Able-bodied. I use them when going down, not when going up. I get vertigo and stuff if I don’t have something to hold onto while going down.
Able-bodied, and if there’s a handrail, I’m using it. We went 4 years without the handrail on our basement stairs - we got the sheetrock up, then kinda never finished the paint and trim, till last month. I was a nervous wreck going down the stairs, especially if I was carrying a basket of laundry, envisioning myself crashing to the concrete floor below.
Not any longer - huzzah!!
Five years ago I fell off my platform shoes* and broke my ankle. Ever since then, I’ve become extremely aware of how I walk, how I step, of obstacles on the ground, and yes, I always use the handrail. That fall knocked some sense into me.
- Falling off your platform shoes is such a '70’s kind of accident to have, isn’t it.*
I accidentally pushed my 3 year old brother down a set of 5 or 6 concrete steps cause he was going so slow. I was trying to help! I was about 5; that’s my only defense. So I’m a little wary of stairs, but…sometimes using the rail hinders me rather than helps, as it throws off my balance. So…I voted sometimes.
ThelmaLou, at least you fall off platforms; I trip over my shadow no matter what I’m wearing, lol. I’ve done it so often for so long that decades of experience has my subconscious dealing with it long before my brain. Typically my ankle twists, I fall, and am back up again before realizing what happened. I’ve done this many times in public, with people wondering ‘what just happened’ cause it looks deliberate. Always did want to be a stuntwoman. 
I’m able-bodied, and I generally use them, because I don’t want to make a misstep and suddenly find myself no-longer-able-bodied. But I don’t ‘grip the handrail’ as much as ‘lightly rest my hand on the rail so I can grab it if I need to’
I forgot to mention: once you start wearing bifocals, you’ll prolly grip the handrail for all you’re worth. With bifocals the steps aren’t where they look like they are.
Taomist, I envy you for springing back up. When I fell off my shoes, I just lay there in the parking lot picking up acorns and tossing them in vain at nearby office windows trying to get someone’s attention. Eventually two Eagle Scouts (I kid you not) saw me and helped me to my car. Also, I always-always-always have my cell phone on my body or within arm’s reach. Except. This. One. Time. I had left it in the car to charge. Now I ALWAYS have it with me.
Physically fit, always use them. Of course, I work on a boat so I pretty much don’t have a choice. We can get in big trouble if someone sees us going up/down stairs without both hands on the rail. (Maintain 3 points of contact at all times -2 hands on rail and at least 1 foot on stairs, they say)
If it’s good enough policy for the boat, it’s good enough in a building!
Lightly run my hand on the rail. If I trip then I can grip it.
Not to say that I’ll always be this way, but I almost never use the handrail, either up or down. Except maybe in the dark or if I’m climbing up fast and I use my arms to help pull me along.
I’m very fit and I RUN up and down stairs, usually taking them two at a time, so I always make sure to slide my hand on the railing as I speed along. I’ve caught myself several times recently. I’ve never had a bad fall down stairs but I’m pretty cautious (even though I am always moving faster than I need to be).
I’m in decent shape, but I have very bad knees. I almost always use the handrail going downstairs because sometimes it feels like one or both of my knees are going to blow out stepping down. Depending on the steepness of the stairs I’ll use it going up too, I feel like I need help hauling myself up if the stairs are too steep.
I work in an industrial setting and could theoretically get fined for not using the rails, so I do and have just sort of continued the habit even without OSHA dangling over my head. I also usually don’t actually put any weight on the railing, but just keep my hands there.
When I was a kid, I had balance problems going down stairs. I would have to put one foot on the next stair, then the other foot. I was a lot slower than other kids going down the stairs. I have mostly gotten over this, but I still use the hand rail if it’s there.
Yes always. You only need to come down on your ankle with all of your body weight to learn that lesson.
So what if the handrail is dirty? I will wash up when I get to the floor I’m going to - and in the mean time I will refrain from licking my hands.
I’m able-bodied, but incredibly clumsy. I use the handrails going up and down, but only lightly touching in case I need to grab on quickly.
When I’m running downstairs I’ll hover my hand above the railing. I’m always terrified I’ll trip and fall on my head. Upstairs not so much.
I seldom actually use them, though I tend to stay in reach of them. I’ve saved myself a nasty spill once or twice by grabbing a rail when I felt something go wrong (tripped, or my balance went wonky for some reason). The only serious fall I’ve ever had on stairs was a case when someone fell on me, and we both went tumbling; holding onto the rail in that odd incident wouldn’t have stopped the fall, and might have added a dislocated shoulder or worse to my injuries.
Able-bodied for the most part and always use the rail.
I almost always have to carry my 2 ancient dogs down the stairs (one about 12 pounds, the other about 4), and I have to stack them on top of each other so I can use the handrail. It works all right as long as I stack them in the right order :). Like ThelmaLou, I fell off my platform shoes in the '70s and then had a series of ankle injuries, so I’m pretty careful about how I set my feet. I also wear bifocals, so I’m a fall-trifecta waiting to happen.
Physically fit. I have to be; I live in a city and use my feet and a subway pass for transportation. I always at least run a hand along the rail, but I also work as a model and wear a lot of wonderful-looking but otherwise ill-advised shoes while out and about. I’ve had enough near-misses on stilettos that I use railings out of a combination of caution and terror even if I’m wearing sneakers. Going down seems more urgent than going up, but I use them going up, too.
“Able-bodied”, for some definitions of “able-bodied”. By that I mean I don’t have any obvious mobility issues, but I’m dangerously klutzy (quite literally so - have had several broken bones from mishaps involving tripping over my own feet on stairs or curbs).
So, I always use the stair rail, and get a little panicky if there is not one, or if it’s unusable for some reason.
By “unusable”, I mean sometimes the things are designed for aesthetics vs. use, like the one at my eye doctor’s office. They’re on the second floor (not exactly disabled accessible!!) and the railing is this one by 6 inch board mounted parallel to the wall. As in, you can put your hand over it with fingers on one side and thumb on the other, but there is NO WAY to get a secure grip. So if you stumble and start to fall, there’s no way to tighten your grasp enough to catch yourself.