Step right up!

Do you notice any difference?

Can you see that the last step is a bit bigger than the others?

Although it’s a small small difference, a lot of people actually trip and fall here. I also read a lot about it and here is what I saw:

Research has shown that during stairway use, pedestrians view only the first three steps, with the rest of the stairway negotiated without looking. Therefore, design of the top three and bottom three steps is very important.

They also say in the same article that to avoid trips and falls, the dimensions of the steps should be uniform. If not, the human mind either over-steps or missteps. This is because as mentioned above, we only tend to watch out for the first three steps.

To add on top of this, there’s not adequate lighting in this area. I think the sensor works only when we get to the bottom of the stairs. So, it’s a bit difficult to see the step edge.

One or two of my colleagues have slipped and got their ankles twisted in the same place. That’s when I knew I was not alone.

Something so small is actually making significant impact. For a civil engineer, this should have been a basic check. And yet, I don’t know how they built it. And even if they did, not sure how they approved it!