Health and Safety Executive Passenger behaviour on amusement rides Field study report Prepared by the Health and Safety Laboratory for the Health and Safety Executive 2007 RR579 Research Report Health and Safety Executive Passenger behaviour on amusement rides Field study report E Milnes P Marlow J Bunn J Ferreira A Jones M Birtles D Lee Health and Safety Laboratory Harpur Hill Buxton SK17 9JN The main aim of this field study was to produce a catalogue of behaviours which passengers exhibit whilst on amusement rides. An additional aim was to provide a benchmark of behaviour incidence levels, with the expectation of making a comparison study in a number years time to identify any changing trends in behaviour. The field study was designed in order to cover a wide range of different ride types under a wide and representative range of conditions as follows: I Various types of venue; Theme Park, Travelling Fair (Park, Street or Indoor), Pleasure Beach, Music Festival. I Varied times of year; visits were made throughout the main 2003 season. Some early visits were also made in late 2002 and during the 2002/2003 holiday period. I A range of areas of the country; visits ranged across the UK in an effort to eliminate any data skewing effects due to regional variations in behaviours. This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy. HSE Books © Crown copyright 2007 First published 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Applications for reproduction should be made in writing to: Licensing Division, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ or by e-mail to [email protected] ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Showmans Guild and The British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers & Attractions Ltd. (BALPPA) provided valuable help by facilitating contacts with Fairground and Theme Park operators. This enabled the Health & Safety Laboratory (HSL) to make visits to the appropriate sites and carry out filming. The Showmen and Theme Park operators who allowed us to film at their premises / events were very helpful and supportive of this work. Without their help the work would have been extremely difficult to do. iii iv GLOSSARY Amusement Industry This is the term used in this report to refer to Showmen and Theme Park Operators (referred to together as Operators) and their representative bodies (Showmans Guild and BALPPA) when these more specific groups are not individually identified. Behaviour A non-passive physical activity or movement made by a passenger during a ride cycle. • ‘A behaviour’ refers to an instance of one type of behaviour (including the action and the pattern, repetition rate etc.). • An ‘incidence’ of a behaviour refers to an occurrence of a behaviour. Car(s) A structure which passengers sit in (e.g. a spaceship, ladybird, elephant, section of coaster train). Gondola is also a term often used to refer to these items. Containment / containment system The seating, handrail, lap bar, foot-well structures which contains the passenger and / or enables them to support themselves and remain stable. Operator A showman or Theme park employee who supervise the ingress and egress of passengers, lock containment systems, and operate the ride control system. This term is refers to a person with responsibility for ride maintenance and risk assessments. Passenger demographics The gender and age distribution of a group of passengers. Ride An Amusement ride e.g. a Coaster or a Waltzer. Ride cycle The period during which a group of passengers are sent around a ride in a continuous motion. This is the time between the ride starting to move and then stopping again under normal conditions (i.e. not stopping due to failure or emergency). v vi CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Aims of the Passenger Behaviour Research ............................................................. 2 3.0 Field Study Method ........................................................................................................ 3 3.1 Choosing and setting up visits...................................................................... 3 3.2 Filming methods ........................................................................................... 4 3.3 Ethical considerations................................................................................... 4 3.4 Venues visited for filming.............................................................................. 5 4.0 Analysis Methods............................................................................................................ 5 4.1 Behaviour Categories ................................................................................... 6 4.2 Passenger age groups.................................................................................. 8 4.3 Behaviour pattern (level of repetition / persistence of behaviour)................. 8 4.4 Motives for behaviour ................................................................................... 9 4.5 Logging non-behavioural information ......................................................... 10 4.6 Logging behavioural information................................................................. 11 5.0 Results of Passenger Behaviour analysis ................................................................ 13 5.1 Predicted behaviour incidences per 1000 passengers (Section 1)............. 13 5.2 Behaviour properties for multiple ride cases (Section 2) ............................ 14 5.3 Behaviour properties for single ride cases (Section 3) ............................... 15 5.4 Behaviours observed across all rides (Section 4)....................................... 15 6.0 Section 1: Predicted behaviour frequencies per 1000 passengers ...................... 16 6.1 Behaviour frequencies................................................................................ 16 6.2 Behaviour descriptions for each ride .......................................................... 16 7.0 Section 2: Behaviour properties for multiple ride cases ......................................... 23 7.1 Traditional Carousels.................................................................................. 23 7.2 Jumpers / Grasshoppers ............................................................................ 28 7.3 Bench Rides ............................................................................................... 32 7.4 Superbobs .................................................................................................. 38 7.5 Waltzers...................................................................................................... 41 7.6 Conventional Coasters (non-spinning or looping)....................................... 46 7.7 Pirate Ships ............................................................................................... 50 7.8 Superbowls ............................................................................................... 54 7.9 Twist Rides ................................................................................................ 56 7.10 Log Flumes ................................................................................................ 60 7.11 Junior Autodromes (e.g. Ladybirds) ........................................................... 67 7.12 Mini Jets (e.g. Batman, Pirate-raft) ............................................................. 70 8.0 Section 3: Behaviour Properties for single rides...................................................... 74 8.1 Spinning coaster (e.g. Wild Mouse)............................................................ 74 vii 8.3 Juvenile Coaster......................................................................................... 75 8.4 Jets ............................................................................................................. 76 8.5 Tagada........................................................................................................ 78 8.6 Paratrooper................................................................................................. 80 8.7 Juvenile Track Ride (Figure of 8 track with bridge & raised section).......... 81 8.8 Adventurer Wave Surfer ............................................................................. 83 8.9 Orbiter......................................................................................................... 84 8.10 Juvenile Toyset Roundabout ...................................................................... 86 8.11 Pendulum.................................................................................................... 87 8.12 Superspin.................................................................................................... 89 8.13 Breakdance................................................................................................. 90 8.14 Chairlift.......................................................................................................