A Study of the Best Slippage-resistant Floor Material for Use in Trains and Buses

Abstract

In Japan, with the number of elderly people and physically-challenged people increasing, it is important to protect passengers from accidents caused by floor material used in trains and buses and so on. In order to prevent passengers from falling due to slipping or stumbling, we developed a floor material using quartz. We laid the quartz-based floor near a subway entrance and gathered opinions of passengers through a questionnaire after they walked on the floor. 176 out of 500 people surveyed responded to our questions. The effectiveness of the quartz-based floor material we developed was confirmed through favorable responses on the questionnaire and users' requests that the quartz-based floor material be used on station stairs as well as in trains and buses.