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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Home > ST Forum > Online Story
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<!-- headline one : start --><TR>Train moved with hand caught in door
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to the Online Forum letter "Hand caught in door: Don't rush, advises SMRT" (March 17).
Three years ago, on Oct 6, at around 10pm, a couple with a young girl boarded the north-bound MRT train at Braddell station. As the train doors were closing, the girl stretched out her hand and her wrist was trapped between the doors. The parents tried, but failed, to pull out her hand. The train started moving and accelerating. The father tried pressing a button, thinking it was an emergency stop button. Nothing happened.
The train continued to accelerate. The desperate father shoved his fingers in between the train doors, forced them open and finally managed to free the girl's hand. The train continued moving as if nothing happened.
When it reached Bishan station, some MRT staff boarded the train. The father related what happened and the staff took down his particulars and promised to investigate.
I am that father and the girl, my daughter. We were very relieved she escaped with minor bruises on her wrist. Despite that, I think there are some lessons to be learnt.
First, parents with young children should move away from the doors, be it in the train or lift. It is hard to predict what a young child would do.
Second, door sensors should be checked. They did not detect my daughter's hand stuck in the doors, even as the train started moving, nor did they alert the driver that someone had forced the doors open as the train was moving.
Third, the emergency button is not a stop button. It is just a communication button. In emergencies, every second counts; there is no time to explain and convince the driver why he should stop. The emergency button should stop the train on activation. Then the communication takes place, not the other way round. The $5,000 penalty should deter misuse.
Fourth, the Land Transport Authority should set up an avenue for incident reporting and take the responsibility for follow-up. Tey Chee Meng
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<!-- headline one : start --><TR>Train moved with hand caught in door
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to the Online Forum letter "Hand caught in door: Don't rush, advises SMRT" (March 17).
Three years ago, on Oct 6, at around 10pm, a couple with a young girl boarded the north-bound MRT train at Braddell station. As the train doors were closing, the girl stretched out her hand and her wrist was trapped between the doors. The parents tried, but failed, to pull out her hand. The train started moving and accelerating. The father tried pressing a button, thinking it was an emergency stop button. Nothing happened.
The train continued to accelerate. The desperate father shoved his fingers in between the train doors, forced them open and finally managed to free the girl's hand. The train continued moving as if nothing happened.
When it reached Bishan station, some MRT staff boarded the train. The father related what happened and the staff took down his particulars and promised to investigate.
I am that father and the girl, my daughter. We were very relieved she escaped with minor bruises on her wrist. Despite that, I think there are some lessons to be learnt.
First, parents with young children should move away from the doors, be it in the train or lift. It is hard to predict what a young child would do.
Second, door sensors should be checked. They did not detect my daughter's hand stuck in the doors, even as the train started moving, nor did they alert the driver that someone had forced the doors open as the train was moving.
Third, the emergency button is not a stop button. It is just a communication button. In emergencies, every second counts; there is no time to explain and convince the driver why he should stop. The emergency button should stop the train on activation. Then the communication takes place, not the other way round. The $5,000 penalty should deter misuse.
Fourth, the Land Transport Authority should set up an avenue for incident reporting and take the responsibility for follow-up. Tey Chee Meng