Whose fault is it?

SINGAPORE: Much had been said after 2 children were hurt by the escalator in 2 days. The first case happened after a 3-year old lost her toes and the second when a 2-year old had her foot caught between the escalator stairs. In both cases, the initial reaction was that the imitation croc shoes may be a cause for the accidents because both child were wearing them when the accident happened. Then the focus was shifted to the maintainance of the escalator by a reader who wrote to Today newspaper.

I find it strange that people should react and point fingers squarely at the croc shoes and the escalator as the possible cause of the accident. No doubt the croc shoes and the escalator played a role in the accident but can the human factor be excluded?

It is not too difficult to see children place their feet against the brush of the skirting panel when they used the escalator. Very few of them got reprimanded by their parents or guardians. This may be because escalator accidents are not highlighted and this makes parents complacent. They had forgotten the simple principle that shoes that give the most friction are more likely to make them get caught between the space of the stairs and the sides; unfortunately this is the type of shoes that provide the most fun for the child.

Like Mr Tan, the reader who wrote to Today said, adults should practice more diligence when using the escalator with their children. The statistic is telling, the majority of escalator accidents involved those under 10 years of age. If there is no human factor involved, then such accidents should not be skewed towards young children. The most likely cause is because such children, being more playful, tends to play while on escalators. And we as adult, has to supervise them. If we failed in this basic parenting, then no matter how safe the shoes or escalators are, accidents will still happen. This is because escalators, like all things, have inherent danger - dangers that are ever present no matter how much safety precautions used. Anything machine with a moving part is dangerous if not used properly. It is just like the car. Despite having all sorts of safety features, accident and death still occurs, not because of poor design but because of poor handling.

Of course, like Mr Tan suggested, escalators can be made safer. With better safety features, accidents are less likely to happen and even if it happens, the injury less severe. However, at the end of the day, the only more fullproof way of preventing such accidents from happening is more diligence and supervisions on the part of the parents.

Lastly, I once saw a child in the A&E department. He was accompanied by the father and a younger brother. After I saw the child, the father told me that the hospital glass door was "no good" because his younger son's hand was caught by the door. After a pause, I told the father that the door may not be the problem. After some thought, he said, "I think you are right" and he left.