Oh, yeah, non-moving escalators are the worst. The pattern of stripes on the steps weirds out my eyes, and I have to be very careful because walking down while looking might even be harder than doing it while not looking.
I also keep my hand in contact with at least one railing while descending any stairs. If I can’t (too wide or whatever) it makes me uncomfortable.
I lived with a torn ACL for 11 years. I still look at every step and use the handrail, even tho I replaced my old one with zombie parts 8 years ago now.
This. And good username combo.
I have to look at least once to see the step size and whether the steps are in good order.
And then I prefer not to look; my conscious mind is apparently always drunk or mischievous and is best left out of it.
With my knees, which have been a problem all my life, heck no. I’ve fallen just stubbing my toe.
Yes! Our house is about a century old. Not only are the steps narrower than the length of my feet but the third one down from the second floor is noticeably narrower than its brethren. I haven’t measured but I suspect it’s nearly two inches narrower. How does this even happen? Did the the carpenter who built it have a grudge against the homeowner and hoped he’d fall down the stairs to his death? I thought they had pride in their work back then.
To top it off, there is only one handrail, Craftsman style. Meaning it’s rectangular and too deep to properly wrap your hand around.
I have this terrible fantasy where the medics have to get The Big Crow or me down those stairs and one of them steps wrong there.
I didn’t realize that I watched my feet going down stairs until I got my first pair of bifocals. All of a sudden there were two staircases and four feet! Those glasses went back the next day and were replaced by progressives. Ever since then, I’ve been aware that I sort of subconsciously keep an eye on my feet on the way down.
I just remembered – there were a fair number of news stories last year about Trump having problems going down stairs. That he clutched the railings and stared at his feet while going up or down stairs. There was some news one time about him grabbing the hand of the British Prime Minister when they were faced with just a ramp. I remember one story in particular asked if Trump were afraid of stairs, coming up with a name for a phobia about stairs.
Nice to know all of us stair-impaired people have something in common with him, eh?
I think everyone who thinks they don’t look down actually does but they just do it subconsciously and have been doing it that way forever so they really don’t notice they’re doing it.
I don’t think I look until I’m carrying some large box where I can’t see my feet. Then you have to approach slowly and feel for the edge of the first step. Then you can proceed slowly making sure your heel and back of your ankle drag down each consecutive step. You also have to pay attention to when you take the last step and are on level ground again.
I walked over some slightly rough ground today and thought of this thread. It may be a hijack but …
As I walked over the bumpy ground my arms rose a little. When I came to the possible stumbling point, my arms were, very briefly, almost parallel to the ground. I think this makes it much easier for me to retain my balance. I did this unconsciously, reflexively. Do others do this?
I think I may have started this deliberately several years ago, as I noticed that my equilibrium was sometimes substandard. (I get bouts of vertigo — quite rare fortunately — that might be related.) What started as almost deliberate may have since become a reflex.
Now I raise my arms slightly when walking quickly up some steps, or even when walking briskly across one of our streets(*). It may make me look slightly crazy or idiotic, but I think it makes stumbling or falling much less likely.
(* - Being a pedestrian is dangerous where I live. Drivers are responsible when they hit a pedestrian but funerals are much less expensive than surgeries so the incentive is to speed up and aim for a kill. A third option—slowing down and/or avoiding the pedestrian—doesn’t seem to occur to drivers here.)
As someone posted above - hand on railing when using stairs. If there’s no rail, I’m watching every step - which is a challenge with progressive specs. Even more caution when carrying something - so far, I haven’t dared carry my granddaughter down the steps.
I always look where I’m putting my feet on stairs. My mom has fallen twice in her house, it makes me ever so slightly nervous.
For familiar steps I never look. Balance problems mean I absolutely need a handrail, which makes looking even less necessary. At least three ball parks I am familiar with have handrails halfway down and then none. They are a real nuisance since it means I have to use the seat backs disturbing people sitting on them. I wonder that these are even legal.
My wife, on the other hand, cannot go down without looking. One result of this is that she cannot use progressive lenses. So she has bifocals with different corrections scattered all over the house (and is never wearing the ones she needs, it seems) while I am perfectly happy with one pair of progressives that I use for everything.