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'Mind The Gap' Indeed: Woman's Fall Beneath Train Captured On Video

A "mind the gap" reminder at the Acton Town Underground Station in London
carmen_seaby via Flickr
A "mind the gap" reminder at the Acton Town Underground Station in London

If you've been to Great Britain, you know that they're very persistent over there about the need to "mind the gap."

That is, authorities really, really want you to watch your step as you get off a train because you might stumble. "Mind the gap," announcements repeat, over and over. "Mind the gap," say signs lining the platforms. The message is so ubiquitous it has been used on T-shirts, mugs and key chains.

She didn't mind the gap.
/ British Transport Police
/
British Transport Police
She didn't mind the gap.

Well, we can now see that there is indeed a reason to "mind the gap." If you're not careful — and if you've had a few too many drinks — you might fall under a train.

The British Transport Police are using surveillance video taken earlier this year to illustrate the "dangers of drinking during the festive period" around the holidays. That video shows a woman "stepping off a train at Barnsley station, stumbling backwards and falling in-between the train and platform."

Fortunately, she suffered only cuts and bruises, according to the police. But as the video says at the end, if you want to "stay safe this Christmas," one of the rules is to "mind the gap between the train and the platform."

Words to keep in mind (sorry, had to say it).

By the way, according to the Daily Mail, the unnamed woman wanted the video to be released "so that police can warn others of the dangers of overdoing it during the Christmas party season."

(H/T to NPR's Philip Reeves in London.)

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.