please empty your brain below
This reminds me of a (possibly apocryphal) story I heard about a Network Rail building. They had a similar "hold the handrail" campaign around stairwells in their properties. One such place had a linoleum covering on the stairs.

People pointed out the dangers of germs being spread so it was agreed that hand sanitiser dispensers would be placed at each entrance to the stairwell. This assumed people would stop at the dispenser, use the sanitiser and be on their way. Unfortunately people were busy, so frequently not all of the sanitiser would make it onto their hands, leading to a puddle building up at the top of a flight of stairs on a slippery floor surface.

Not long after the third accident the whole "hold the handrail" campaign (and associated dispensers) were quietly done away with.

Jamesthegill | 07.02.20 - 7:14 a.m. | #

following spinal injury I walk with a stick and actually need to hold the handrail, to pull myself up and for balance and to prevent falls when going down.

I'm aware of the problem of spreading disease so I've started leaning on my arm when going down, thus not touching the rail, but I've noticed on light colored coats that my sleeve gets really dirty as a result.

I still feel that I'm most likely to catch something nasty simply while travelling in a packed train and being too close to other passengers (sorry, 'customers') and sometimes this can't be avoided.

amber | 07.02.20 - 7:14 a.m. | #

I think TfLs messages are there as a legal defense.

'taking care whilst under the influence of alcohol' - if you were the type of person who did take care, you wouldn't be under the influence in the first place - its a bit like saying always use a clean knife when you stab someone.

Never underestimate the ability of an old person to fall over, accompanied by their own certainty that they won't.

If anything exposure to germs is better than avoiding contact altogether, as at some point you're going to catch something eventually, and you might then be more ill because you're immune system hasn't encountered it before.

Still Anon | 07.02.20 - 7:39 a.m. | #

And yet underground station forecourts are still 'slippery when wet' Bad design.

Old guy | 07.02.20 - 7:47 a.m. | #

A couple of years ago I raised an FoI request for data to support a safety case for TfL's incessant use of nagging announcements. At the end of some email ping pong all I got was the predictable "Customer safety is our priority". It then occurred to me that this was obviously untrue as the rollout of moving advertising images can only result in increased distraction for passengers. So I concluded that the announcements are a back covering legalistic exercise.

Andy Riley | 07.02.20 - 7:57 a.m. | #

Unless you've got open wounds on your hands, why would you worry about getting germs on them? Hands are pretty resilient and impenetrable. All you have to do is to wash them before you put them in your mouth/eyes/nose/food. I generally find that I can wait until I get into work/home to do that.

I always hold the handrail on escalators because I am still haunted by that terrifying public information film from the 60s.

Sarah | Homepage | 07.02.20 - 8:11 a.m. | #

Gloves, and a bottle of hand sanitiser in my bag (and I still caught a cold this week).

Waterhouse | 07.02.20 - 8:24 a.m. | #

Wear gloves on the underground. 365 days a year. My wife does.

Philip Bradley | 07.02.20 - 8:25 a.m. | #

In most non-hazardous workplaces the majority of accidents are categorised as slip/trip/fall. There is a legal and moral imperative to reduce accidents and therefore this category is most often targeted - with awareness and advice designed to modify behaviour. Hence the announcements, the posters, etc.
However, in my experience, the motivation to be able to demonstrate reduced liability to injury/damage claims is highly motivating to employers and property owners/managers.

Frank F | 07.02.20 - 8:39 a.m. | #

I always hold the handrail especially going downstairs and usually use my sleeve if I'm not wearing gloves. I often have a battle of wills with people coming up the wrong side but I stand my ground.

Cornish Monkey | 07.02.20 - 8:49 a.m. | #

On the tube, 16 stations account for over half of all escalator/stair injuries.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 07.02.20 - 8:53 a.m. | #

The key problem is people using mobile phones while descending stairs/ escalators. This I see every day at Waterloo. I wonder if this was a feature of the Waterloo fatality

I didn't think much of the hold the handrail campaign after all I'm able bodied and fairly fit until last year I tripped going down the stairs for the train at Clapham Junction. Not using my mobile but in a rush. I broke my toe not life threatening but a couple of days off work and limited mobility for a couple of months.

Jon | 07.02.20 - 9:09 a.m. | #

One of my most irrational fears in everyday London life is someone falling when going down an escalator and wiping me out on their way down.

BP | 07.02.20 - 9:32 a.m. | #

I do rush myself a lot, which is why I always hold the handrail on stairs and escalators. It's one of the few ways I get exercise :P

Muzer | 07.02.20 - 9:37 a.m. | #

In this case I look forward to the arrival of the colder weather, so that I can wear gloves when using public transport, but of course they can't prevent the haphazard sneezers! My comment,when in the firing line, is never 'bless you'. It is always " Don't worry, it will wash off!"

As an older person, I endeavour to keep out of the way of younger people,always in a rush,heads down looking at their 'phones. Even so I have nearly come to grief. But I have found that using a stick can give you a slightly larger area for them to skirt.

Jo W | 07.02.20 - 9:46 a.m. | #

I sort of "hover". I hold my hand just above the rail, going up or down, ready to grab it if I stumble. Which does happen on occasion. It's worked so far, but I'm not sure my reaction time will be up to it once I'm 75. Or whether I'll just break my wrist trying it.

Chz | 07.02.20 - 9:59 a.m. | #

My friends and colleagues always marvel at how few colds I seem to get. I tell them whenever I come in from being outside the first thing I do is wash my hands. Try it for yourself and see if you notice the difference over time.

Note that it's also important to learn how to wash and dry your hands properly. So many people think that a quick splash of water will be fine - but if anything, that's just going to spread bacteria and viruses around. You need to lather your hands with soap for the time it takes to sing 'Happy Birthday to You' twice, then rinse, and fully dry.

James Armitage | Homepage | 07.02.20 - 10:26 a.m. | #

I always hold the handrail whether standing or walking on escalators

I was very glad I was doing so, as when briskly walking down one, somebody operated the emergency stop. If I hadn't been able to hold on, I would have gone flying

Mikey C | 07.02.20 - 11:04 a.m. | #

In Feb 2019, I was holding on to the handrail as usual on the lowest up escalator from the Northern Line at Warren Street. The idiot ahead of me wasn't, and was wobbling as if under awareness-altering substances. Eventually he fell, into me which cascaded into others.

No-one was hurt, just bumps and scratches (given the number of people on that escalator I might have to start believing in supernatural existences) but this shut access to/from that Line for ten minutes in the evening peak.

Holding on to the handrail only has the necessary safety effect if everyone else does it too, and is compos mentis at the time.

Joel | 07.02.20 - 11:54 a.m. | #

The location of slips, trips and falls is easily identified whilst the source of a virus infection is not, and rarely even attempted, so comparison of each is not feasible. The best scientific study would be to remove the handrails and observe the results.

kev | 07.02.20 - 12:19 p.m. | #

I've tripped while running up the escalator - which means I planted my face directly into the spikey edge of the steps above - thanks to haste and tiredness. People immediately help (excellent), but then you sit in A&E for hours. Overall, I would not recommend it.

h2g2bob | 07.02.20 - 12:49 p.m. | #

Despite the deepness of many LU stations accident rates seem quite rare.

I guess the stations with the biggest share of accidents are those busy ones with escalators.

Lifts need no precautions, while stairs require the people themselves to move which means necessary precautions (handrail or not) are usually taken.

Patrickov | 07.02.20 - 1:08 p.m. | #

...same could be said of shopping basket/trolley, cash-machines, fuel-pumps, etc

Grumpy Anon | 07.02.20 - 5:07 p.m. | #

I really don't like touching handrails on the bus and tube but not because of germs or bugs. I always think of the person further down the tube car or bus that has selfishly finished off a smelly burger or a box of chicken bits and then goes on to hold a handrail after licking their fingers. Disgusting.

Tetramesh | Homepage | 07.02.20 - 5:18 p.m. | #

Joel touched on one the key reasons for this campaign and that is to reduce delays on the network which is a key metric for LUL. Around a third of delays on some line are down to passengers- getting them to change their behaviour is a win win situation

Spangle | 07.02.20 - 5:46 p.m. | #

Wear Gloves, Use the Handrail

BRIAN BERKE | Homepage | 08.02.20 - 12:29 a.m. | #

Run. Up and down. It really annoys people to see someone who looks pretty unfit like me burn past gym membership clones. Of course I'm mindful of other people and go out of my way to not be in their way.
The best things of all are that you don't use the handrail as you're not on the escalator/stairs for long enough and you get your dose of whatever they call that fitness fad of fast exercise.

JP | 08.02.20 - 4:42 a.m. | #

When I stopped commuting on the tube I found my incidence of colds fell dramatically. But now I have allergy prompted asthma so have a different cause of my sneezing and runny nose.

Wheels | 09.02.20 - 12:34 a.m. | #











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