LUBBOCK, Texas –You might have seen the Ferris wheel while driving past Broadway. The South Plains Fair officially starts on Friday, September 25. If you are not sure you want to attend the fair this year, ‘Preview Night’ is the chance to see what they have to offer. Parking and admission are free this night with rides only $1.
‘Reithoffer Shows’, the company that installs the rides, are taking all precautions to make sure folks stays safe and inspects each and every ride through by a three-tier inspection process. Ride operators, ten of the company’s trained in-house workers, along with a third-party inspector.
“When we move, we have third-party inspectors come in. They certify that, all right and put together properly and everything’s ready to put the public on them. And then we also have ten people that are trained in-house by an organization called ‘the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.'” said Richard Reithoffer, the general manager of Reithoffer Shows. Which trains state inspectors to check specifically for rides, “you’re getting multiple levels of people looking at it and people that have been trained to do it and know what they’re looking for.”
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The company has been providing its service to South Plains Fair for about eight years, and Reithoffer said if there was an issue with one of the rides, they make sure to take it ‘out of service’ to address the problem before they operate the ride again.
Ride inspections have already started and will continue through Preview Night and the nine days the fair is open, with each ride operator having a specific inspection checklist to make sure nothing has been tampered with.
“We’re doing inspections every single morning. And we want you to know that we’re doing everything in our power to make sure that we’re safe for your family and how you enjoy the ride just with us and our families,” said Reithoffer…