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Comment by lesuorac | Hacker News Reader

Well, it could be liability related.

But, falls are basically the only way people get injured at DC's Metro so it seems to make sense to have significant signage about that. I'd have to imagine there's nothing unique about DC so it's probably the same story for the UK.

"96% of the customer injuries were related to slips and falls within rail stations, and about 52% of those were on escalators." [1]. The stat for employees was 40% with being struck by an object in #2 at 25%.

[1]: https://wmata.com/about/calendar/events/upload/3A-Metro-s-Sa...

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I work in transportation safety, primarily aviation but we also support WMATA. We usually define barriers which prevent, control, or mitigate an accident or undesired state [0]. Safety systems often require warning signage. Anecdotally, I find that regulators, companies, etc. use signage or safety bulletins than active barriers [0] because they are cheaper and quicker to implement. Even when they implement something like, say, abrasive floor treatments [1], that is only one barrier and likely imperceptible to the public.

Warning signage may be helpful, but I am skeptical of its effectiveness (especially as implemented). For example, "ice-warning signs do not have a statistically significant impact on the frequency or severity of vehicular accidents that involve ice." [2]

(Disclaimer: Opinions are my own.)

[0] https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/enablon/bowtie/ex...

[1] https://www.nata.aero/data/files/webinar_documents/preventin...

[2] https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-4575(00)00020-8

I'm not sure being reminded not to slip would reduce my likelihood of slipping.

Seems like things like making sure floor transitions are mild, adequate drainage, textured floors would be more effective. (polished stone and concrete are a nightmare with some shoes that I own in wet weather).

What's the connection between signage talking about falls and the rate of falls? I don't see any.

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