I don’t see how the concept of lanes properly applies to escalators.
Unless there’s something at the end of the escalator – like a train – that’s about to leave, it seems to me that the people who are too impatient to stand until the escalator reaches the end, as has been suggested, really need to relax.
On the other hand, when the request is polite, I see no reason not to make room for someone to pass.
Hmm. I wonder if one could exploit a downdraft from an HVAC port to direct the fart approx. along the axis of motion?
And it seems to me that the people who are too lazy to continue moving their feet as they would do on a stationary staircase, really need some exercise.
Or if they don’t want to, at least give us “movers” a little room, when possible.
Precisely.
If you want to walk down the stairs, then take the actual stairs, not the moving ones, I don’t give a flying fuck how long they were. You have no “right” to force me to one side while I’m trying to balance on moving stairs that we’ll be at the top or bottom of in a matter of seconds anyway. Get over your fucking self. I’d invite your arrogant, self-centered, sorry ass outside, too, if you got beligerent with me like you did that guy.
The ONLY exception are the flat “people movers” in airports, where it’s not only known etiquette to stand to the right to allow walkers to pass, but is often actually a posted instruction.
Movers can take the stairs then. What, no elevator either?
Try googling and reading about the safety rules on escalators. Rush rush rush. :rolleyes:
Remember reading here about Billy Rubin (I think) doing that? I believe he was Christmas shopping or something, got on an escalator or moving sidewalk, felt a large gas pain, hadn’t heard anyone walk up behind him so he leaned over and “pushed”. Unfortunately though, some handicapped guy in a wheelchair had silently rolled up behind him and caught it full in the face. First Billy knew of it was when the guy yells out “JESUS CHRIST! What in the hell did you do that for?”
A tad embarrasing, I would guess.
I take it you’ve never been to London?
http://www.eesf.org/safetrider/escmyth.htm
“The escalator steps are not the proper height for stairs and should not be used as such.”
If the escalator is wide enough for two people (and not all are, in which case us passers need to suck it up), then there are two lanes. It’s not okay to take up both lanes, just like it’s not okay to take up both lanes on the road, or it’s not okay to walk down the left side of a stairway. It impedes traffic.
I use the escalator every day at the train station, and let me tell you, every day I find myself yelling at the people blocking the escalator “Hello, people… **this ** is a train station, and **that ** is a train! Are you here for some **other ** reason!!!”
Unbefuckinglybelievable.
A person makes a polite request and is first ignored, then given an utterly rude response, and so many of you are siding with the rude one? We’re talking about a guy who actually uses the phrase “You wanna take it outside” when he wasn’t even appearing in a bad movie. How the fuck is it even possible to picture someone saying that, and not labeling them a complete troglodyte?
Why does that guy have to take your shit? If you’re in such a hurry that you can’t wait 10 seconds for the escalator to reach the top (or bottom, whatever the case may be), then you should be running your errand another time when you aren’t in such a rush.
If someone came up behind me on a escalator and said, “What, you call moving one foot in front of the other being in a hurry, buddy? Could you just move to one side, buddy?”, I’d’ve told you to go get fucked.
Anybody read the link I provided?
Now how about you post the entire relevent portion, instead of cherry-picking?
The bit you quoted referred to non-working escalators. Of course, the entire bit is pretty much bullshit – to say there is one standard step height for every escalator is like saying there is one standard step height for every staircase. It simply ain’t so.
Yes. It was silly, and irrelevant.
As is your opinion that everyone should get out of your way no matter what. 
The way I read your link, it is recommending that stopped escalators not be used as stairs. It doesn’t say anything about moving escalators.
That site has another page, on safety, that has this:
But note, that this says on moving walks, which I take it are those moving walkways like at the airport, not escalators. I didn’t find anything on the site specifically addressing the issue of walking on a moving escalator.
Yeah, I thought it was a joke after it said that an escalator should be given the same attention as a moving bus. I knew it was a joke after one of the myths they addressed was that children think escalators fall into the basement and need to be restacked every morning.
Hal, what you’re missing is that at the SDMB, suggesting that someone put one foot in front of another when there’s not a fire in the room is an insult to their hypothyroidism.
Most malls with escalators also have stairways. If I’m in a hurry, I use the stairs instead…there are a lot fewer people on them, and I can usually go as fast as I want. This might be a good solution for you in the future.
I always move to the side when more important people come near me as they have more of a right to get where they are rushing to more than I. 
Actually, *not * no matter what. My opinion is that they should stand to the right, if the escalator is wide enough to accommodate two lanes. I truly don’t understand what is unreasonable about expecting people to simply not impede my progress through the world.
Life is movement. If you’re not moving, you’re dead. If you’re dead, then kindly lay down so that the rest of us can step over you.