Comment on "Boy's escalator death declared accident" (China Daily, Feb 1)

The incident, which the authorities declared an accident, could have been prevented. Escalators or objects moving in opposite directions in a confined space can be extremely dangerous, for they can trap a person's head or limbs, or accessories like scarves and jackets or loose shoestrings.

Small children should not be blamed for accidents, for they do not know how to read the danger signs or understand the safety aspects of a public facility like an escalator. Accidents occur because of design "defects" of escalators - they are level with and part of the floors they start from or end at, causing dangerous confined spaces and could prove deadly for people, especially children.

The authorities must review and tighten management regulations for shopping malls to have escalator/floor space interface installed with barriers sufficient enough to warn and block people from getting too close. And there should be regulations to place escalators at a safe distance from the floor level they connect.

I hope the authorities make it mandatory for all existing escalator installations to erect barriers to prevent such tragedies. For a long-term solution to the problem, they must ensure that escalators are installed on extended part of the floors.

A reader, on China Daily website

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(China Daily 02/07/2012 page9)