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ESCALATOR
SAFETY
Escalators. We take them for granted. We don't really think of them as
too dangerous. But the startling fact is during the last few years more
than 7,000 people visited hospital emergency rooms because of escalator
related injuries! As a public service, Live And Learn is posting the following
alert which was issued by the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) wants you and
your family to be safe when riding escalators. The CPSC estimates that
there were 7,300 hospital emergency room-treated injuries from escalators
in 1994. Seventy-five percent of these injuries were due to falls, another
20 percent occurred when hands, feet or shoes were trapped in escalators.
Here are some steps you can take to help prevent escalator injuries,
especially injuries to young children:
-
Be aware that loose shoe laces, drawstrings, scarves, and mittens can
get trapped in escalators. In the past year, CPSC reached an agreement
with a number of children's clothing manufacturers to remove drawstrings
from the necks and hoods of children's garments. If your child's clothing
still has drawstrings, remove them.
-
Always hold children's hands on escalators and do not permit children
to sit or play on the steps.
-
Do not bring children onto escalators in strollers, walkers, or carts.
-
Always face forward and hold the handrail.
-
Avoid the edges of steps where entrapment can occur.
-
Learn where the emergency shutoff buttons are in case you need to stop
the escalator.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers/American National Standards
Institute Escalator Committee set a voluntary standard for escalators.
The standard requires:
-
That the emergency shutoff buttons be at the top and bottom of each
escalator. The button should be on the right side of the escalator when
facing the stairs.
-
That sidewalls be made of low-friction material so soft-soled shoes
cannot get caught easily.
-
That "skirt obstruction devices" (which sense the presence of a foreign
object and automatically shut off the escalator) be at the top and bottom
of the escalator.
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That side clearance at the edges of steps be no more than 3/16 inch.
-
That warning signs be placed on escalators reminding parents to hold
children's hands and face forward.
That each step have painted foot prints or brightly colored borders.
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