Stand still, please: It's the rule!

If you're among the millions of us who've been shoved, elbowed or shouted at by people trying to zip past on the escalator while you're trying to get your suitcase or just yourself up or down, take heart: someone is taking action.

So far, though, you'll have to head for Saitama Prefecture, a giant suburb of Tokyo, to benefit from the action, but the idea may spread: New rules, passed last month ban running or walking up or down escalators. The rule goes into effect in October.

Advocates for the rule, which may seem Draconian to some of you in a hurry, were prompted in part by the concerns of a man whose left side is paralyzed and who found himself having the pushing, shoving and shouting just added to the difficulty of his commute, and by the thought that it might help reduce the 775 or so serious escalator accidents Japan suffers each year.