在英國人Craig McIntosh心里，自動扶梯需要分區的概念已經根深蒂固：左行右立——不論是在地鐵站、購物中心，還是在機場的自動人行道上。但他卻發現，研究證明，自己一直遵守的扶梯禮節不僅不安全，可能還影響了通行效率。

By Craig McIntosh

I first visited London when I was 12 years old, traveling down from my native Northeast England on an overnight bus. The trip was a rite of passage in our family, as my mother had taken my older brother to the Big Smoke when he was the same age.
12歲的時候，我從英格蘭東北的家鄉出發，坐夜班汽車第一次去了倫敦。這趟旅行是我們家的成人禮。我哥哥也是在12歲時，隨母親去了這個大城市。

Other than the bustling stores along Oxford Road and the chaos of Piccadilly Circus, what left a lasting impression on me were the huge escalators at London Underground stations – not only because of their extraordinary length, but also for the big, yellow warning that was painted on their grinding mechanical steps. KEEP TO THE RIGHT, it read, leaving no room for argument. This was to allow commuters in a hurry (or those who just don’t like standing) to walk up the left-hand side.
倫敦之旅讓我印象最深的不是牛津路上的繁忙商店，也不是皮卡迪利廣場的熱鬧景象，而是倫敦地鐵站巨大的自動扶梯——不僅長度驚人，而且滾動的機械臺階上還有大大的黃色警示語。上面寫著“請靠右”，這毫無討論的余地。靠右是為了給著急的人（或者那些不想站著的人）讓出左邊的空間，以供行走。

As men in pinstripe suits zoomed passed, one eye on their broadsheet newspaper, I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait until I was important enough to be in such a rush.
看到穿著細條紋套裝的男士從身邊快步走過，他們一只眼睛還盯著自己手里的對開報紙，我記得當時心里暗暗著急，簡直等不及自己長大，成為可以這樣行色匆忙的重要人物。

Although that desire quickly disappeared when I reached my teens, my belief in the division of territory on escalators stuck fast: Stand on the right, walk on the left – be it at a subway station, shopping mall, or those moving sidewalks at airports.
盡管到了青少年時期，這個愿望很快就消失了，自動扶梯需要分區的概念在我心里仍然根深蒂固：左行右立——不論是在地鐵站、購物中心，還是在機場的自動人行道上。

On several occasions over the past nine years I’ve even attempted to enforce my “keep right” policy on the Beijing Subway – which, to be fair, has no such rule – with the use of passive-aggressive tutting and the occasional “nihao” to get people blocking the escalator (known as “escalumps” by some, I’m told) to make way. Suffice to say, this has not been the best way to make friends and influence people.
過去九年間，有時候我甚至想在北京地鐵上執行我的“靠右”原則——坦白講，北京沒有這樣的規定——用消極對抗的嘖嘖聲，偶爾也用“你好”來讓堵住自動扶梯的人（有人說，這叫“擋道者”）讓出空間。不得不說，這并不是交朋友、感染他人的最好方式。

Yet it turns out it could actually be me who needs re-educating on escalator etiquette after all.
然而，在自動扶梯禮節觀念上，可能真正需要改變的是我。

For a start, I’m definitely in the minority. Only 25 percent of people walk on escalators rather than stand, even during rush hours, according to a 2011 study by the University of Greenwich based on data collected in Barcelona, Shanghai and London.
首先，我顯然是少數人。2011年格林威治大學基于巴塞羅那、上海和倫敦的數據做了一項研究，發現只有25%的人會在自動扶梯上行走，而不是站著。

Second, it can actually be more efficient if everyone stands. A three-week trial at one of London Underground’s busiest stations in 2015 showed that getting rid of the “walk left” policy allows another 30 people to board an escalator every minute, which helps ease congestion.
其次，如果每個人都站著，實際上效率會更高。2015年，有人在倫敦最繁忙的地鐵站進行了一次為期三周的實驗。結果發現，放棄“左邊行”原則，自動扶梯每分鐘能夠多運輸30個人，這有利于減緩擁堵。

Rail and subway operators in Hong Kong and Japan have also run campaigns in recent years to stop commuters from walking up and down escalators due to an increase in injuries.
近幾年，由于受傷人數有所上升，香港和日本的火車和地鐵運營商也發起活動，呼吁行人不要在自動扶梯上上下走動。

In the United States alone, escalator accidents kill about 30 people a year and injure about 17,000, according to a 2013 report by the Center for Construction Research and Training. Workers involved in fitting or repairing escalators account for half, while most other casualties are caused by falling. Transportation safety experts say such accidents would happen far less if people just stood still.
根據建筑研究和培訓中心2013年的報告，在美國，每年有30人死于自動扶梯事故，約17000人受傷。參與調試和修理自動扶梯的工人占了其中的一半，其傷亡者大部分是因為摔倒造成的。交通安全專家說，如果人們站立不動，這樣的事故將會少得多。

After knowing all that, maybe I’ll just use the stairs instead.
了解了這些，我可能得去爬樓梯了。

英文來源：“CHINA DAILY”微信公眾號
翻譯：程馨瑩（實習）
編審：丹妮 董靜
音頻編輯：唐曉敏

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Broadcaster & writer

Craig McIntosh is a news editor at China Daily. Originally from the northeast of England, he moved to Beijing in late 2008. He previously worked at regional and national publications in the UK and the US.

Contact the writer at craig@chinadaily.com.cn