Buggy on escalator

[CassandrasCastle]

is this a huge no no? I did it in John Lewis today because I couldn't be bothered walking all the way to the lifts, and the woman behind me told me to be careful 😬 I told her thanks for the advice, although may have been slightly sarcastic in tone. I've taken the buggy on escalators in the tube etc. as well

'22:53Sandinmyknickers

mynameiscalypso

I think if you live in London and take the tube, you get used to carting a buggy around on an escalator and then it seems strange that every other non-tube escalator seems to ban them.

I would say that's only in the last few decades. People didn't take buggies on busses or tubes in London late eighties/early nineties (and if you did, they would have to be collapsible and you would collapse it first. On a bus there was literally no where to put it if you didn't collapse it immediately to stow behind the conductor.) Parents seemed to manage fine'

80s loads of stations only had steps and some still do.

I suspect parents got around it as best they could eg bus instead.

It's much better now with improved access (far from great they have real constraints though with space etc).

For those not as mobile, disabilities, parents with children, so many people.

Having to take kid out, carry and bags and kid and pushchair up or down a ton of stairs, put it all back together again can't have been too much fun!

Generally when with pushchair now if anyone around they pick up the other end and help.

Oh sorry yes but I do agree!

@TheOpen

I think there has been a change in guidance due to accidents as other posters are describing.

10 years ago (where I lived) buggies on escalators were completely standard. No signage like there is now. You just had to carve out a bit of space and pay attention. I never had any trouble but obviously things have changed. I sympathise with having to wait in queues for lifts.

20 years ago where I live, signs telling people with buggies to use the lift and not the escalator were the norm.

I always done buggy on escalators. Why i always done it was because lifts are always busy and there is always a cue of people waiting for lift that could use the escalators but for some reason won't.

I used to take my buggy on escalators until one time when a wheel got caught. Buggy was broken.

Now I take my sling with me if I'm going on the tube. If I'm bringing the buggy aswell, I fold it to take it on the escalator. If I'm somewhere with a lift, I always choose the lift.

I’ve done it once on the metro when I didn’t realise until I got off that the lift was broken. No one around to help me carry it up the stairs, and I was in a hurry so didn’t want to wait for the train to the next station. About half way up it began felt like the worst idea ever and I was practically sweating by the time I got to the top. And that was going up - the idea of going down with one is fucking terrifying.

I would never do this, not with my child in it anyway, the shopping centre near me has a pole at the bottom to stop people from doing it

Too many able bodied people in the lifts means I have done this a handful of times. Waiting and waiting for a lift while a entire family goes in with one person in the wheelchair. Not sure why they need 6 people with them in the lift. I would never have a pram on the elevator but a buggy I have after waiting for five lifts.

Sometimes I got the baby out and carried the pram in one hand and baby in the other which isnt much safer

I do understand totally your FFS at that incessant.

Usual point on MN though that not everyone with mobility issues it's obvious.

I mean in situations where the escalator is broken/ it's only stairs and lift to choose from and things like that.

In situations with escalators or stairs, no lift.

Then IME using the escalator is less likely to result in an accident than using the stairs. Partly depends on circs sure but in general. Escalator is sensible choice.

This choice exists in some tube stations so it's a real life scenario.

I mean I've not had or seen an accident with either with a pushchair in 45 years of using the tube an awful lot.

So not IME wrong word! In my common sense view.

@ISpyCobraKai

I did it, admittedly 20 years ago but nothing bad happened. I just put the back wheels on with it tilted.

Exactly what I did was never a problem

@Jujujuly

I’d never do it in a shop - there are always lifts and it’s just not necessary, plus there are signs saying not to do it. I have done it on the tube on occasion because I’ve had to - many many stations don’t have lifts. Like a pp I have a bugaboo bee which I can lift if needed and it has a wrist strap. I still hate doing it and will often put the baby in the sling so I can drag the buggy. Accidents happen and it doesn’t bear thinking about!

Accidents of all sorts happen all the time. Surely with baby in a sling on an evaluator you could trip and fall down getting on our off, is that more or less likely than the pushchair falling?

Some shops have stairs and escalator no lift.

And yes accidents can happen all the time.. But generally don't unless doing something really inadvisable.

If you live your life thinking about any thing that could happen. You wouldn't be able to function.

Incidents involving cars are numerous and cause all sorts of damage. Rarely reported in news.
One young child dies because of really bizarre thing. All over the news.

Humans are terrible at assessing risk. All of us. It's a whole studied area.

Statistically. I tried to Google but didn't get far. I have no doubt that babies being harmed in escalator incidents are way way way way way not s thing to worry about at all in terms of incidence.

Oh sorry dock totally misread!

Yes and I don't understand why it would be seen as a risk too far!

Yabu!

It's very dangerous not only to you and baby but others on the escalator.

I have a bit of a bugbear about this as when I was in nurse training I saw the effects of someone caught by an elevator through misuse - not for the faint hearted trust me!

The rules are there for safety reasons, please don't do it again

www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/314100.infant-topples-down-escalator/

amp.theguardian.com/uk/2008/apr/05/1

Not a myth!

The incident I saw involved a trapped foot and "degloving" (seriously don't look this up unless very strong stomached) injury the affected child has to lose part of their foot.

Ever since I frequently caution people and am very careful using them myself

They're basically human sized shredding machines! Not to mention the height and layout can be dodgy sometimes

I've witnessed someone hit the emergency stop on one occasion due to an elderly lady got stuck getting off as she couldn't lift her feet high enough/in time and her shoe got caught. They luckily managed to stop it before her foot was too!

Staff attending the incident said it happens far more often than they'd like. Awful things actually they should be done away with and lifts or stairs only

I live near a station with no lift and a long escalator. It is stark to look at and the idea of a baby falling down it is too horrific to contemplate.
But I sometimes have to use the tube.

I always go when it’s non-peak and I use the escalator when it’s a quiet moment. I don’t enjoy it but I also don’t really stress over it. I know that the major risk comes down to how I manoeuvre the buggy. I feel in control of it and generally trust myself.
I think statistically my baby is in greater danger on the bus on the way there surely?!
That’s when I would feel less at ease. My baby’s safety is then dependent on a bus driver - who I don’t know - and a ton of road users. All of these strangers are using machines with much higher accident rates. And all of us on that bus, including my baby aren’t strapped in.

I would always take a lift if I could over an escalator, for sure.

I've done it when I've had to. It's all very well places 'forbidding' it but when they put the lift out of service, or just don't have one, I have to just haul it up. Not fun and I wouldn't do it if a lift was available though.

I just strapped my dd to me when we went to London when she was a baby. The hassle of putting up/down a pushchair was too much of a faff and obviously you can't take it on the escalators anyway.
We did invest in a cheap one from Mothercare that was v basic and you could put up/ down with one hand and was light to carry. That was handy for buses etc. But no, you don't take a buggy on an escalator with the child in it.

Graphista-

One elderly woman and your view is human sized shredding machines? Happens all the time? So dangerous should all be removed?

That's a really good example of humans being poor at assessing risk.

For elderly people what about.. Going to shop when been snowing/ icy? Loads of broken hips. V big deal when elderly. That means.. should never go out in that weather? Pavement based serious injury zones? Degloving is most associated with motorbikes. I'm guessing you want them banned as well.

Tube, millions of people literally every day up and down escalators. If they were death traps then everyone would know. They would do something about it.

Without escalators the tube system would be essentially not fit for purpose. Tube is great. Your plan means even more crowded, queues for lift mean essentially no point trying at certain times. Way more people will need lift if no escalator. Plenty will give up and take stairs holding others up (more queues) and exposing themselves to more risk.

Loads of places have no lift so back to just stairs again. Yay?

Sorry but I think anyone issuing an escalator with a buggy is hugely selfish and irresponsible.

It just takes one slip up or down for an accident.

It's also too wide on tube escalators to allow others to safely pass.

As others have said, it's absolutely standard on tube escalators so most Londoners will have done it many times without thinking twice.

As for banning them, should we ban suitcases on escalators too? I've seen a big full one come bouncing down the length of an escalator when someone let go. What about banning long coats or abayas? They could easily get caught.

Tube-

Up to 5 million journeys a day. Two million passengers.

In a year over 1.3 Billion passengers.

Escalator injuries-

The number of accidents on escalators identified in 1 above for each of the last three years;

Year 2016 2017 2018 Total
Total 1737 1808 2105 5650

That's total. The biggest reason is people being drunk. And for a whole year.

A massive risk? Get rid of them all?

If we're getting rid of something that causes massive harm then escalators don't make the list.. Cars would be number 1 I think.

I used to fold mine and put it on my shoulder (it had a strap) and hold my son while we went down. I saw a pram get wedged in at the bottom once on the tube, a fairly frail couple were injured as they both feel when being constantly pushed against the pram by the escalator. For some reason the parents didn’t press the emergency stop for ages. If that pram had tipped over a glut of people would have fallen with it, that could have been very serious for both the baby and the couple at the front.