demographics, accidents will happen more frequently, whether people are walking or not. In March, a 74-year-old man died in Mito after his jacket got caught in an escalator's handrail.

That's nonsense. I almost always walk escalators. The difference in step height with the staircase is actually an advantage for taller people like me. It's easier to walk on the escalator than in a staircase.

That being said, in crowded stations when people are queueing for the escalator I normally take the stairs as it is faster than queueing.

Whatever the situation I need to keep moving. I don't like standing doing nothing. Even at home I walk around the house when I'm reading a book or watching a YouTube video.

Prohibiting walking on escalators would feel like a human right violation or at least a heavy curtailment of civil liberty for me. It would be like telling people they can't read or sleep on the train or the plane.

Maciamo said:

Prohibiting walking on escalators would feel like a human right violation or at least a heavy curtailment of civil liberty for me. It would be like telling people they can't read or sleep on the train or the plane.

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Here's another convinced escalator walker.

I wouldn't go as far as calling it a human rights violation, but whatever the passengers in Saitama (and probably Nagoya) considered it, they just ignored it in the end.

thomas said:

I wouldn't go as far as calling it a human rights violation, but whatever the passengers in Saitama (and probably Nagoya) considered it, they just ignored it in the end.

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Yes, I remember that it was prohibited to walk on the escalators in the metro stations in Nagoya. So I just used the stairs.

At the moment it seems that only Nagoya and Saitama have ordinances against walking on escalators. However the news you published was for a nationwide campaign supported by local governments. So far it's just a recommendation, not a law or ordinance. But if they were to ban walking on escalators everywhere and strictly enforce it because too many people don't respect it —a bit like wearing a mask during the COVID pandemic or the way they enforce the law for minor infractions in other East Asian countries like Singapore and China, using even CCTV cameras to identify offenders for such minor offences, then it would become a human right violation.

I don't think I'm taking this out of proportion. After all the Japanese police is known for breaking human rights by forcing people in custody to sit in seiza all day in single confinement until they confess, even if they are innocent. They also known to be overzealous, for example turning on the siren of a patrol car in a busy business district at lunchtime, screeching to a halt with three policemen coming out to stop a Belgian on a bicycle just to ask him if the bike belongs to him (yes, it did). It was 20 years ago but it still feels like yesterday.