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10 Passengers we love to hate: Day 1 -- The Escalator Obstacle
You know the signs all over the airport, posted on the wall, painted on the floor and hung on the ceiling saying "Stand Right Walk Left?" That's called escalator etiquette. People not in a hurry stand on the right side of the escalator so that those who need to get past can walk up or down the left side.It's a pretty simple concept. The Japanese do it fastidiously, silently merging to the right side of moving walkways as they patiently commute through Shinjuku station. It's almost amazing to watch the accuracy and precision with which it's executed.
In New York City it's almost the same, with most people riding up and down escalators pressed to the wall. But there's always one guy, usually on his Bluetooth, that's standing on the wrong side like a wart on the surface of perfectly smooth skin. Most of the time this guy will be in front of you when your gate is about to close at the airport, you're at the top of the escalator and you need to get past. Or perhaps he'll be there as you're running full bore trying to catch that last shuttle into the city. That's the guy.
Worse, however is when the guy is actually trying to do the right thing and stand on the right side – but has his rollaboard sitting on the left side of the escalator. That doesn't count! Unless people are pro steeple chasers they're still not going to get by.
Escalator Obstacle Guy: we've all been in a haze and been there before. But next time you get on an escalator, look around. If you're the only person standing along on the left side, it's for a reason. Scoot over.
Read about ALL the passengers we love to hate.
Filed under: Transportation, Airports
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Shawn Jun 1st 2009 3:17PM
Ugh, that guy bugs me :)
I have noticed that the whole left/right thing seems to fall apart by region. It's rare to find an American city that gets it. Although, I guess the same is true of highways and the slower traffic keep right dealy.
Ava Jun 2nd 2009 12:00PM
This doesn't seem to work as well in the U.S. as it does elsewhere. When I'm in Europe, it seems automatic. Americans just don't seem to care, signs or no signs. What's up with that?
Catherine Jun 2nd 2009 7:55PM
Same problem on the freeways in the US.
Taylor Jun 3rd 2009 10:34AM
It depends on where you live in the U.S. Here in Washington, D.C., most people execute this well on the Metro escalators and other escalators in the city. Tourists are bad to not follow this simply for lack of familiarity. In the suburbs people tend to be much more relaxed and casual and therefore stand on the left.
It tends to be more of an urban vs. suburban thing, I think, especially in the Northeast.
Lyss~ Jun 8th 2009 7:19PM
I can see your point in places where it's marked with a sign.... For us morons who've never heard of such a thing, mayhaps they should be in neon. Flashing neon so that there's no excuse for us not to see them... While you're at it, why not broadcast it on a PSA (public service announcement for my fellow inept brethren) in every language that could possibly be spoken at the area you're at, but please don't forget to add the fantasy and Sci-Fi-based languages such as J.R.R. Tolkien's elvish, Klingon, and whatever it was the pseudo-Egyptian people from Star Gate spoke...
But then perhaps it would be more fitting for people like you, who're so busy that every five seconds you have a heart attack if you're not ten paces from where you were to take the stairs? Because I have to say, though I've never seen signs such as those (albeit I've only traveled the US, Canada and Mexico), I have been jostled by rude self-centered people who think that everyone should get out of their way...
Since cracking several vertebrae in my spine during an accident, and refusing to be bound in a wheelchair or by a walker or cane, I've been jostled, pushed, rammed into the sides of escalators (and even the isles of stores) all because people are so hurried, and, I've started taking notice at how the rudest people are those who--much like the author--think the world should get out of their way whey they happen to get on an escalator. (If there's a deity out there that is just, please don't ever let the author have a driver's license.)
Relax, take in the wall tiles, and take a Valium and for the love of *insert buffet item here*, don't assume someone knows about the escalator rule because you do. A simple tap on the shoulder, saying "excuse me" if you're in that much of a hurry is all you should need to be on your way. Because heaven forbid we other inhabitants of this planet prevent that...
The world does not revolve around you or your schedule. (Except in those duly designated areas where neon signs are flashing....) And your phrase for the day is "control freak". As in stop trying to be one.
boredwell Aug 4th 2009 8:12PM
Living in San Francisco, I'm used to that right-left thang. People here, for whatever reasons, will stand in the middle of the sidewalk chatting with friends! They refuse to move even though they are impeding traffic. Some even have the audacity to smile as you are forced to detour around them! They're the same people who, getting on public transit, refuse to move to the back of the bus preferring to stake a claim by the entrances and exits further clogging traffic.