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Melbourne

Automatic, but not fast

I do wish the owners of automatic doors would think more of us fast-walkers.

Obviously if doors are next to a lot of passing traffic, the sensors can’t look too far for moving people, but if they’re in a corridor, it shouldn’t be too hard to detect oncoming speedsters.

As it is, at places like the Port Phillip Arcade, I have to slow down to a fraction of my usual speed to avoid bumping my nose on the glass.

I guess I could wave my hand or briefcase ahead of me to give it some warning that I’m coming, but it would look pretty silly.

Or is it just me that has this problem?

By Daniel Bowen

Transport blogger / campaigner and spokesperson for the Public Transport Users Association / professional geek.
Bunurong land, Melbourne, Australia.
Opinions on this blog are all mine.

9 replies on “Automatic, but not fast”

LOL, not something I have to deal with too much not having worked in the CBD for a loooong time…but yeah, why not just slow down a pace or two? :).

At the Collins St exit at Southern Cross station, the doors won’t open until you almost nose-butt them. But most people take a step back to try to get them to open and end up doing a funny backwards/forwards tango. Amuses me lots…

Automatic doors hate me. I regularly have to stop in front of them and wave my hand at the sensor for several seconds before it realises that I’m there. I have an automatic door close on me perhaps a little under once per month. Either I don’t reflect IR very well or I’ve lost my soul somewhere along the way.

The most annoying thing is when you miss the sensor entirely and the door remains stubbornly closed no matter how energetically you dance around in front of it. It always makes me feel like the door’s denying my legitimacy as a real person…

we had an auto-door the last place i worked that rarely opened first time. staff developed a habit of waving their hands in front of the sensor when approaching.

In the US it’s the same way. I learned when I worked at a grocery and the power went out that you can always manually push the doors (imagine that!) should it not be fast enough for you. I did that about three times today.

Oh, I’m glad everyone else has this problem too. My pet hate is when it sees you coming and deliberately closes in front of you. Then it has to complete its cycle before it will open again.

Those doors can be deadly. Especially those doors that go round and round I got stuck in one and it nearly ripped off my arm.

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