Thursday, August 16, 2007

Strollers on escalators-- a little too dangerous!

Now, I'm not sure about this but I thought that baby strollers are not allowed on the BART escalators? Is that the case?

Anyhow, I saw a potentially life threatening accident involving a baby stroller yesterday where the mother propped back the stroller on the rear set of wheels, with the stroller balancing on one escalator step. I've seen people do this and in most cases, the baby and parents arrive safely to the top or bottom of the escalators.

This time, however, the baby stroller lost its balance and jerked hard frontwards and skipped two steps downwards before the mom caught up to the stroller and grabbed onto it with one hand while maintaining her own balance. Luckily, the baby was fine and didn't even cry!

It's scary to imagine what could have happened if the stroller just kept on skipping downwards. I'm sure strollers are safe, hefty and will envelope the baby from the fall but still....pretty dangerous!

Just as a side note, the stroller was blocking the passing lane on the escalator too-- I was on the leftside, about 6 behind the stroller.

Are strollers allowed on BART escalators? I don't think they are, but if they are allowed, they shouldn't be for many reasons!

8 comments:

Rafael said...

I usually see strollers get on the elevators. Maybe the mother was new to bart?

Anonymous said...

They're not allowed on escalators in general, much less specifically in BART. I've seen signs in some BART stations saying no strollers on the escalator.

It's idiotic; they're basically risking their baby's life to save a few minutes taking the elevator.

Anonymous said...

No, strollers are not allowed on the escalators, but no matter how many times you tell the people, they still do it!! In fact many of them think we tell them that, just to mess with them. Sad, to say it will take a child dying to make the point.

Anonymous said...

"Sad, to say it will take a child dying to make the point."

Yep, and then a year later, (probably not even that long nowadays) "that" childs death will be forgotten and idiots will be back on escalators with strollers like nothing ever happened.
Whistling la te da .. without a clue.

These idiots are like cockroaches; impossible to communicate with, get rid of one and theres always at least 20 of her friends marching in right behind her.

Anonymous said...

Although strollers are not allowed on escalators, if you've ever been on some of BART's elevators (any in downtown SF), you may understand why people do this. I'm not saying it's a smart thing. If I had a kid, I would hold the baby and take the stroller empty down the escalator. Of course, this would require at least 2 people. But I'd rather do this than step into some of BART's elevators - especially the ones in downtown SF - UGH!!!

I took the elevator in San Leandro Bart over 10 yrs ago, due to this exact reason (my friend had her kid & stroller). Let me tell you, that was the LONGEST elevator ride in my life. The urine stench was so bad we were practically going blue in the face holding our breath. If the daily urine stench at the Civic Center exterior escalators is any indication of what their elevators might be like, I'd stay away from the elevator for my own health & the health of my kid.

bartmusings said...

I've never been in a BART elevator before but after reading your comment, I think I will avoid it at all cost!

Anonymous said...

Not all BART elevators are bad, and I'm not suggesting avoiding them. Castro Valley, Dublin/Pleasanton, Fremont, South Hayward - those elevators are all fine, but I wouldn't step into any downtown SF station elevator. I think it comes down to where the station is located. Be aware of which station you're at and based on the cleanliness of the station & surrounding area, think about what the condition of the elevator might be like.

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