Emergency Stop Button: The First Safety Line of Escalators | Escalator Handrail Riding Tips

Emergency Stop Button (STOP) — The First Line of Life Safety Defense

A round red emergency stop button is placed in a conspicuous position on the operation panel at the landing entrance of the escalator. It is the escalator’s highest-priority safety device, usually marked with STOP or EMERGENCY STOP.

When should you press the emergency stop button?

1. Passengers’ clothes, fingers or feet get caught in the gaps of the escalator;

2. Passengers fall on the escalator, bringing risks of crowding or secondary injuries;

3. The escalator malfunctions, making strange noises, shaking violently or running backward;

4. Luggage or heavy items tip over and block the escalator exit.

The correct way to press it

1. Press it firmly without hesitation;

2. Keep holding it down until the escalator stops completely;

3. Then loudly remind other passengers: “The escalator has stopped, please watch your step.”

If you press it by mistake, stay calm and wait for professional staff to restart the escalator.

Important reminder

The emergency stop button is not an ordinary pause button. Never touch it when there is no emergency. An unexpected halt may make other passengers fall forward due to inertia and get hurt instead.

Passenger safety: Just keep these four rules in mind

1. Stand steady and hold the handrail. Do not lean against the side panels or run;

2. Note the position of the emergency stop button, take a quick look every time before boarding;

3. Look after the elderly and children, never let kids take the escalator alone;

4. For large luggage, baby strollers and shopping trolleys, take the passenger elevator instead of the escalator.

Escalators operate quietly every day, carrying countless commuters. That red STOP button may look insignificant on normal days, yet it can become the last barrier protecting lives in critical moments. Recognize it, remember it, and press it only when it is truly needed.