A woman died in April after her hijab became caught in a go-kart on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. She suffered throat and neck injuries after the hijab became wedged near a wheel axle, ripping the garment across her throat.
In another incident involving amusement devices, days before, three teenagers were injured on the north coast of New South Wales, when the Ferris wheel car they were in broke free, plummeting eight meters to the ground.
And in yet another example of an amusement ride accident, three people were stuck upside-down on a rollercoaster for more than an hour at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show.
Go-karts, Ferris wheels and rollercoasters fall under the category of “amusement devices”. Devices which provide entertainment or amusement must be registered with the relevant state or territory WorkCover authority.
Following the Ferris wheel accident, WorkCover NSW published a safety alert to all owners and operators of amusement devices. The document included risk controls such as regular inspections and integrity testing, and correct transportation methods.
The document can be found at:
One Comment
As tragic as it was, the first accident was caused by the woman not wearing appropriate clothes for the activity and the fault is entirely hers.
Staff should have pointed this out to her but may have been inhibited by not wanting to be politically incorrect and offend a muslim. There was apparently nothing wrong with the go-kart.
The other two incidents appear to be the result of poor maintenance or manufacture.
The three matters should not be lumped together like this as the customer’s clothing choice should not be in the same category as maintenance and testing tasks.
Cheers,
Andy Otes