Being able to travel independently is one of the more important skills a blind person can master. It gives them the ability to shop, visit friends, and go to work. On their way to doing all these things, a blind person will eventually encounter an escalator. How does someone find and use one if they can’t see? The answer is very simple.

Why should you always have a cane with you when you travel?

No matter how much residual vision you might have, you should use a cane when traveling. There are two good reasons for doing this. The first is that if you have a white cane in your hand, it is internationally recognized as a sign that you are vision impaired.

 

Why is being identified as vision impaired a good thing? The answer is that without a cane, those around you will assume that you can see as well as them and will also assume you will be able to jump out of the way if they approach you to closely on the sidewalk or in the road with their cars. It is just what they do. Things are different if they see you with a white cane. People will be more careful about putting you in potential danger once they know you may not be able to see them. An additional benefit is that if you ask them a question about directions or street signs, seeing you holding a cane will be explanation enough for them to feel comfortable answering your questions.

 

A second reason you should use a cane is to help you navigate the world. I was told by my mobility instructor that reaching out my hands to explore the surroundings was a bad idea because I didn’t want to end up with a hand full of something nasty. My instructor was pointing out that using a cane to investigate objects in front of me instead of my hands was a lot safer and cleaner.

 

The techniques I will be describing for finding and using an escalator require that you use a cane. You don’t absolutely have to use one. However, using a cane will help you to avoid getting a hand full of nasty or losing a finger.

 

How do blind people find the escalator?

Finding an escalator is relatively simple. You listen. Escalators are generally quite noisy and listening will give you the general direction of where one might be.

 

Start moving towards the noise sweeping in front of yourself with the cane. You know that you are at the edge of the escalator when your cane encounters a very rough metallic surface.

 

To recap, you have followed your ears and found an escalator. You have used your cane to bring you to the edge of it. Now, how do you find out if this is an up or down escalator?

 

How do blind people know if this is an up or down escalator?

Using your cane, locate the side of the escalator (the part with the moving handrail) and reach out and gently touch it with a finger. If the handrail is moving away from you, this is the entrance to the escalator. However, if the handrail is moving towards you, this is the escalator exit. You must look for an escalator entrance.

 

How do blind people board an escalator?

You have found the escalator you want and you want to place yourself on it to ride. Use your cane to locate the steps (they are moving) and step aboard. Make sure your feet are in the center of the step. Your cane can tell you where the edge of the steps are.

 

So far so good. But, how do you know when you are about to reach the other end of the escalator? Place your cane on the step ahead of you. When you feel the height of the cane start to change, you are approaching the end. When your cane encounters a rough metal surface, start walking normally because you have reached your destination.

 

When the escalator is crowded, moving quickly is suggested. I have been run over by pedestrians because I was not fast enough getting on and off the machine.

 

Being able to find, board, and exit an escalator is just one of the travel skills necessary in order to travel independently. In spite of the complicated explanation of the process above, actually using an escalator is quite simple and easy to do.

 

Like most skills that the blind develop in order to participate fully, they are simple once you have dissected the problem and thought about it a bit. Replacing fear with actual skills is not only liberating in terms of confidence, it is also liberating when it comes to finding employment.