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Attention! Breathe in and out while using this escalator

Rachel Corbett

by Rachel Corbett

21 Dec 05:45am

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Filed under: Litigation, Shopping, Society, Summer

75 comments

A wander through Myer at Christmas time, usually reveals nothing more than the depth of human depravity come holiday season.  In years gone by I’ve learnt little apart from the fact that you never get between a middle aged woman and the last set of Sheridan sheets, unless you want to make a beeline for the first aid department afterwards. That is, of course, until now.

And remember, try not to get your tongue stuck in the grooves… Picture: Getty

The other day I discovered that there is something else to be had at a Myer store, apart from the inevitable coronary when you add up your receipts.  An education.

In a marriage of technological advancement and the debilitating fear of litigation, Myer has brought us one step closer to no longer having to wipe our own bottoms, with the informative pamphlet: ‘Escalator Safety Information’.  The ‘Genital Herpes Facts Pack’ of the technological world.

Long has the escalator been the poster machine of the sedentary lifestyle.  A device which has managed, through the genius of just a few moving parts, to entirely remove the need for us to use our lower limbs. 

Yet, all these years we believed that, with the body in a complete state of suspended animation as it moves from ‘Haberdashery’ to ‘Ladies wear’, nothing could go wrong.  Oh, how naïve we were.

Apparently that 11 second ride to your new pair of underpants is a perilous journey, fraught with obstacles, danger and certain death.  In fact, it’s truly lucky that up until this point, any of us have made it out onto the street with our black and white bags alive.

A quick scan of the instructions reveals such indispensable gems as ‘face the direction you’re travelling’ and ‘hold onto the handrail’.  The only crucial piece of information I observed missing was ‘don’t forget to breathe in and out while moving’.

Are we as a society so litigious and just plain stupid that a shopping centre really has to produce a pamphlet teaching us how to safely stand still?

The next time we shop at Coles are we going to be presented with brochures on how to navigate the treacherous and untamed wilderness of the supermarket aisles? Will we have guides at ATM’s to show us how to insert our card without inserting our fingers? Are waiters going to distribute informative leaflets reminding us not to forget to swallow our duck l’orange after we’ve put it in our mouths?

This is ridiculous. If you are stupid enough to want to lick the comb plate and brush guard of an escalator, then you deserve to see your tongue coming back around when it’s made it’s full rotation. 

If you see the journey from Level 3 to Level 2 as a Coney Island slide then I wash my hands of you if you end up face first in the crotch of a mannequin, and if you think it’s a genius idea to stick your hand in the rotating escalator belt, then you deserve to be deprived of the ability to point a finger.

Surely at some stage we, as human beings, need to take a tiny bit of responsibility for equipping ourselves with some basic knowledge. 

If we are stupid enough to not know how to use an escalator, then we should brush ourselves off, deal with the embarrassment of falling face first into the Lancôme lady, and take ourselves home - not to the nearest law firm.

Nothing in the resulting modifications that, that escalator and its surrounds will endure post litigation, will ever remove the fact that you’re a klutz.

Shopping centres have already taken away the need for us to walk up stairs.  Surely they don’t need to think for us as well.

Most commented

75 comments

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    • TimB says:

      05:40am | 21/12/10

      I haven’t seen the pamphlet you speak of,but if it’s completely filled with the kind of garbage you describe above, then you’re right-we’re on step further along the road to Idiocracy. We need to stop going out of our way to prevent the intellectually challenged from doing their best to recieve a Darwin award.

      That being said, if there is anything in that pamphlet about sticking to the left of the escalator when not walking, they should leave that in. Heck it should be the only thing in there. It’s basic unwritten escalator ettiquette and there’s too many people who either don’t know about it or simply don’t care.

      You’re in the way. You don’t have to be. Learn to talk to your friends from another step & keep to the left.

      Reply

    • Adam Diver says:

      07:38am | 21/12/10

      Can’t do that TimB. You forgot the golden rule of facing forwards, ensuring conversation from one side is near impossible.

      I still remember the story of a drunk driver (3 SX the limit) crashing into a road works at night and getting 400K compo because it wasnt properly sign posted. Lawyers are the lowest of the low IMO

    • TimB says:

      07:58am | 21/12/10

      Eh, it’s doable. I’m assuming the facing advice is to ensure people are watching where they’re going when they’re leaving the escalator.  Tear your gaze away from each other for the second needed to disembark safely.

      Or if that’s too challenging for some people, maybe they should just shut up for 10-15 seconds.

    • Adam Diver says:

      09:09am | 21/12/10

      Actually another issue may be the fact that people are reading this guide whilst on the escalator. Their focus clearly isn’t on a safe journey, methinks Myer may be liable for this poor lack of foresight.

      Perhaps some sort of government body is set up to ensure licensing of shoppers before they embark on a journey. Obviously a written exam is required and perhaps 40-50 hours tamdem experience before going solo.

    • Tombowler says:

      10:20am | 21/12/10

      Lawyers the lowest of low are they Adam?

      Perhaps should you, one day, be arrested for murder that you did not commit will assuage yourself of your right to counsel and avoid the evil scourge of lawyers?

      I assume that you are the type who just prefers to trust the police and the government to know and respect your rights with near fanatical adherence to the law…. (as we have seen so often via the QLD police).

      I further take it that should you suffer injury at the hands of another you will just hope they make good the damage in good faith as people so commonly do….

      Lawyers are ‘hated’ because they do indeed make a living out of the misery of other. The same, interestingly, as the police force, doctors ambulances officers etc all of whom would be without work but for the trials and tribulations of the individual.

      Even the seemingly most disgusting individual on the planet deserves a competent and dispassionate advocate. It is the very basis of our legal system. Without vigorous and competent prosecution of each position then any conviction would be without merit; if the evidence against a child-molester hadn’t been tested in the fire of an adversarial court of law, how would we know if the claims were motivated by malice or truth? Whether the evidence existed or the police just wished it did?

      Lawyers are an integral part of the insulating shield of the judiciary that protects the citizen at large against abuses of the law and abuses by the executive.

      To claim on the basis of a 3rd party anecdote, in which you have shared no facts, that lawyers are the ‘lowest of the low’ is bogan, populist, western-suburbs thinking crap. I suppose you feel that politicians are paid too much on the basis that you aren’t paid as much (despite the fact your job involves the cleaning and/or shovelling of dung).

      You are a moron. Without any knowledge of the nuances of an old and respected profession you feel that you have the ability to pass judgment on it in it’s entirety.

      Please, Adam.  Share with me your views on the electoral issue in Belarus? Something equally eloquent and informed as your brilliant deductions in respect to the legal profession.

    • Niente says:

      10:47am | 21/12/10

      I agree that the most important thing is that the sedentary keep to one side. I’m not too fussed if they keep to the left or right, as long as there is room for people who want to pass them. Have some consideration for those of us who are on time constraints (like people who work and have escaped their cubicle for half an hour).

      Unfortunately, keeping to one side is a concept many people (of every size, age, shape, colour ) have trouble understanding. If they don’t keep to one side, then I think it should be a punishable offence .

    • Adam Diver says:

      11:55am | 21/12/10

      @ tombowler, you are correct sir, I love a system that deliberately makes it difficult for average people to take part in, yet controls most of the facets of thier life.

      I understand that they protect you in the court of law, but your point is somewhat moot, when opposing you is another lawyer who is falsly accusing you (such as your example).

      Lawyers are the worse part of a poor system, but that does not mean they should be abdicated of any responsibility. In any case I was generalising and not attacking personally as a lawyer (am I close?)

      Its not like they get remunerated for protecting me against the state, oh wait they do, and they get remunerated for attacking me too, if their client so chooses. I will have more respect when they spend more time seeking the truth and less time seeking fame, promotion, money, victory above all else (I know they have to, but that is why I chose not to pursue a career in law, defending people I don’t want to)

    • Tombowler says:

      12:26pm | 21/12/10

      Adam

      What you fail to recognise in your ridiculous ranting is that the search for truth is best served through the adversarial nature of our court.

      Perhaps you could name another system that is fairer and provides a better balance of interests in the world than ours?

      (I’ll give you the hot tip: avoid the obvious trap of discussing European courts as they have contributed to some serious systematic failures recently through the varying mechanisms of belligerent democracy, absolute clauses etc)

      Anyway, you suggest that people would be better served if everyone just chatted about whether or not they were guilty and reached some sort of consensus.

      What about the situations where the accused is a unlikeable person with virtually no ethics and particularly distasteful views that he enjoys discussing. Without an advocate it is likely that his shortcomings as a person (not a crime) will result in him being considered guilty. This happens all the time via court of public opinion (which provides the best possible example of the need for dispassionate advocacy) that always seems to bay for blood for any perceived offence that the DPP or Police have been particularly successful in publicising and engendering sympathy.

      If you honestly believe lawyers are bottom-feeders I have to ask, what line of work are you in?

      Something selfless and unprofitable no doubt?

      The summation is this:

      Lawyers exist to protect the interests of their clients in a world that is rarely black and white & one in which interests must be carefully balanced to avoid the tyranny of the majority etc. If you are competent enough to serve as your own advocate then by all means do so but understand there are many that are not. If a person cannot speak eloquently, cannot be dispassionate about the relevant justiciable dispute or cannot understand the nuances of any offence or tort that is in question.

      Lord Devlin once discussed the importance of public confidence in the legal system.  Devlin suggested that while two parties would come out of court suggesting that the judiciary and it’s officers were all total buffoons the important thing was rather that when they walked out they were griping about the justice system rather than one another.

      Ex-wife have a better divorce lawyer than you Adam? Hmmmmm… Still haven’t heard about Belarus…?

    • Shifter says:

      01:22pm | 21/12/10

      So Tom, you’re a lawyer?

    • iansand says:

      02:03pm | 21/12/10

      In a former life I was a litigation lawyer.  Two things are indubitable:

      1 No lawyer will commence litigation without the clear and unambiguous instructions of a client.  Lawyers do not conduct press gangs, shanghaiing innocent passers by into court.  Although it would be a damn fine wheeze.

      2 Any client can bring any litigation to an end by simply instructing the lawyer to proceed no further.

      Oddly enough I never had the experience of a client, when advised that they have a reasonable case, selflessly saying that it is in society’s interest that they do not proceed, and foregoing their chance of receiving megabucks.  Clients control litigation, not lawyers.

      As a side issue if, in a commercial negotiation, a person says that they would love to proceed but their lawyer is stopping them run away.  They are lying.  A lawyer can only advise, they cannot prevent.  Anyone who uses their lawyer as an excuse is an untrustworthy weasel.

    • Shifter says:

      03:20pm | 21/12/10

      @iansand - There are a few firms out there specialising mainly in compensation that are continually advertising for clients with leading lines such as ‘don’t think you have received the compensation you deserve?’.

      Surely you’re not saying that lawyers are beyond reproach in encouraging potential clients to sue for minor mishaps and maladies? Words like ‘a reasonable case’ are like dollar signs to the greedy among us.

    • Reg says:

      04:10pm | 21/12/10

      Indubitable indeed. Hanging off the coat-tails of Tom’s fine oration there Iansand? smile I’m afraid plea-bargains cast a shadow over your fine self- image. Then there is this one. The case of the losing accused who sues all the associated solicitors and the judge for trespassing on his rights NOT to be taken to court.  Yet still the matter finishes in front of a magistrate accruing costs that the complainant could never pay and yet the original complainant is stuck with in his defense. No costs to the solicitors or to the judge, just to the person he was trying to get even with.  I can’t help thinking there was a lot of judicial self-interest on show there. If a judge had already found the original defendant guilty, why did it have to go before a magistrate to validate his decision?

    • iansand says:

      06:12pm | 21/12/10

      @Shifter - Client still controls the process.  Are you suggesting that the lawyer should say “You have a case, but my view of the social contract says that you are not entitled to sue, so I am denying you your rights”?  Really.  Think before you type. 

      @Reg - Try again in English.  It probably made sense in the original Finnish.

    • iansand says:

      06:03am | 21/12/10

      As a person who is suffering through one of the periodic re-arrangements of the layout of my local Woolies, I think we need all the help we can get.  Does anyone know where the muesli is in Northbridge Woolworths?

      Reply

    • Simonious says:

      07:22am | 21/12/10

      Thats a confusing thing with Muesli. It is split between the cereal aisle and the health food section. Some supermarkets just dont know what to do with it.

    • majority says:

      07:23am | 21/12/10

      yeah, next to the cereal

    • notsurprised says:

      09:58am | 21/12/10

      iansand, if you think Northbridge is confusing, stay away from Crows Nest

    • iansand says:

      12:28pm | 21/12/10

      On the other hand, on my search for muesli a couple of days ago I found myself in the petfood aisle.  A new experience.  Gourmet paradise!  But can the animals detect a difference and do they care?

    • Lauren says:

      03:01pm | 21/12/10

      notsurprised - I almost had a nervous breakdown in Crows Nest the other day. Worst supermarket layout ever! And there’s not even enough room for you to pass someone in the aisles

    • TChong says:

      07:18am | 21/12/10

      Its always a kack to read how we are over run with rules, regulations etc, while we live in a society where the first response to any unforseen incident is to sue.
      OH+S guidelines, “the nanny state” is a direct response to our societies love affair with being the injured / wronged party, that only financial compenstion ( via sueing) will alleviate.

      Reply

    • past installer says:

      07:57am | 21/12/10

      escalators are full of moving sharp and extremely heavy parts, and can be a a great danger if not used with care. However, all th care involves is a little bit of common sense - dont run on it, dont let your children play on it(what movie was it where the kid rides up and down all day on the escalatr then gets trapped? Mallrats?) and be aware that the comb is sharp, in part to catch the junk that gets dropped on it by people before it gets into the internals and breaks it down. Yes people can be idiots, and those idiots can sue if there is no ‘hang tight to handrail, but no so tight you can’t let go and get your arm pulled off’;, and these warnings are to cover the manufacturer and the installer as well as inform the the public the correct way to stand still and not lick the damn the thing. You would not believe the amount of people who look around to see a sign, and if they dont they ‘trip’ and then cry foul that there was no directiveson how to behave. Blame those peope for the ‘nanny state’, not the people who have to write the signs.

    • past installer (in transit) says:

      08:46am | 21/12/10

      I apologise for my bad spelling and couple of dropped words - public transport and phone spell check can play havoc with long communications smile

    • MCloud says:

      07:33am | 21/12/10

      8 Years ago, I had the misfortune to witness a small child lose part of a finger after getting It trapped inside the sharp metal combs at the bottom of an escalator. He was sitting down and his parents were not really watching him and he failed to get up in time and his fingers got caught…

      To this day I remember the screams.. not only of the poor child but also that of the mother.

      I am pretty sure on the ‘Escalator Safety Information’ there is something about not sitting (and looking after children)

      Reply

    • Dan says:

      08:24am | 21/12/10

      All true, but even the dumbest person surely does not need to be told via a pamphlet that you need to watch small children in the vicinity of escalators. I’m guessing Myer issued the pamphlet after such an incident resulted in legal action (and that’s another story). It would have been at the instigation of their lawyers - who would have charged a motza for drafting the document.

    • Daemon says:

      11:09pm | 21/12/10

      @Dan - The average mother on a shopping trip has a list of 18 things to do. Among them are “watch the child/ren”, “feed the child/ren”, “watch out for the child/ren”. They need to be done from the beginning to the end of said shopping trip.
      Picking up a pound of snags and some chops is secondary to the above 3. That a mother can shop and have children at foot/heel/stroller at the same time, is a wonder to me, a non-father.

    • Victor says:

      07:35am | 21/12/10

      Unfortunately, some people ARE this stupid, espcially those parents & grandparents who, in some kind of misguided desire NOT to offend the littel darlings,  allow children in their care to play by running up & down on escalators & moving walkways in the wrong direction !  When the inevitable happens (a fall), & serious injury results, more pity to the store or shopping centre owner who is then deemed to be responsible for not putting place processes or safety systems that would’ve (supposedly) prevented the accident, whilst at the same time grossly inconveniencing the rest of us who are sensible enough to use the device(s) as intended.  What we need are processes & systems that prevent stupidity - pity that’s not going to happen any time soon ....

      Reply

    • grumpy old man says:

      09:52am | 21/12/10

      hey! not all grandparents are dumb,
      I give my grandkids clear instructions “get on, stand still until I tell you to move”, they understand this, its clear, simple, and without ambiguity. And its simple enough for us poor old decrepit folks ( who incidentally still work 14 hour days, run 2 businesses,  ride motorbikes, sail and kayak..its a bummer when you slow down!) to remember.

    • Macca says:

      08:14am | 21/12/10

      “Surely at some stage we, as human beings, need to take a tiny bit of responsibility for equipping ourselves with some basic knowledge”

      Thankyou!!! I am so sick of people lacking the ability to do things themselves.

      People, you are smarter than you think. Just take a few seconds and work things out for yourselves. And if you trip over than piece of lose carpet, maybe you shouldn’t have been texting whilst working and drinking a Boost Juice.

      Reply

    • ibast says:

      10:30am | 21/12/10

      yet people will still ring up the council if they drive their car into a pot-hole or trip over on a foot-path.

    • JuzzyD says:

      11:58am | 21/12/10

      Trip over on a footpath I can dig, but as for potholes, the body in charge of the road is liable for damage caused by potholes up here, depending on whether it’s a state or local council maintained road, short of reporting them, how do they get fixed?

      Our local council is running a campaign where they want folks to notify them even when they SEE a pothole let alone drive in to it. With some of the heavy rain we’ve had lately, we’ve had dangerous potholes that my head could easily dissappear into were I to pull over that open up in the space of a few hours.

    • ibast says:

      12:57pm | 21/12/10

      Juzzy, I was more having a go at people demanding financial compensation, rather than just reporting.  The idea that your neighbours are liable if you are silly enough to damage a wheel in a pothole, goes against common sense to me.  A road is a road and it has variations.  If you damage your wheel because you were driving too fast, or not being observant enough, your fellow man should not have to get his hand in his pocket.  Not to mention the fact there was a reason why low profile, magnesium alloy wheels were rare in Australia.  If you decide to to fit the wheels you should learn to deal with the consequences.  It isn’t everybody elses fault.

    • grumpy old man says:

      08:26am | 21/12/10

      oh how I miss the good old days when you could do something truly stupid and people would assume that it was all your own fault!
      How naive we were then, to not understand that whatever Darwin Award act we performed was actually someone else’s responsibility.
      How naive I was to assume, that when the top of my fingers were shot off in some strange land , that this kinda went with being a soldier!
      How naive I have been all my life to assume that I was actually the person responsible for me, and what happened to me!

      If I had only known, how different life could have been !

      Reply

    • John Smythe says:

      09:15am | 21/12/10

      Sadly Grumpy…gone are the days of *common* sense…..it seems such sense is no longer common. I can’t wait for the meteorite or something to give some other vertebrate a shot at running the world. Ours has become too over-run with rejects from the gene pool.

    • Sahara says:

      08:30am | 21/12/10

      I was at a real estate agents once and I made myself a cup of coffee. At the urn there was a sign that said “caution hot water if you need help using this urn please contact the management”

      I think it was an test to weed out the idiots. If you were that dumb that you had to ask for help to use an urn the management instantly knew you were too dumb to work there

      Reply

    • Gingermick says:

      05:17pm | 21/12/10

      I think that management instantly knew that you were dumb enough to be a real estate worker.

    • Ian says:

      08:30am | 21/12/10

      About 9 years ago with a leg in a cast and on crutches (and sober) I managed to topple forwards down an escalator in Brisbane.  It was all in slow motion and fortunately I landed on my good leg.  Centre management came rushing forward with great concern.  I just wanted to shuffle out of there in embarrassment - and did.  A pamphlet would not have helped, I knew which idiot was responsible..

      Reply

    • Shifter says:

      02:33pm | 21/12/10

      Ahh, but were you sober when you put your leg in the cast?

      Pretty sure every time I’ve been hurt badly, I’ve been the culpable idiot.

    • Stairmaster says:

      08:35am | 21/12/10

      I refuse to shop at Myers (Melb) due to the bovines who reaching the top of the escalator, forget what they are looking for, and stop two steps off the elevator oblivious to the rest of the world. I have often said ” just a small step to the left and you will completely block everyone”. Maybe a sign saying “you must be at least this smart to ride this escalator”.

      Reply

    • Sludger says:

      09:33am | 21/12/10

      happened to me a few times.  With the push from behing I have often found myself wondering if I will be charged for accidental frottage.  Most unsettling.

    • AJ says:

      11:52am | 21/12/10

      I completely agree! Why do people feel that it is necessary or appropriate to stand still as soon as they step-off the escalator? Don’t they understand that other people use the escalator?

      It’s the same for people who walk to an escalator and then stand at the “entrance” debating whether they really need to go up or down and whether they should remain on the current floor. If you’re blocking other people from getting onto the escalator, then you’re not in an appropriate position to be determining which floor the gift-wrap is sold on.

    • Sludger says:

      08:51am | 21/12/10

      “Help!  We’re trapped on an elevator!”  Still cracks me up that ad.

      Reply

    • Sludger says:

      09:16am | 21/12/10

      Um, trapped on an escalator that is.  Now I feel like the Darwin winner.  I need coffee!

    • AJ says:

      09:20am | 21/12/10

      There is only one rule for using an escalator - Keep to the left unless overtaking!

      I don’t understand why people feel the need to prevent others from walking up or down an escalator. Not long ago I was chastised by a particularly rotund individual who advised me (as I squeezed past their bulk to make my way up the escalator) that if I wanted to walk, I should have used the stairs.

      I had to bite my tongue to prevent myself pointing out that the “stairs” in most department stores are for emergencies only and that the last person who should be criticising others for “moving” is someone who is so wide they almost take up the entire width of a standard-sized escalator by themselves.

      The “keep to the left unless overtaking” rule should also apply to footpaths, corridors in shopping centres and all other areas where people seem to think they can meander about in large groups while moving at a snails pace and preventing others from getting to their desired destination in a timely manner.

      Reply

    • TimB says:

      12:39pm | 21/12/10

      I agree completely AJ. See my above post.

      Seriously what is it about people walking on the streets that they all behave like drunken cattle?

      People who have the inability to walk in a straight line, people in groups who feel the need to walk in a massive horizontal linepeople who think the middle of a busy footpath is a great place to stop and chat…

      Honestly if I had one superpower it would be the ability to deliver a short sharp electric shock at will to all the people who annoy me like this. Nothing fatal (or even delibitating) just painful.

    • Dan says:

      03:31pm | 21/12/10

      Try blocking an escalator in any European country. You will be smartly abused and elbowed out of the way - as you should. The only difference is that in most countries in Europe (including the UK), it’s keep right unless overtaking. Agree with AJ that it’s a rule that should be applied everywhere. Nothing annoys me more than walking down the footpath to have it blocked by an entire family group dawdling along at snail’s pace. I’ve got places to go!

    • Huey says:

      09:29am | 21/12/10

      Yep, sure is scary when you realise just how shallow the gene pool can be.

      Reply

    • ibast says:

      09:29am | 21/12/10

      It’s a symptom of over-regulation in general.  We have lower and lower speed limits for example and now people are unable to drive.  Get out on a country road and throw a few bends at people and they are at sixes and sevens trying to deal with them even at low speed.  All because we need to be saved from ourselves.

      Reply

    • JuzzyD says:

      12:02pm | 21/12/10

      Hah, throw in a bit of rain for good measure and it’s a shambles. Big open sweeping curves in a 100 zone, not getting close to pushing anyones limits, and these neanderthals are on the brakes and hitting 60. Gtfo of the way, I want to go to work!

    • bella starkey says:

      09:32am | 21/12/10

      I dislocated my knee in target on the weekend. It was my fault but now i am thinking that perhaps they should have had a warning sign about the possibility of this occuring…

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      11:35am | 21/12/10

      Sue them! Everyone else does.

    • Shifter says:

      02:35pm | 21/12/10

      Please don’t.

    • James1 says:

      10:05am | 21/12/10

      Apparently, the Canberra Centre shopping complex thought that pamphlets were not going far enough when it comes to escalator safety.  They have a voice piped through speakers playing constantly at a set of escalators, telling us to hold on the the rail, not to walk, and to supervise our children at all times while on the escalators.

      This is one of those things that will get worse before it gets better.

      Reply

    • TimB says:

      12:29pm | 21/12/10

      The escalator should detect violators and turn into a slide/chute thing.

      “We told you to hold onto the handrail. We asked you not spit over the side”

    • Chris says:

      12:33pm | 21/12/10

      Will it get better though? Once you do something under OH&S you can’t go backwards.

      Can you imagine how damn boring the person is who approved this idea?

    • HanK says:

      02:35pm | 21/12/10

      Actually, from what I can tell the Canberra Centre escalator you are talking about is a bit of an exception. Its one of those travelator type ones, and it is damn slippery if you are wearing leather soled or non-grip shoes. I have taken a tumble on it myself when walking on it because I was wearing my work shoes, and I know others who have hurt themselves badly. It still makes me a little nervous to ride on it even now, and I avoid it completely if I have leather soled shoes on. And no, I’m not some kind of goose that was running or sliding up and down the contraption. Just walking in the overtaking lane.

      My guess is that it was cheaper to fit in the voice over and therefore avoid negligence claims than it would be to replace the thing. So a band-aid fix to avoid future litigation rather than an actual attempt to rectify the problem.

    • David says:

      10:23am | 21/12/10

      I believe in a simple principle.
      If I’m doing something dangerous (sky diving for instance) then I have chosen to do something dangerous and have no right to sue.
      If I am using something in a manner it was not designed for and I’m hurt I have no right to sue.

      If I’m hurt while doing something illegal (which I wouldn’t) for instance brake and enter and I get hurt or if the owner cashes me and uses reasonable force then I chose to do this activity and have no right to sue.

      If someone else does something to me, then ok sue.

      What I’m saying is I am in control of my actions and my decisions, so I should suck it up, if my actions hurt myself it’s my fault.

      Have some common sense people.
      It’s time to put common sense back into the legal system, it never was designed this way.
      It’s time to stop this suing everyone for your stupid actions/decisions.

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      10:45am | 21/12/10

      The only rule that should be in there, is stand on the f’cking left. If you’re too damn lazy to walk, then move aside and let other (better) people use their legs the way they were intended.

      Reply

    • Bec says:

      11:50am | 21/12/10

      Sadly, this is simply a reflection of the super-litigious society in which we live. They have signs like that on escalators to avoid morons with dollar signs in their eyes tripping over and then declaring, “but you didn’t have a sign warning people to hold on to the handrail - what am I supposed to do but sue you for your neglectful stupidity? You brought this on yourself!”

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      12:23pm | 21/12/10

      We need judges with massive balls to say ‘enough’!

      We also need to have someone to pull in the reins on the out of control crew at Work Cover.

      Billy Connelly calls them Beige-ists!

    • sneakers says:

      12:09pm | 21/12/10

      Right, well, that’s Coles Myer taken care of. When’s the David Jones puff piece due?

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      12:15pm | 21/12/10

      I know an ex owner of an escalator business who spent most of his working life defending his business in court.

      Work Cover then gets told to investigate the risk and in turn the shopping centre then needs to respond with measures to combat risk. Therefore we get stupid pamphlets telling us not to do stupid things. Clearly it’s stating the bleeding obvious.

      The thing with OH&S is in the eyes of Work Cover you can never do enough. There is never a limit to reducing risk or implementing measures for reducing accidents.

      It’s not as though the escalator manufacturers or owners want to maim a child or see someone get hurt. Put simply that is not good for business.  So it’s either poor design or just a fact of living…...accidents happen.

      Who is monitoring Work Cover though? Who says ease up blokes?

      Maybe our Kiwi mates have an answer with a pool of money for accidents. Apparently this has limited the work of lawyers.

      Reply

    • iansand says:

      12:43pm | 21/12/10

      I have a theory that we have so many warnings that the warnings cease to be effective and become background noise.  I think some smart lawyer should neutralise a defence claiming that a person did something contrary to a warning by presenting evidence of all the other ridiculous warnings that the relevant council has scattered about the landscape.

      Next week, my theory that all the requirements for pre-transaction financial disclosures are so voluminous that they have ceased to be effective disclosures.  No one reads them, so they provide nothing useful.

      Reply

    • Bex says:

      01:19pm | 21/12/10

      Can supermarkets/department stores also issue a notice informing women that two trolleys/prams take up the ENTIRE aisle? While your obviously riveting conversation is clearly very important; we don’t all need to keep saying “excuse me, excuse me!” because your incessant banter is drowning out our cries to move freely within said aisle.

      Reply

    • Trude says:

      01:22pm | 21/12/10

      I’d rather see a pamphlet on escalator etiquette Like:
      Don’t dump your eight bags of shopping on the steps around you and wait for the last second to try to pick them all up again.
      Don’t stop at the the very end to talk with your mates causing everyone behind you to pile up and fall over you.
      Don’t try to run up the down escalator when others are coming down, or vice versa.
      Don’t break wind when someone else is behind and below you.
      If you have several bags of shopping on a narrow escalator it is not appropriate to try to shove past everyone else.
      On a wider escalator, if riding rather than walking, please stay to the left so others can pass.

      Reply

    • Craig Dunning says:

      01:46pm | 21/12/10

      You missed the point - We live in a society where litigation has become an income for many. Those pamphlets will probably save Myers millions in compensation payouts over the next couple of years.

      Reply

    • Kyle says:

      03:03pm | 21/12/10

      Recently went to Fiji, it was amazing and fun because most resorts have no OH&S, you HAVE to take care of yourself!!! You do something stupid it is your own fault!!!! Over the ads on TV for compo, for almighty’s sake take responsibility for yourselves and your actions!

      Reply

    • Reg says:

      04:22pm | 21/12/10

      Kyle, you are suggesting that all problems encountered by either side should be taken to court for resolution. That is the US system you are advocating and it has some very interesting results. No-one is game to do anything for fear of being sued. This is a highly desirable situation for the barristers and lawyers but not good for most consumers. As with any sort of injury in the US, it can drive you into bankruptcy and if you think we should adopt this system, then I can do nothing but disagree. Prevention is still better than cure.

    • Feral Wombat says:

      05:13pm | 21/12/10

      In some other cultures children are even more spoiled than our own precious little darlings here in Australia, but we are catching up. It’s great to give kids a sense of freedom and confidence but when that is combined with inattentive parenting things can go very wrong. Some parents treat department stores as if they are free-range day care centres.

      Watch the boy discover a new way to have fun. See the man make a great catch:

      http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/1058262/cctv-captures-escalator-rescue

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      06:57pm | 21/12/10

      Rachel, whilst we’re on the subject of escalators could you please ask your buddies at Triple M Brissy to play more Van Halen and Motown on the 4 to 5 pm timeslot ?
      And how come the things aren’t made of plastic, or other long-wearing substance ?
      They’re always breaking down. Just when I’m loaded. With shopping.

      Reply

    • Scotty says:

      08:22pm | 21/12/10

      The one piece of escalator advice I’d like to see published is that telling people to keep on walking on the flat travelator type most commonly seen in airports. These are in place to speed up the transfer between gates, not to save your legs.  You don’t really save any more any energy by standing still.

      Reply

    • fuzzy says:

      08:28pm | 21/12/10

      Spare a thought for those of us who are slightly afraid of escalators. In my teens I was pushed onto the ‘down’ escalator. I never really recovered from that, and to this day (now 41) I have to really psyche myself up to use them. I particularly feel stressed when I can’t hang onto both rails. I feel vulnerable when carrying shopping bags.

      As a tall woman, my centre of gravity is quite high, and I get nervous on escalators that don’t have solid sides or where you can look over the edge and see several floors of open space. I don’t need a brochure to tell me how to behave, I know I’m using a piece of infrastructure that is potentially quite dangerous.

      Maybe this is why I totally avoid shopping malls at Christmas-time. Too many people on too many escalators.

      Reply

    • Kay mercieca says:

      12:04am | 22/12/10

      I worked near the escalators and they can be very dangerous for unsupervised children.  It is traumatic to hear the screams of children with their fingers caught and it was a regular occurance for adult clothing to be caught, in particular the hem of jeans and shoe laces.
      They have adequate public liability insurance, they were more concerned and still are about customer safety and reduced trauma to staff and first-aid staff.

      Reply

    • Mitchell R says:

      03:23pm | 16/12/11

      What about that stupid woman in the US who tried to sue the Shopping Mall for damages and humilation because while she was texing and walking she forgot to watch where she was going and fell face first into a fountain. Check the stupid woman on FB. Its people like this who should be led away and shot…

      Reply

    • Syahrial says:

      09:29am | 07/02/12

      haha, well to be heonst, I never watch Grey’s Anatomy…..but yeah I can see how elevators are hotter…

      Reply
 
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