Snow farce: ice slides are closed, but children continue to be injured
The other day in Kineshma, a child was hit by a car while riding down a slide. Of course, the slide was spontaneous, it was not allowed to use it - and such news comes from the regions every winter on a regular basis. However, in recent years they have been supplemented by reports that municipal authorities are fighting against their appearance, closing this or that ice slide, etc. The fact is that for several years now, this winter attraction is subject to GOST, which prescribes requirements that municipalities and management companies find it difficult to fulfill. Where you can ride and how to choose a safe slide - in the material "Izvestia".
How are injured on the slides
The incident in Kineshma, Ivanovo region occurred on December 25. A schoolboy decided to go down the slide in the courtyard of the house, but flew into a passing car. The nature of injuries of the seven-year-old child is not disclosed.
There have been many loud incidents on the slides at the beginning of winter. Thus, in early December, a janitor died in Moscow in Kommunarka, who decided to roll down the slide and hit his head on the bridge. Children were also riding in the same place, one of the girls broke her leg. After the tragedy, the slope was filled with sand.
Immediately several incidents occurred in Biysk in the forest park zone of the AB quarter - in November, a nine-year-old child injured his spine colliding with another person, and then there two children were hospitalized after hitting a tree.
On December 14, a 13-year-old boy in Omsk suffered a pelvic bone fracture while tubing on the slope of the Irtysh River. The Investigative Committee of the Investigation Department conducted an inspection on the indications of a crime under Art. 293 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Negligence"). The injury was caused by an ice block - it was formed on a steep bank and broke off during the skating.
Each of these incidents occurred on unofficial slides.
Why children skate in dangerous places
However, often schoolchildren simply have nowhere to ride "officially". In the same Omsk - only seven recognized safe slides of those that fall under the rules of state registration of amusement rides and must be certified. In the third most populous city in Russia, Novosibirsk, only 18 free certified slides have been opened: 11 small and seven large ones.
In Biysk, according to the Housing and Utilities Department, three wooden snow slides are in operation, and for a limited time: from 9 am to 6 pm. In the town of Zeya in the Amur region, the only official city-wide slide, according to local residents, is closed on weekends, and on weekdays it operates only from 10 to 12. The local authorities explained this by the fact that all winter slides in Russia are subject to registration with the state supervisory authorities, GOST provides rules for the operation of such rides, and there is simply no special employee to monitor the slide.
At the same time, unauthorized slides are actively closed. For example, in Volokolamsk near Moscow they closed the passage to the longest slide in the park "to prevent injuries".
Krasnoyarsk residents actively complain about the lack of places for skating: a resident of Solnechny neighborhood told local media that earlier a big slide with two slopes, three small ones, an ice maze worked for children, but this time there is only one slide left. In other neighborhoods of the city, it's the same story. "Children on the ramp ride," the locals write.
How snow slides are regulated in Russia
The fact is that from 2021 in Russia, the construction of slides must be conducted in accordance with GOST R 56987-2016 "Safety of amusement devices. Winter slides. Safety requirements for operation". The standard itself has been in force since 2017, but since 2021, as required by the EAEU technical regulations "On the safety of amusement rides", high and fast slides are equated to amusement rides, and therefore must be certified.
-GOST is applicable if the slide is created according to the project and meets the attributes of an amusement ride, including consisting of ice blocks or wooden structures, has a slope and roll out, the safety of which is ensured by a restrictive system, - explained Anton Paliulin, a lecturer at Synergy University and the owner of the law office "Paliulin and Partners". - It is precisely such structures that are subject to mandatory certification.
He noted that in some cases this has led to the closure of existing snow slides that do not meet the new requirements.
-Free attractions, including ice slides, are created, as a rule, at the expense of budgets of municipalities, which are responsible for their operation and safety, - explained Anton Paliulin. - At the same time, local legal acts may appoint those responsible for the operation of slides: management companies, HOAs or others. Gostekhnadzor supervises the safety of winter rides.
According to media reports, management companies simply began to break slides in yards and refuse to install them, fearing fines of several hundred thousand rubles and not wanting to spend on documentation and certification.
- Itis impossible to bring a spontaneous slide under GOST requirements: they were not created in accordance with the requirements for amusement rides, and no one can be held responsible for the safety of their use. Their adaptation to the safety requirements is possible, but sometimes requires significant costs and efforts, - Anton Paliulin added.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation clarified in 2023 that GOST 56987-2016 applies specifically to winter slides designed as an attraction. They must have design and operational documentation, they must be tested and then registered with the Gostekhnadzor authorities, etc.
But at the same time GOST does not apply to winter slides made of snow, built on adjacent territories or formed in natural conditions on natural slopes. They do not need to be registered. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recommended to "carefully analyze the safety of the slide, pay attention to whether the slide and the sliding surface itself are not dangerous.
Slides without rules
The expert of "People's Front. Analytics" Svetlana Kalinina sees the problem in the fact that municipalities should have determined in advance the places where these slides would be installed, included them in the rules of improvement and published this information on the website. This should have happened back in 2019.
- But to date, even the rules of improvement have not been adopted in all municipalities," she told Izvestiya. - "Apart from us, no one has even checked whether there are rules or not. Some municipalities use the norms established before 2010, but they need to be revised, as there are new technical regulations.
According to her, there is no budget financing for the arrangement of slides.
However, in some regions, slides were included in the rules of improvement at the request of the public, and everything works well there. Svetlana Kalinina cites Tyumen, Kurgan, etc. as an example. But so far there is a minority of them.
According to the expert, the prosecutor's office should check both the landscaping rules themselves and the facilities for compliance with safety requirements. However, this can be hindered by a moratorium on inspections - problems are often only discovered after incidents.
How to protect a child on a slide
In the Center for Hygienic Education of the population of Rospotrebnadzor tells that first of all it is necessary to choose the right place for skating, to find a safe zone. Safety is determined by "the slope of the mountain, distance from the road, a sufficient place to stop, a safe zone of ascent to the slide, the absence of trees, fences, playgrounds, other obstacles on the way, the absence of nearby water bodies that are not completely frozen".
Second, children should always be supervised by adults. 71% of all injuries on the slides children get when they ride independently, write the Center for Hygienic Education. The Ministry of Emergency Situations also advises to first independently test the slide - ride first, and then let the child there.
Third, make sure that the tubing, sleds, ice skates, etc. are in good condition. And you should not ride down the slide on something that is not designed for this purpose. The safest means in the center called snowcats with steering control. In the Ministry of Emergency Situations, however, do not agree: not once they, clinging to the front slide to the obstacle, overturned. At the same time, it is difficult to get off a snowcat at high speed, and this is one of the recommendations in case of danger: if it is impossible to avoid collision with a tree or another person, one should try to fall on the side of the snow or roll away from the icy surface.
In this sense, even ordinary Soviet sleds are safer - it is easier to fall on their side, and you can steer.
Fourth, do not neglect protection: helmets will prevent 85% of brain injuries. And avoid scarves or other loose accessories that can get caught under a moving sled.
Fifth, you don't want to ride on your stomach, on your feet, or with your back forward - this doesn't allow for controlled movement and increases the risk of injury.
It isalso not recommended to ride down the mountain in poor light - this increases the likelihood of colliding with an invisible obstacle.
