Qualification of personnel on roller coasters, carousels and Ferris wheels required. Disregard of operating and usage regulations can cause serious accidents. Start of season for funfairs and amusement parks.
On the occasion of the start of the season for amusement parks and spring festivals, the TÜV Association has presented suggestions for improving the safety of amusement rides. Besides a qualification of the staff at roller coasters, carousels, Ferris wheels and other amusement rides, the inspection density should be increased and all installations should be adapted to the DIN EN 13814 series of standards. “The high safety level of amusement rides in Germany is considered exemplary internationally,” says Dr Joachim Bühler, Managing Director of the TÜV Association. “Nevertheless, the existing safety system must be questioned again and again and adapted to the state of the art.” An accumulation of serious accidents last year was the reason for this. The TÜV Association then initiated a process to analyse the incidents and draw up initial proposals for improvement. According to the experts’ assessment, the accidents in the previous year were not mainly caused by technical defects of the plants. Instead, they were due to deficiencies in operating, operating or use instructions.
The TÜV Association proposes the following measures to further increase the safety level of rides in amusement parks and at public festivals:
Improve qualification: Operators, attendants and maintenance staff should be trained according to their area of responsibility. Specialists around the operation of amusement rides should be specifically trained to comply with all requirements of the relevant standards and guidelines.
Strengthen controls: Inspections for compliance with existing operating and operating regulations for amusement rides and amusement parks should be expanded.
Increase the safety level of amusement parks: Existing rides – also in amusement parks – must be adapted to the safety level of the DIN EN 13814 series of standards. Although the safety of amusement park rides is also regularly inspected, existing installations do not have to be retrofitted according to the standard. They are only scrutinised and, if necessary, adapted when safety deficiencies occur.
The TÜV Association accompanies both the manufacturers of amusement rides during the development process of new facilities and the operators in the planning phase. On the basis of the respective areas of law, the experts carry out inspections before the installations are put into operation, inspections for execution or building permits as well as regular recurring inspections. At public festivals, they support the responsible building authorities with the so-called acceptance tests of the rides. This ensures that the “flying constructions” are inspected by experts before the start of a folk festival.
The position paper “Further increasing the safety of amusement rides” is available at: https://www.tuev-verband.de/positionspapiere/sicherheit-von-fahrgeschaeften-weiter-erhoehen.
About TÜV-Verband: As TÜV-Verband e.V., we represent the political interests of TÜV testing organisations and promote the professional exchange of our members. We are committed to technical and digital safety as well as the sustainability of products, facilities and services. The basis for this are generally applicable standards, independent testing and qualified further training. Our goal is to maintain the high level of technical security, to create trust in the digital world and to preserve our livelihoods. To achieve this, we are in regular exchange with politicians, authorities, media, companies and consumers.
