Amusement Park Safety: Stay Safe Without Sacrificing Thrills

With customers clamoring over the thrills of high-speed roller coasters and daring free falls in your amusement park, they don’t seem too concerned for their personal safety. But that’s because they expect your attractions to be safe. It’s not a conscious thought for most, especially since over 335 million people visit amusement parks each year and live to tell the tale.

But it’s not always a happy ending.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 30,000 people visited emergency rooms from amusement park injuries in 2016. Combine that with the 22 reported deaths linked to amusement park rides since 2010, and consumers may realize that a day at a theme park could cost a lot more than their ticket price.

What Does a Day at a Theme Park Really Cost?

The numbers sound grim, but unfortunately, they do not account for the entire picture of health and safety-related issues amusement parks face. From food-related illness to roller coaster and ride safety to slip and fall hazards, your fun-filled park is also teeming with opportunity for health and safety disaster.

There’s nothing more important to your amusement park’s success than the health and safety of your patrons. Even a single incident can mar your reputation and give pause to even the biggest thrill seekers.

It doesn’t matter if you have lower ticket prices than your competitors, or that your midway food uses quality ingredients, or that guests can buy a season pass for less than the price of two days’ admission. If you can’t guarantee their safety while they’re enjoying your park, your ticket turnstiles will cease turning completely.

And one incident could cost you the park.

Best Practices for Keeping Your Customers Safe

Nearly 100% of incidents are completely avoidable. Use these best practices to ensure your patrons remember you for the fun and not for the incidents:

• Develop a program to log and track all health and safety-related incidents, including food safety, incident response, security, ride inspection, and ongoing employee training. You might consider investing in safety software to manage all related activities.
• Regularly review your EHS program and collected data to see where improvements can be made.
• Instill health and safety as part of your core workplace culture, ensuring that each employee recognizes the importance of EHS practices and commits to upholding them.

Wrap Up

Keep in mind that keeping your guests safe is never a one-and-done action, but rather an ongoing effort that is best achieved when every employee makes it a priority.