Amusement Park Ride Safety

with summer here, many may be thinking about heading to outdoor entertainment like amusement parks and carnivals. so what do local experts say about staying safe? reporter andrew j. polk has a story … you’ll see… … only on abc-seven … :38 :50 “we’ve been doing it for a long time, and have good experienced people working for us too.” western playland president patrick thomson says safety is always a top priority … particularly as the amusement park prepares to open for it’s extended summer hours. they do daily and weekly local inspections looking for any problems with the rides. the new mexico regulation & licensing department requires both fixed and mobile carnival rides to receive an annual state inspection and certification, and carry at least $3,000,000 in insurance. each carnival ride operator must also conduct daily inspections and complete notarized applications and pay the applicable fees. “the daily we go through like seat belts, check the cars and test run the ride. “the owner says tha here at western playland, one of the big differences between this and carnival rides is portable versus permanent. rides here are in place for long periods of time, and aren’t moved around like carnival rides are.” “i you get into one of these rides, the seat belt’s not working, you tell the operator. ‘hey, the seat belt is not buckled or it won’t buckle’ and they’ll take a look at it.” overall, thomson says be aware, and if something doesn’t seem right, don’t ignore it. “you should use little common sense too. just like driving your car. you get in your car, your seat belt doesn’t work, you might want to do something about it. you don’t just drive for the next year without a seat belt.” andrew j. polk, abc-7. another live look at the city tonight from the abc-seven mountain cam. you can see it’s outside this evening. doppler dave is tracking what’s next.