I remember an old podcast/audiobook thingy that was about this exact thing. The escalators went out at the mall and everyone was trapped on the 2nd floor. Sort of a parody of post apocalyptic survivor shows

[–] Apepi@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Escalators can be really dangerous when they break down. It's better to just stay upstairs if there's no other way down.

[–] anothercatgirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I disagree, I think that if you turn off the escalator it just activates the brakes as a fail-safe and turns into a set of stairs.

[–] Apepi@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The brakes can fail, any weight on the escalator then slams to the bottom. I'm talking about a failure, not simply turning the escalator off. Never attempt to walk down an escalator that's experienced a mechanical failure. It's dangerous.

https://youtu.be/VWLb7P8MCck (edit: wrong video initially, this is more what I'm talking about though I can't seem to find the specific video i'm thinking of of an escalator violently accelerating.)

Found it! https://youtu.be/3lt3gELY3pU

It's scary as fuck.

I've also heard (though I'm not sure how true it is) that the motor going out can make the escalator belt go slack allowing the steps to flop to the sides.

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[–] sapo@beehaw.org 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"an escalator can never break, it can only become stairs"

[–] anothercatgirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 year ago

what if the entire structure snaps in half?

[–] czeskilager@szmer.info 5 points 1 year ago

I recall playing a flash game on Newgrounds ages ago that was about a guy trying to leave a shopping mall, and you had to figure out exactly that - how to fix a broken escalator

[–] brainschaden@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Sending prayers your way🙏🏻

[–] grummle@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sorry for the convenience

https://youtu.be/7n1ryH3igKc

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[–] WizBizX05@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 year ago

I'm sometimes too scared to ride an escalator. What if my shoelace gets caught up in a gap and I'll go into an accident?

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

"HELP! The escalator's stopped!“

“Send help!"