Frequent accidents on glass slideways： industry appeals： supervision of glass slideways needs to be upgraded.
In recent years, glass slideways built in various scenic spots in China have become a new means to attract tourists. However, frequent accidents of tourists’ casualties caused by the quality problems of glass slideways and poor operation supervision have cast a shadow over this new entertainment facility. On May 1, 2019, tourists rushed out of the slide protection facilities in the playground "Children’s Yard" in Taiping Town, Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Two people were killed and 12 injured in the accident. On June 1st, in the scenic spot of Muyi Town, Lanshanwan, Hefei, Anhui Province, three people were injured in their eyes, arms and heads to varying degrees while riding a glass drifting boat. On June 5th, in Fozi Tourist Scenic Area, Pingnan County, Guangxi, tourists crashed into the glass slide guardrail due to the rapid decline. One person was killed and six people were injured in the accident. Similar casualties occurred in 2017 and 2018.
The reporter of Beiqing Daily found that the scenic spots of building glass bridges, glass slides, glass rafting and other similar entertainment facilities exist in domestic scenic spots, farmhouses and other places. According to some practitioners, there are currently more than 100 water slides in China, while there may be 500 to 1,000 glass slides. Compared with ropeways, cable cars and other projects, the investment threshold of glass slides is low, the examination and approval difficulty is low, and the investment returns quickly. Therefore, scenic spots are generally willing to invest.
The reason is that the project participants have no access threshold, lack of construction standards, no need for approval and acceptance after completion, and the lack of links makes it difficult to guarantee the safety of scenic spots in online celebrity. The producers and operators of glass slideways and experts in the field of special equipment call for the early introduction of perfect approval and supervision procedures and enforceable industry standards for this equipment.
Hidden trouble-there are design defects in the construction of slideways.
The builders of the glass slide project usually blame the accident on the poor management of the scenic spot, but professionals have different opinions. Shen Haien, secretary-general of the Beijing Tourism Legal Committee, pointed out that the design defect of the slide is also one of the unavoidable reasons for the accident.
He explained that from the appearance, these slides are all hovering down the mountain, with many bends and complexity. Tourists’ sight is constantly blocked during the taxiing process, and the tourists behind them can’t see what happened in front. In addition, its angle and slope design do not match the actual height drop of the slide.
This statement has been recognized by the slipway builders. A person in charge of a slipway construction company said that many slipways have design defects. Short-distance curve can not effectively decompose the sliding speed caused by huge height drop, and once it gets wet in rainy days or other conditions occur, accidents may occur.
Hidden danger 2. The construction unit does not have professional qualifications.
Should these professional large-scale entertainment facilities, such as glass slides and glass rafting, be put into operation with relevant qualifications to ensure their professionalism?
The reporter of Beiqing Daily inquired about the information of the builder of the accident slide in Fozi Tourist Scenic Area, Pingnan County, Guangxi Province, which had an accident in June this year — — Henan woxing garden plank road engineering co., ltd. Its company profile claims that its main projects include scenic glass suspension bridge, glass plank road project, glass slide road project, plank road project and plank road facility design, but there is no clear information related to slide road construction in the main business of the company’s industrial and commercial information registration.
Some practitioners have revealed to the media that the glass slide has just emerged in recent years, and most of the investment and construction teams have become monks halfway. There is no clear industry standard. "In the complex mountainous terrain, the slope of the slide is designed to be steep in the dry climate, and the slope is slowed down in the wet place, which depends on experience and no data support." In addition, in the project operation, many operation managers are negligent, and tourists will not check for a long time.
Hidden danger 3: the main body of the supervision unit is vague
As special equipment, the construction of large-scale entertainment facilities needs special filing and approval procedures, but the glass slide is still in a vague area.
In an interview with the media, the staff of the Special Equipment Section of Feidong County Market Supervision Administration in Hefei, Anhui Province said that the glass slide was not under its supervision catalogue. In a document issued by the State Administration of Markets in 2018, it was specifically mentioned that "water slides and canyon rafting are not included in the scope of large-scale amusement facilities in the Catalogue of Special Equipment and are not included in the supervision of large-scale amusement facilities".
The Feidong County Emergency Management Bureau, the competent department of safety supervision, said that the safety supervision department only undertakes the post-treatment of the amusement park safety liability accident, and the prior intervention is not their responsibility. As for the amusement facilities, they don’t know who should be in charge. Tong Guoqiang, deputy director of the Cultural Tourism Bureau of Feidong County, said frankly that for new amusement facilities, the current superior policies and technical standards are still unclear, and industry management is difficult.
Industry voice
Glass slide standards need to be formulated in time.
In the face of bidding, construction, operation and other links, the construction unit is both an athlete and a referee. Yao Kunyi, a member of Shanghai Service Standardization Technical Committee, believes that encouraging the development of tourism does not mean that safety should be put in the second place. "For projects with unsafe factors or potential safety hazards, they should definitely be stuck and put on the negative list".
The reporter of Beiqing Daily learned that on July 31 this year, the sixth meeting of the large-scale amusement facilities sub-committee of the Fifth Special Equipment Safety Technical Committee was held in Taizhou. At the meeting, experts from China Special Equipment Testing and Research Institute made detailed inquiries and discussions on the risks of the "glass water slide" and put forward their own suggestions on whether to include it in the supervision. Whether the "glass water slide" is included in the supervision and the disposal method of the existing "glass water slide" will be further investigated and discussed. In addition, on August 31st, the kick-off meeting of the glass slipway standard and the demonstration project of laminated glass and safety performance evaluation for CSTM glass slipway was held in Luoyang, Henan Province. All parties hope that the standard formulation of glass slipway can be started as soon as possible.
Slide practitioners revealed that, in fact, because there is no clear regulatory body and industry standards, they are also facing the trouble of declaration and approval. From the point of view of slipway builders, they don’t intend to evade approval and inspection. If the government can issue clear access qualifications and industry standards, it will also promote the development of the industry.
Text/Reporter Xiong Yingqi Coordinator/Chi Haibo