Falling from the station platform Protecting yourself Visually impaired trained on railroad tracks October 22 17:35
A training was held at a JR station in Tokyo where a group of visually impaired people actually learned on the railroad tracks how to protect themselves if they fell off the platform of the station.
The training was held at JR Shinagawa Station, where about 30 people, including groups made up of visually impaired people and people involved, were guided by people who support each person, and they got off the railroad tracks using the stairs at the end of the platform. It was.
Participants moved slowly and carefully so as not to fall, crouched down on rails and paving stones, and touched them with their hands and white sticks to check the situation on the railroad tracks.
The training was attended by Etsuko Takei (65), a visually impaired person who died when her husband fell from her home nearly 10 years ago.
Mr. Takei was blind, so he realized that if he fell and didn't know which direction to escape, he could touch the rails to determine which side was outside the track.
I also tried to climb a platform with a height of 1 meter and 10 centimeters on my own, and realized that it was difficult to climb with just the strength of my arms. In addition, I put my body in the gap under the platform and the track on the opposite side of the platform. I checked how to protect myself by moving to a place away from.
Mr. Takei said, "I was surprised at the height of the platform. When I fall, I try to go up to the platform momentarily, but I want to tell my friends that I will go out of the train without trying to go up. I was talking.
Since there are many accidents in which visually impaired people fall on railroad tracks and die, the group has decided to widely disseminate what they have learned in the training.
A woman who lost her husband in a fall
Etsuko Takei (65) from Toshima-ku, Tokyo, one of the visually impaired people who participated in the training.
Nearly 10 years ago, when I was traveling with my visually impaired husband at JR Mejiro Station to change trains, my husband fell off the platform and was hit by a train and died.
Her husband, Ms. Mira (42 at the time), was a player of "blind tennis" using a ball that makes a sound, and was enthusiastic about promoting activities nationwide and overseas in order to make it a formal Paralympic competition.
Immediately after asking Takei to take the sweets out of his rucksack, Ms. Mira stepped off and fell off the platform.
Regarding the situation at that time, Mr. Takei said, "He fell with a stone and was" dangerous!
I didn't know what happened when I said, "The sound of the train was" key "." "I always thought I should have passed away. I caused a great deal of trouble to everyone. I'm sorry, it was amazing, "he continued to blame himself.
However, he became an officer of a group of visually impaired people, remembering that he was trying hard to spread the enjoyment of "blind tennis" for the visually impaired people all over the world. We are working on activities to eliminate accidents, such as encouraging the installation of platform doors.
Since there are no end to falling accidents at the platform, railway companies are proceeding with the installation of platform doors to prevent falls and braille blocks that are easy for the visually impaired to understand. At the time of Mr. Mira's accident, the JR Yamanote Line There were two stations with platform doors, but now there are 28 stations excluding Shinjuku and Shibuya stations.
Mr. Takei said, "I got off for the first time today at the place where my husband fell and died, and I felt sad. The accident that a person falls from the home and dies does not disappear, but in order not to waste my husband's death, I made an accident I will do my best to reduce it, and I think my husband is supporting me. It's been 10 years since the accident, so it would be nice to be able to report to my husband that all stations on the Yamate Line have home doors. I hope. "