After the fatal accident with the roller coaster Jetline at Gröna Lund in the summer of 2023, both the amusement park and the public supervision received sharp criticism from the Accident Investigation Authority.
The supervision that takes place today for amusement park attractions is too weak, said Director-General John Ahlberk when the investigation was presented last year.
The Accident Investigation Authority pointed out that stronger supervision would have provided more knowledge and better conditions, but it cannot be said with certainty that the accident could have been prevented.
Since then, accidents have also occurred at traveling fairs. In July last year, a man died and three people were injured when a lottery car overturned at Kiviks market. The same summer, a toy car overturned in a carousel in Kristianstad where a 3-year-old girl was.
”Tragedy”
That summer, the government appointed an investigation and Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (The Moderate Party) called the accidents in recent years a "tragedy".
With today's rules, an inspection is made once a year of the facilities at amusement parks, but also at traveling fairs that can assemble them several times. A permit from the police is also required where the facilities provide "reliable safety against accidents".
"The police assume that the provider follows the requirements that apply for the facility to be considered safe and that an approval certificate is only issued if the amusement facility is considered safe to use", writes Louise Sollien, process developer at the police's national operational department, to TT.
In April, the new rules began to take shape when the partial report was submitted to the Minister of Justice. A new law is proposed and that the Consumer Agency will take over the supervision.
Assembly is inspected
Additionally, new controls are proposed. The inspection still applies once a year, but a new inspection should be made in the event of repairs and rebuilding. There will also be a requirement for control and inspection during assembly. Control should be made at each move and disassembly and reassembly, while inspection takes place unannounced annually.
The changes are expected to come into effect at the earliest on January 1, 2027. The police emphasize that the public should not need to make any own checks on safety.
"But those who want to can look for the inspection sign that each attraction should have well visible - on it, it should be clear that the facility has been approved during inspection, who inspected the facility and when this was done", writes Louise Sollien.
