We are accustomed to using technology in our every day life, it allows the flow of information to be quickly and easily transferred; we are able to communicate with friends and family all over the world by talking, texting and sending emails; we take the use of cars, planes, ships and the availability of these resources for granted; even in shopping centres and airports we often choose the ease and speed of technology in the form of escalators and moving walkways, over our innate human ability to walk.
But what happens when technology fails? According to the Workplace Regulations 1992. Escalators and moving walkways shall:— (a) function safely; (b) be equipped with any necessary safety devices; (c) be fitted with one or more emergency stop controls which are easily identifiable and readily accessible.
These guidelines are more often than not adhered to, but the premise ‘function safely’ is a very broad comment. I will assume that by function safely, it means the escalator/moving walk way fulfils its purpose without causing injury to the parties using it.
This premise was not satisfied in Tokyo where a very crowded escalator reversed the direction it was travelling in and so caused injuries to approximately 10 people. The BBC has footage of the accident at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7540840.stm
Further reports from Japan suggest that many fans of the Croc brand will be ditching their fashionable shoes after several injuries including broken toes, gashes and bruising occurred when the shoes got caught in the side of the escalator. The Guardian recounts the story and adds that a two year old girl, who was wearing rubber clogs, had her big toe ripped off while travelling on an escalator in Singapore.
Rory McDermott got his Croc caught in an escalator at a shopping centre. The Telegraph reported that, “his mother, Jodi, managed to yank him free, but the nail on his big toe was almost completely ripped off, causing heavy bleeding.”
However this didn’t stop a New York parent from suing the company $7 million after his daughter caught her croc in an escalator at JFK airport. He was severely and permanently injured after the escalator chewed at her big toe.
Requests have been made for Crocs to redesign their shoe. Crocs said it was working in the US with the Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation on public education initiatives.
