Embarrassing accident.

this. It doesn't glid to a halt, it just stops dead. I think its designed to use if clothing or a finger or something gets caught in the mechanism

I once pressed the emergency stop on a London Underground down escalator because a woman fell to the bottom. It was fine. The escalator stopped immediately but people weren’t thrown violently forwards as the speed is calibrated so that the inertia isn’t enough to fall. If anything people were annoyed they had to walk down until they saw her on the floor at the bottom,

Fortunately she was fine.

What was embarrassing about it?
When I saw 'embarrassing accident' I thought you meant you had wet your knickers

You had a bit of a stumble. You got yourself up. It all happened in a moment of seconds. And the escalator carried on, with just the 2 of you on it.

A shop worker asked you if you were okay. Presumably you said ‘yes’. Ir did you say something else? You felt a bit embarrassed, but sounds like v few or possibly no-one apart from one worker noticed…and guaranteed, they’ll have all forgotten it now as it wasn’t v spectacular.

It was a bit unfortunate and it shook you up a bit. But there’s no need to make it it into a bigger thing than it was, or look for ‘things that could have been done differently’ or stretch out the thinking about it. This wasn’t an incident which needed the escalator stopped. A shop assistant did see it happen and asked if you were okay. If you hadn’t been, no doubt they would have taken you to a back room and got the first aid kit out or called an ambulance if needed. But you probably did what most of us do when we fall over…felt apembarraseed, assured the enquirer we were fine and rushed off to get out of the situation. Unless the shop assistant was to chase after you and insist there was a bigger thing happening, there wasn’t much more they could do.

So yes, it was a bit unfortunate and yes you might be a bit tender. That’s what happens when you fall over. If you’re concerned you’ve hurt yourself, go to the GP. Otherwise, with kindness, try not to let it become a big thing in your head and move on. These things happen. Often they are absolutely no-ones fault. Often, no-one else needed to respond in anyway different to how they did.

You just reminded me of the time my friend's dress got stuck in the edge bit of the escalator, where the steps disappear into the floor at the top.

It was pulling & chewing the edge of her dress & we were terrified it was going to pull her whole dress off, in public, with lots of people around. Thankfully it was a cheap material & she could yank it free & it ripped. Only a few people saw. It's kind of scary how easy accidents can happen on escalators.

I'm waiting for one of the screen teens to face plant on the one at our local shops, as it's only working half the time!

Hope you feel better soon OP
I think if your hands are full it’s better to take the lift . If the emergency button was pushed it could have made a bad situation worse. Think it was an accident, you live and learn.

Yes. I’d say so… 😬

Trouble is op, that hindsight is a wonderful thing and yes they should have hit stop but as the probably have never been trained or seen such an incident... hope you're not too badly hurt and it gets better soon.
I agree with this and also hope you are feeling a bit better at least.

When we've had de briefings after an incident we always get asked ' but why didn't you do this, that or the other' The answer is always the same, we were in the moment, doing what we could and sometimes things get missed. In this case the shop worker may not have known or thought about the stop because they were trying to help you.

I’ve been on an escalator before when it stopped very suddenly and I very nearly fell all the way down, as did everyone else on it. So I agree it would have been more dangerous to hit the emergency stop unless there was literally no one else on it.

Never been too keen on escalators TBH.As a child I was always nervous of them (lived in London then!) Recently I feel like Im going to fall forward(side effect from chemo maybe?) Take the lift now .I hope youre OK OP and your LO too.It always shakes you up a bit. A lady in front of me lost her shopping and it stopped the escalator.She was OK and someone ran into SB for a fresh pizza for her as hers had been run over by her trolley wheel!

I don't think you need to be embarrassed but I'm really sorry this happened and sorry your DD was upset by it too.

Am I going to regret clicking on this link?!

Hope you get better soon OP. It sounds scary. Sounds like your little one didn't get hurt which is a silver lining.

In a bind, people don't always think to push the stop button the escalator. I have seen the start of a pile up at the bottom of an escalator at Heathrow. I did press the stop button as I was still on top but people sort of freeze up a bit in these situations and then the button is gone.

I agree, just that the OP shouldn’t include a complaint that the shop worker didn’t press emergency stop. Just report the accident factually.

This. I was on an escalator as a child when it stopped suddenly for no reason. I fell despite holding on. It was one of those old escalators with very deep grooves and I badly cut my arm.

The emergency stop isn’t for falls, it would likely cause a jolt and send you even further (or your poor daughter)

I hope you’re ok, I wouldn’t even be embarrassed by that at all!

Falling on an escalator is a very scary experience and I now hate using them.

I once fell getting off an escalator at a train station as my suitcase wheel got stuck. The emergency stop was pressed by somebody and I was very grateful for it as it stopped the inevitable panic of people piling up behind me!

I pressed the stop button once on the Gatwick Airport moving carpet because someone had fallen after getting a long robe stuck.

Sounds frightening in the moment but not really anything for the shop worker to do. My mum fell in a car park, over one of the humps at the end of a space. Should they be banned? Escalators really are not that dangerous.

As long as no one filmed it. That's the main thing. Glad you're okay.

They're super dangerous. I don't use them now if I can avoid it. I used to be in charge of H&S at a store which had two, I was there for a year and there were so many accidents on them.
Very often if one person falls a domino effect can occur too which is frightening. They're essentially moving chunks of metal and you don't win against them!
I think some people tend to freeze and/or watch something play out in front of them unintentionally sometimes, which may have been why the store assistant didn't react. Human nature unfortunately.

If anyone ever needs to press the emergency stop button on an escalator please shout out beforehand so that everyone can brace themselves.

I can relate OP. Years ago a woman in front of me with a big buggy got stuck at the top of the escalator somehow. I kind of fell down and got stuck at the side of the buggy and the escalator was still going for what felt like ages. It was embarrassing and I still cringe when I think about it. Although I can laugh about it now.

It did give me a bit of a phobia about escalators and I will always take the stairs where I can.

“An escalator accident in a shop should be reported and documented, including obtaining a copy of the shop's accident report and any relevant security camera footage.”

@Namechangerage
Yes! That’s how I phrased my post - when/when not to use it!
We were not there so don’t know if it was the right thing to do or not. OP’s assessment is that it might have helped.

All accidents get reported, not some and not others. Shops have a duty of care to customers.
”Shops do have a legal duty of care to their customers. This means they are responsible for taking reasonable steps to ensure the safety of customers on their premises. This duty includes maintaining a safe environment, addressing hazards, and preventing accidents.”

It always annoys me when people are too 'cool' to hold the handrail as they can be dangerous things. Don't feel embarrassed OP, just thankful that you weren't hurt more badly. It must have been very frightening.

I was directly behind a little girl whose shoe started getting pulled under the end plate. I grabbed her and yanked her right out of her shoe. I'm sure there must be lots of accidents. But then long flights of standard stairs can be dangerous too.

I think you were unwise to use the escalator. You had your hands full and could not hold on as you are supposed to do.
I get so fed up of people coming off trains with luggage and ignore the signs not to take large items of luggage and pushchairs on the escalators when there are lifts to use.
On the London Underground people with luggage also ignore the signs saying ‘stand to the left’ so that other people can pass them on the right.