Embarrassing accident.

[Holl100]

I was on the escalator coming down. Had my 6 yr old DD, me with shopping bags and a basket. Missed stepping when getting on as I got my leg twisted and struggled with the basket. I fell forward down Went down quite a few steps. I twisted my ankle and have cut/grazed bottom of my leg which is now sore. The shop assistant saw and sort of ran after me but should the emergency stop have been applied? I could have fell to the bottom and couldn’t re gain my balance but luckily was able to pull myself up and luckily my 6 year old didn’t fall but I did continue down for a little while. It could have been worse. Shook me up and I’m really embarrassed

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Poor you. Hope you aren't too sore today.
Did it get recorded in the shops incident book? If not please ring them to ensure it is recorded. This won't help you, but it will ensure that 'escalator safety' is talked about at staff training and things like pressing emergency stop will be discussed. Also that walking away embarrassed is an adrenalin response and the customer may need time to sit and compose themselves.

You are definitely not a knob!!
@Holl100
I hurt myself quite badly at an event and the person in charge filled out a report detailing how it happened/which hospital I went to etc. It was completely my fault - but they wanted to know for future risk assessments.
This happens in schools as well - so I would think it could happen in offices/shops/anywhere where safety is of importance.
I’m going to go against the grain of this thread and say - yes report it to the shop. It may mean better training for staff as to when to use an emergency stop button. If the button is there, staff should know when/when not to use it.

Sadly saw someone killed on one falling from top to bottom as a teenager. I try and avoid them since. It's a huge shock op and hope you feeling better soon.

I have definitely been on a (shopping centre) escalator which stopped when someone landed heavily on it. In this case, it was a deliberate act by a teenager who put both hands on the rails and sort of lifted and swung his body so he jumped forward several steps and landed hard. It did not stop suddenly enough to throw anyone else off balance.

The emergency stop is for when things are trapped, otherwise everyone else falls over as well. Escalators are very hard to land on - as you've found out.

I think in the moment it’s difficult to think quickly and like a PP said, stopping it isn’t always for the better.

One time my little cousin managed to get himself on the outside of an escalator and if it had been stopped he would just have fallen with the jerking stop. We had to let it run all the way to the top and fortunately a man had the presence of mind of waiting and picking him up. He could have died if he just fell off.

I think in the moment, you have to weigh up the sudden stop when you're already in motion falling and if it could make things worse. Hit the button at the wrong time and you could have been thrown the rest of the way down.

Oh bloody hell @Holl100 that sounds awful! I’d have been terrified, my phobia is the spikey ends of escalators and being stuck in them - probably from an episode of Casualty where some elderly lady gets her head stuck in it!

I don’t think the emergency stop would have helped much but I’m so sorry that’s happened

Did you not quite manage to read all the posts where the op said she DIDNT blame the worker?

pot calling the kettle black there

But it wasn’t a situation where the shop worker should have used it. If she did it would have jerked violently and how would that have helped the little girl?

By all means report the accident, I still don’t know how the OP did it (twisted leg)

Btw I have reported stuff in shops like a box falling on me, but reporting that they didn’t press emergency stop isn’t it really.

I’ve been on one when it stopped suddenly because a woman in front of me accidentally dropped some coins. They bounced down the escalator and into the mechanism which immediately stopped I just about got launched into mid air and was lucky to be able to hold on. Luckily it wasn’t busy at the time or there’d probably have been a pileup.

So sorry for your scary experience, OP. You have my sincere sympathies. I hope that you heal soon. Escalators terrify me and they aren’t safe for me to use now, so I avoid them like the plague but they are I think more dangerous than we consider them to be. As someone else said do get them very thoroughly cleaned. Those teeth are so nasty.

I’ve also been on one when it stopped and it’s one of the most disorienting things I’ve experienced. I fell forward but fortunately was holding on so managed to catch myself. Took me a few seconds to work out what had happened. High risk that your 6 year old would have gone flying.

Hope your leg is feeling a bit better this morning.

I'm sorry to hear about you falling and hope you and your daughter aren't too shook up by it.
Please go get checked out at the doctor's, and if the store didn't log it as an accident in their accident records, they need to do so. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Are you lacking in comprehension skills? There are adult literacy courses in the local colleges to update your English lessons.

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.

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.

@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.”

“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.”

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.

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.

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

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.

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.