One more reason why so many americans are so f-ing FAT.

[Beaker]

why do so many people in this country consider an escalator to be some kind of amusement park ride?

it's a moving staircase- you're allowed to walk up and down while the stairs are moving people, so get moving....and BTW- it's walk left, ride right- it bugs me even more when the inconsiderate assholes out there stand two abreast on the stairs, blocking the way for those people who do want to walk the stairs.

just another case in which European society is much more civilized and considerate than most american swine.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. Depends on how many stairs

Degenerative arthritic knees after 12 years of football mean I take the escalator whenever there's a lot of stairs. :-(

[Beaker]

4. that's fine...the right side of the escalator is for standing passengers

the left is for walkies...

go to any tube station in London, and the Brits will be glad to show americans how it's done...

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. Oh absolutely

And you should ALWAYS walk down the escalator.

[SiobhanClancy]

2. On the other hand..

why,when there is a perfectly fine stairway next to the escalator,do people push and shove to get people to move on the escalator so that they can walk up it? I've seen this lots of times at the Harvard Square T station and it puzzles me...why don't they just take the stairs? That's what I do:)

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

6. GO SOX!!

:yourock:

[MissMillie]

7. I agree with this one

If you're going to walk up the stairs, take the stairs.

[Beaker]

10. the escalators ARE stairs-

meant for walking, not riding like a lazy blob of goo.

and in a lot of places, there are no non-moving staircases.

move your cellulite infested asses people- and maybe you'd have less cellulite to move.

[SiobhanClancy]

12. I'm certainly talking about places where there ARE non-moving stairs..

If it is a big source of annoyance for people that others aren't moving as fast as they think they should on an escalator,where that option exists it might be best to take it.

[Beaker]

15. believe me, i do.

if there's a stairway in the middle, i always take it-
just to avoid the lazy brain-dead slugs who don't understand how escalators are meant to be used.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

19. I'm sure people with bad knees would disagree...

My dad was perfectly fit...hardly a "lazy glob of glue"...but he had a really hard time with stairs.

But you probably won't understand until your joints give out. Then you'll gripe about the people who're always in such a hurry that they have to run up the escalator rather than taking the stairs, so they'll get to work 3 microseconds earlier.

Also, people with young children need to be able to take their hands when riding the escalator, which would require that the child stand on the same step. Having been in that situation myself, I can tell you I really don't appreciate ill-mannered people practically trampling my kids in the process of hurrying to their next appointment.

[Beaker]

21. how come people in europe seem to be able to ride with kids-

and still not block the left hand side of the escalator, hmmmmm?

here in the u.s., i even see lots of retards take baby-strollers on the escalators, even though they all have signs saying not to.

as far as people with bad knees and such-
it's "stand right, walk left"...
is it really that hard to figure out????

[GoddessOfGuinness]

52. I'm sure you'd find people in Europe

who have their kids standing next to them, too. Not to mention the fact that some escalators aren't wide enough to accomodate an adult, a child, and an adult who can't get past being huffy about having to wait 10 more seconds than necessary.

You'll also find plenty of Americans (myself included) who stand as far to the right as possible to allow impatient people swifter passage.

I've also seen people walking up moving escalators when a voice is prompting them to remain standing until the end of the moving staircase, as it does at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Not that I'm wild about having a robot-voice tell me how to ride the escalator; but it does demonstrate that the rules for riding vary from place to place.

[On the Road]

3. People Drive the Same Way

-- in a daze. Unaware of their surroundings. I'm a bit manic about wlking and driving, and that must get on some people's nerves, too. Whenever I'm walking with someone, I end up ten feet ahead without even thinking about it.

[Beaker]

8. people walking abreast on the sidewalk is another peeve...

one time i was walking alone on the sidewalk in evanston, and 4 high-school age girls were walking toward me, 4 abreast...there was mud on both sides of the walkway, so i couldn't sidestep off the sidewalk to avoid the inconsiderate bitches, so i moved as far to the right as i could, and looked the girl on the left of the line right in the eye, but she refused to move, so we walked into each other, and she ended up on her butt in the mud...it really made my day, and put me in a much better mood.

[pagerbear]

9. That pisses me off

When someone I'm walking with winds up ahead of me, usually a consistent amount of space, that says to me s/he considers me someone who _should_ walk a few paces behind, in a subservient manner.

[Beaker]

11. not at all...

when my wife and i walk together, and i see other people approaching, i'll speed up my pace to get in front of her- to allow the oncoming "traffic" fair use of their half of the sidewalk...but my oblivious better-half is not quite as observant, and tends to speed up when i do(or slow down, if i try to do that and get behind her in the same situation...)

[pagerbear]

14. That's not what I'm talking about

I mean when I'm walking with someone and that person STAYS ahead of me. Consistently. Regardless of anything I do.

[Beaker]

16. try stopping completely.

and letting the person lose you completely...then wait for them to come back looking for you when they finally realize that you aren't there.

they'll get the idea.

[pagerbear]

17. I do that! It's great!

Sometimes the clods just don't get it, though.

[LynneSin]

13. AMEN BEAKER!!!

I so agree!!!!!!!!!

90% of the time I prefer walking the escalators and it bugs me to no end when 2 people will blockade it and I'm stuck behind it.

:mad:

[PittPoliSci]

18. if you wanna walk, take the stairs.

but in the meantime, i'm going to stand still on the escalator.

however, i do get pissed when people saunter aimlessly taking up the aisle and its hard to get passed them.

[Beaker]

23. that's fine.

stand right, walk left.

it's really easy.
i'm sure that even most americans could learn it...given time.

[BiggJawn]

20. You need to get laid.

Seriously.

[Beaker]

22. I do.

most every night, and very seriously.

what i really need is to live in a country with fewer inconsiderate fat-asses.

[BiggJawn]

25. Come to my area.

Our "fat-assed swine" are fairly considerate. We say "sorry" when you refuse to step aside and we step on your tootsies.

[Name removed]

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[Bunny]

24. ***snort***

Good one, and so true!!!

[Donkeyboy75]

28. Huge pet peeve of mine, too.

It's not a fucking ride, for Christ's sake. I love the dirty looks I get when I ask people to step to the side...and I only take one of these things when the stairs next to them are also crowded.

[NashVegas]

32. You Won't Have That Problem in Nashville

Just about all the escalators here are single-file. If you find yourself behind someone who chooses to ride the escalator rather than hike it, you'll just have to learn some patience, Yankee :)

[Beaker]

34. I've been to Nashville...

they only seem to be single file-
because of the size of all those huge stretch-pant encased southern asses. :-)

[NashVegas]

35. Hey! That's MY Southern Ass

Shaking in your general direction.

[Beaker]

36. i guess your name should have tipped me off...

nt

[Forkboy]

33. "more civilized and considerate than most american swine."

Not hard to do with threads like this as an example.

[Beaker]

41. Exactly.

perhaps it was wrong to point out the short-comings of my inconsiderate countrymen in a forum that can be read anywhere in the world...

naaaahhhh....

the world deserves to know just how fat and lazy some americans are.

[Forkboy]

43. all they'll learn from this is how stupid some are.

[Beaker]

45. but they deserve to be warned...

so they understand what to expect when they travel to the U.S. and need to use the escalator, only to find stupid inconsiderate american swine blocking both sides.

[CO Liberal]

37. Many People With Poor Balance...

...cannot walk on escalators without falling at the end. My late father was prone to inner ear infections, and had balance problems as a result.

If you're in that much of a hurry to get where you're going, you should start off sooner.

:-)

[Beaker]

39. that's why they have elevators...

for people who can't handle the complexities of the escalator...

:eyes:

seriously, though- escalators can be dangerous, and people who can't get on or off without falling should definitely avoid them like the plague.

(although i don't know how your post applies to people taking up both sides of the escalator???)

[sistersofmercy]

38. Eventhough this is also a pet peeve of mine, in defense of people

who may be overweight, it's not always overweight people who do this inconsiderate behavior. I've seen plenty of average size and thin people do the same.
What really irks me are the people who block the motorized walkways (sorry don't know what they are officially called) in airports. They just set their luggage down right in the way or the group scatters about blocking everyone else's passage.
But I can totally relate to your post because I don't generally walk at a leisurely rate. I like to get in and get out of places by wasting as little time a possible.

[Beaker]

40. i drive like you walk...

when i'm in the car, it's to get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible.

[sistersofmercy]

47. Me too

I drive like I walk.

[Beaker]

48. I walk fast too...

I have long legs and because of a spinal condition- i'm always hunched over...i look like groucho marx on the stroll.(without the glasses, mustache, or cigar)

[MAlibdem]

42. Hey, i run UP the DOWN escalator and DOWN the UP escalator

I get a GOOD workout.

(not when people are on it, of course)

[MadHound]

44. Actually beaker, it could be dangerous for you or others

To be moving around on an escalator. To wit, by moving around, walking up and down, you could get clothing, hands feet, etc caught between the steps and the sidewall, between the steps and the end plate, or the handrail and the endplate. Examples: <http://www.kovr13.com/02feb00/022900f.htm> <http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/health/escalato.html> <http://firechief.com/ar/firefighting_elevated_risk/index.htm>

Granted, there are easy fixes to the dangers of escalators, but for various reasons, including stubborness and economics these aren't implemented. Until such fixes are in wide use, I wouldn't do any walking on escalators if I were you. How would you feel if you unintentionally forced a child to the side, and thus get their feet caught in the machine?

Besides, what's the rush? Take life a little easier, you'll get where you're going just the same, and you won't be as stressed ;)

[Beaker]

46. why is it only in the u.s. that escalators are so dangerous???

people in other countries have no problem at all walking on a moving escalator...neither do i...if it's too tricky for you, maybe you should stick to nice safe stationary stairs(don't forget to hold on tight to the railing!!!), or the elevator.

[MadHound]

53. Oh, they are dangerous in other countries also

As witnessed by this piece from the Moscow Times

<snip>"Escalators can be dangerous, as two people found out Thursday at the Kievskaya metro station. Both had their toes crushed when their feet got caught at the top of the escalator. The accident occurred at 11:26 a.m when Galina Smysh, 53, was backing off the escalator pulling a heavy cart, and her heel, and possibly the cart, got jammed between the moving steps and the comb plate at the top of the escalator, the metro's press service said. The gap between the steps and the comb plate widened, and two people who were standing right behind Smysh on the crowded escalator could not pull their feet out in time. A policeman on duty, Sergeant Major Yury Spiridonov, rushed to stop the escalator, but the two or three seconds it took for the machine to halt was enough to do serious damage."<snip>

Why do feel the need to put yourself and others at risk for a few seconds saved? Why do you feel the need to denigrate those of us who neither wish to be put at risk, or to put others at risk? It is, after all, a simple escalator ride that takes less than a minute to complete, is a few seconds shaved off of that time worth the risk?

And generally I do take the stairs, being as there is a dirth of escalators here in my neck of woods. And when I do take an escalator, I plant my not so fat ass(6'5" 250#, no fat, I bike twenty miles a day or more) squarely in the middle of the step. Just so fools like you won't go rushing up or down the damn thing, putting not only their necks at risk, but all of the people on the escalator at risk also. You see, I'm a trained first responder, and the last thing I want to do on my time off is being morally and legally obligated to pull people out of the machinations of an escalator simply because they were too impatient.

Slow down, chill out, it will only cost you a few seconds anyway. What were you going to go do with those few seconds? Go jaywalking?

[Shananigans]

49. Wow Beaker...

I can't believe how offensive your comments are! You seriously sound like a republican. Here I thought liberals tended to be compassionate, open minded individuals. Wow.

I mean, I see your point about how annoying it is when people DON'T stand on the left side when they are not walking up, but on the other hand to make such offensive comments about overweight people is totally unjustified!

I also disagree with you that escalators are meant to be walked on. I think they ARE a ride. Why do you think you see them more commonly in shopping malls and places where people spend lots of time on their feet? Because it gives them a rest. Many places install more escalators and a minimal amount of elevators because they are much cheaper to install and operate.

Next time you have a point to make, go ahead and make it, but be sure to get your facts straight first and try to be a little more tactfull.

[Beaker]

51. try visiting another country sometime...

take the escalator, and see how considerate and friendly people can really be.

here in the u.s., people aren't.

and as i've said in mmany of my responses- if people want to treat it like a ride, and enjoy watching their thighs swell over time, they should stand to the right, and let the people who want to walk(as escalators were intentionally and originally designed for- you may want to check your facts) use the left hand side.
unfortunately, most americans are self-centered, and don't think anything at all about blocking a public conveyance.

[foreigncorrespondent]

54. You woudl so lost here in Australia.

And you would be one of the people pushed out of the way for standing to the right.

[foreigncorrespondent]

50. What an inconsiderate thread topic.

Beaker, come to Australia, mate. I will take you some of the esculators here. My grandmother took a tumble down one because of inconsiderate, like minded people like you, and was seriously hurt.

Most of the new ones don't have stairs here, which makes them handy for people in wheelchairs. Only problem is, when you get impatient assholes pushing you out of the way, people end up getting hurt.

And for your information, no my grandmother isn't a large woman.

[Moderator]

55. I'm locking this

Deeply offensive to many DUers .