Imagine getting your head stuck in a subway turnstile—all because you tried to skip the fare. Yes, it happened, and the video is as wild as it sounds. But here’s where it gets controversial: Is this a hilarious fail or a dangerous design flaw? Let’s dive in.
In a recent viral video (https://www.instagram.com/reels/DSsvlRPkSnl/), a woman in a long black coat found herself in a literal tight spot at Manhattan’s Broadway/Lafayette station. Rushing to catch her train, she apparently attempted to slip through the MTA’s new turnstile gate behind another commuter. The result? The doors clamped shut on either side of her neck, leaving her trapped and flailing helplessly. An MTA worker on the other side scrambled to pry the doors open, but the damage—and the embarrassment—were already done. The video, originally shared by Juan Manuel (https://www.instagram.com/jmbp000/), has sparked a heated debate about fare evasion, safety, and the MTA’s latest anti-skipping measures.
And this is the part most people miss: Technicians suspect the gate’s sensors detected two people trying to pass through simultaneously, triggering the doors to snap shut on the second person. One MTA employee explained, ‘This happens when two people try to get through together. The sensor picks that up and closes the door on the second person.’ To free someone, the automated system must be shut off, and the gate opened manually. But here’s the kicker: The MTA is still testing these gates, which have only been installed at select stations.
The incident has New Yorkers divided. John Raine, a 23-year-old resident, called the turnstile overhaul ‘dystopian,’ joking, ‘It’s like having a controlling boyfriend. That’s mad over-engineering.’ On the flip side, Mia Rade, 34, urged commuters to ‘pay attention’ and ‘start paying for the MTA.’ Her brother, Alex Rade, a tourist, quipped, ‘How stupid do you have to be to get your head stuck in there?’
Online, reactions were equally split. Some mocked the woman’s misfortune, with one Reddit user joking, ‘Great. Now the MTA is guillotining people’ (https://www.reddit.com/r/nycrail/comments/1pvn1ie/thingsaregoing_well/). Others questioned the design’s safety, asking, ‘Can she sue for this? Did they not consider human decapitation?’ The NYPD has no record of the incident, and the MTA has yet to comment.
This isn’t an isolated issue. Similar automated gates in Boston’s transit stations have had limited success. While alarms blare when sensors detect two people, the doors rarely close fast enough to catch fare-skippers. The MTA has rolled out other measures, like garish ‘fins’ on old turnstiles, which cost over $7 million to install across 472 stations (https://nypost.com/2025/12/19/opinion/mtas-7-3m-fins-are-a-joke-and-a-gift-to-fare-beaters/). Yet, crafty commuters are already using these fins as makeshift hurdles to jump the turnstiles (https://nypost.com/2025/12/18/us-news/nyc-subway-fare-jumpers-easily-beat-anti-theft-fins-as-mta-spends-7-3m-to-bring-program-to-nearly-every-station/).
Here’s the burning question: Are these high-tech solutions worth the cost and potential risks, or is the MTA overreaching in its fight against fare evasion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—we’re all ears!
