the most significant sensory input was a sound, like a thunking sound. i still remember very clearly after hearing that sound the escalator started to speed up followed by a real sense of horror than we were accelerati g accelerating. is there time to react? you re a father with young kids on a runaway escalator, what split-second decision should you make? a, grab your kids and jump over the side railing. b, grab your kids and run back up the escalator to the top. in this case, going against the flow is a no-go as runaway escalators follow gravity down. the speed is great enough in a runaway situation that you really can t run up the stairs. you might grab a child and hold the child to reduce the impact or the affect on them when you