Escalator Out of Sync?

The stair treads run independently of the handrails. Different drive units are sometimes difficult to get aligned perfectly.Sometimes the handrail is faster or slower.I just let them slide through my fingers, no need for a death grip.

What really bothers me is the horizontal people movers.

I have yet to see one where the handrail is not slower than the walkway.

Getting kinda frustrating as I get older, just got off of a plane, and try to hurry to my next gate.

The potential for falls are greater as we age, but still, what if a pregnant woman, mother or dad with kids in tow, or and oldster does fall.

I think that these things, on both escalators and people movers do need addressed.

I've never run across a flight of stairs or horizontal surface yet where the associated handrail moved at a speed different than I walked.

Problem solved.

Most modern escalators are equipped with VSDs. As the escalator speeds up or slows down depending upon passenger load, inertia causes the handrail to move slightly out of sync.

Don't know if putting Justin Timberlake or any other member of N'Sync on them will make out of sync in sync.

I always thought it was just because the hand rail is a larger diameter (longer distance around the assembly) than the steps or sidewalk. I learned something today, I think?

I was told it is due to a safety factor, but I can´t figure this out. Perhaps another urban myth?

I have noticed this characteristic and always assumed that it was due to slight differences in drivewheel diameter tolerances. However if it is a safety factor then I guess that setting the handrail to run in sync or slightly slower than the steps is the best option.

If the handrail runs faster, for a person gripping the handrail, there is a possibility that they will overbalance forwards. If the handrail runs slower, then the possibility will be that the person will overbalance backwards. Of these two scenarios the latter would be preferable from a safety perspective as, to topple backwards on an escalator is much safer than falling forwards!

DaveD,

You say that "Of these two scenarios the latter would be preferable from a safety perspective as, to topple backwards on an escalator is much safer than falling forwards!"

I would think that it would really depend upon which direction the escalator was traveling...

Personally, I would much rather fall forward on an ascending escalator than backward, and the reverse is true for a descending escalator.

On a mostly (un)related note, I remember that decades ago, I used to regularly cause trouble on some escalators in department stores at the neighborhood mall by grabbing the handrail tightly while applying downward pressure, I found it was usually pretty easy to cause the handrail to stop moving totally, while the treads (obviously) kept moving. This caused confusion to a fairly large percentage of people on the escalator riding ahead & behind me, who were grasping a (suddenly non-moving) handrail while their body continued in their direction of travel.

On especially long escalator "flights" I would intermittently start & stop the handrail repeatedly, really confusing some riders

Teenagers can find amusement in the strangest places sometimes...

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Oops! You're right! I was only thinking of a 'down' escalator.

The safest option would be for the handrail to run faster on an 'up' escalator and slower on a 'down'.

Surely this depends on whether it is an up escalator or a down escalator. I wouldn't want to fall backwards down an up escalator or forwards down a descending escalator.

It's because you run up the steps two and three at a time - grow up!