Main image via South China Morning Post
Escalators are convenient but sometimes it can be dangerous when people walk on them and lose their balance and this Japan prefecture has the perfect solution!
The Saitama prefecture in Japan recently announced that walking on escalators will officially be banned effective 1 October 2021!
People are required to stand in place while on the escalators and are not allowed to walk up or down the escalator stairs while it’s in motion.
The escalators in Japan can get pretty hectic especially during rush hour and while people in Tokyo generally stand on the left and Osakans on the right, walking on escalators has resulted in multiple injuries.
According to NHK, over 1,550 escalator-related injuries have been reported from 2018 and 2019, with 805 injured due to people not standing in place or holding the handrails while on the escalator.
Shinichi Nakayashiki, chief of policy affairs of the Liberal Democratic Party assembly group said, "We need to deliver a strong message to the public to alter practices that have become so pervasive as to be perceived as custom.”
The new rule aims to make escalator rides easier for elderly and less mobile people and hopefully will decrease the amount of escalator related injuries.
Posting signs are required to be put up on escalator areas starting October, urging people not to walk on run while on an escalator.
What are your thoughts on the new escalator ban in Japan? Let us know if you tend to walk or stand in place while on an escalator!
Info via UPI.com , TimeOut
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