Escalaphobia revisited

A gruesome death 

Three years ago, I wrote the short e-book Escalaphobia about my phobia of escalators. Although only a short book, the book made the top 100 in the Neuroscience section of Amazon.  The book was written to prove a point to a man I used to know who was bragging about being in the top of the sections where he placed his books – the trick is to put the book in a tiny section. 

        I return to the subject matter today because an incident at our mall reminded me some things don't change. 

       

    
      I was standing at the top of the escalator watching the steps form, and I realised I couldn't see the edge of the step.  People all over the world use these devices without thought; children run up and down them, people text or talk on their cell phone without realising the danger.


 If you think I'm exaggerating the dangers, two months ago in Japan a lady and her child were going up an escalator when she felt a judder. The couple were at the top of the run, the woman saw the step where the chain guard is move; in a split second she flung her child off the stairs. 

He turned around to see his mother fall through the step and into the gears of the machine. The machine got halted but it was too late for the lady, she fell over 30 feet through the gears to her death despite the frantic attempts to free her by several men. We can only hope she died quickly.