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October 1, 1999 DES MOINES, Iowa—As the roller coaster creeps up that initial hill, the rattle of the track beneath you is not necessarily a comforting sound. However, something gives people the confidence to ride various amusement park rides — assuming that they are safe. With the recent accidents occurring at nationally known parks, your personal safety is something that you may want to reconsider before letting someone strap you into a ride that spins upside down at 40 miles per hour. "There is reason to be concerned about the rash increase in accident lately," said Dennis Wilson, head of elevator safety and amusement park inspection for the Iowa Department of Labor Services. "I don't know the procedures that each state goes through when inspecting rides, but the recent accidents show that someone is slipping up somewhere." In some cases there isn't anybody to be slipping up because some states don't have inspection programs, but others have very effective programs. Iowa's inspection program requires all amusement parks to be spot-checked throughout the season in addition to in-depth inspections prior to a park's initial opening. Amusement parks are broken up into two different categories: traveling shows, state or county fairs for example, and permanent parks, places such as Adventureland in Altoona. In Iowa, there are four permanent parks and around 100 traveling shows. Although the number of accidents in Iowa amusement parks is fairly low, the most accidents occur at the traveling shows — an average of two or three a year. "Just because there are more accidents occurring in traveling parks doesn't have anything to do with them being less safe," Wilson said. "There are so many more of these parks, as opposed to permanent ones, that they should be expected to have more accidents." Inspections for the two types of parks vary slightly. Every ride must be inspected before a permanent park or traveling show can open. Permanent parks have at least two different inspectors look at each ride before reopening every season. After the permanent park had opened, random spot checks will occur. Traveling shows have at least four inspectors look at each ride because the inspections have to be done in a shorter period of time than what is given to inspect a permanent park. At larger traveling shows like the Iowa state fair, inspectors will stay on-site throughout the fair to constantly watch the rides and ride operators. "The difference is in one case we're under a strict time frame, where with permanent rides we have the chance to go out and check the rides numerous times before they open," Wilson said. Along with about six inspectors through the Department of Labor Services, separate inspectors often do spot check for insurance companies that represent the amusement parks. "It's in the insurance company's best interest to be doing the same kinds of checks we are, and they usually find the same types of things we do," Wilson said. Wilson said most problems are usually found in the way employees are operating the rides, not mechanical problems. Even if a ride is 100 percent operational, if the ride operators aren't doing their jobs, there can still be accidents. To become an amusement park inspector in Iowa, there is a rigorous training program that one must complete. First, a person must have completed a minimum of three years of mechanical training with elevators — the first kind of inspections someone becomes involved with before working with amusement parks. With this mechanical experience, the person then trains for six months on inspections and starts doing field inspections on elevators. From this group of elevator inspectors, people are selected to be trained in amusement park inspections. Once someone has been hired to be an amusement park inspector, it takes another two or three years to fully train them. This is because training can only take place three or four months at a time — most parks are seasonal in Iowa. "Learning to work with amusement park rides is difficult because it's like learning to work on every car built," Wilson said. "Very few rides are similar and almost all of them do different things." Wilson said that 80 percent of rides coming to Iowa through traveling shows and new rides built at permanent parks are something completely different than what the inspector has ever seen. This can be because the ride is something very new or because it is an older ride that an inspector has never come in contact with. "Because it is impossible to know every ride that you may be inspecting, you have to rely on your knowledge of steel, structure and support systems, which comes from experience with elevators," Wilson said. "Just recently at the Iowa state fair, there were two or three rides that we had never seen before." Ride inspectors are constanly attending training sessions to keep up to date with ride inspections, Wilson said. Some inspectors also attend national training seminars through the National Association of Ride Safety Officials. With all of the recent amusement park accidents occurring in permanent parks, Wilson said he thinks checks need to be done more frequently and carefully where these accidents are occurring. With rides running seven days a week for 12 or 14 hours a day at permanent parks, Wilson said he thinks some of the accidents can be attributed to the end of the season approaching, the rides being worn down and inspections not recently being done — although since things are done differenty in every state he can't be sure. Wilson said no immediate changes will be made in Iowa because of the recent accidents, but they are considering changes and are always staying aware of accidents nationally. "It's hard for us to change something when nothing has gone wrong," Wilson said. "We'll just stay aware of accidents and if need be increase inspections." |