What safety feature prevents pinch points on escalators?

The inclusion of skirt brushes or skirts as a safety feature on escalators is critical because they serve to mitigate the risk of user entrapment and pinch points. Skirt brushes are positioned along the sides of the escalator, close to the moving steps. Their purpose is to create a barrier that helps prevent clothing, body parts, or other objects from being caught in the gaps between the moving steps and the escalator's side.

By minimizing these gaps, skirt brushes effectively reduce the likelihood of users being pinched or caught as they step on or off the escalator. This is particularly important in high-traffic areas where many people may be using the escalator simultaneously, ensuring a safer experience for everyone.

Although emergency stop buttons, warning signs, and cushioned step edges are also important components of escalator safety, they do not serve the same function as the skirt brushes in actively preventing pinch points during the operation of the escalator. Emergency stop buttons are designed for immediate action in case of an emergency; warning signs are informative but do not physically prevent accidents, and cushioned step edges may reduce impact but do not address the issue of entrapment at pinch points effectively.