Going Up or Down? Ride Safely on Escalators

TORONTO, Nov. 12 /CNW/ - It's National Elevator Escalator Safety Awareness Week, starting November 14 to 20, and the experts at the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) want to remind riders of their role when it comes to escalator safety.

Considering millions of riders use escalators on a daily basis, there are relatively few incidents and those that do occur are mainly due to rider behaviour. They involve falls, resulting from the rider losing balance, entrapment in the mechanics of escalators caused by clothing, footwear or suitcases, and the use of strollers, canes, walkers or wheelchairs.

With this in mind, riders should follow these important steps:

• Hold the handrail.
• Stand in the middle and face forward.
• Keep feet, loose clothing and shoe laces away from grooves and sides.
• Attend to children and hold their hands.
• Keep packages/handbags at a minimum and away from handrails.
• Use an elevator, where available, when travelling with a stroller, cane, walker or wheelchair.

"Escalators are moving machinery and should be treated with respect," says Roland Hadaller, Statutory Director for TSSA's Elevating and Amusement Devices Safety Program.  "A tremendous amount of care goes into the design and operation of these devices to ensure they are safe for public use, but safety is up to you too."

Watch out for TSSA's escalator safety awareness campaign in Toronto's transit system, as well as major shopping centres and office buildings throughout the province.

For these and other important public safety tips, visit www.safetyinfo.ca.

About TSSA

TSSA is an innovative, self-funded, non-government organization focused on delivering public safety services. It provides not-for-profit regulatory safety services in industry sectors such as elevating devices, amusement devices, ski lifts, fuels, boilers and pressure vessels, operating engineers, and upholstered and stuffed articles. The organization's vision is to be the world leader in public safety services.

For further information:

Bernadette Celis, Public Education Advisor
Public Relations and Communications, TSSA
Telephone: [phone]; Email: [email protected]

For more information on the Technical Standards and Safety Authority, please visit www.tssa.org.