Terms; Defined

PURPOSE: This rule defines terminology used throughout the rules and regulations. (1) The following definitions shall be used in interpreting this Act unless the context otherwise requires: (A) Amusement ride—any of the following, which is primarily for the purpose of giving its patrons amusement, pleasure, thrills, or excitement, and which is open to the general public excluding skill teaching, exercise, and team building: 1. Any mechanical device that carries or conveys passengers along, around, or over a fixed or restricted route or course or within a defined area; 2. Any dry slide over twenty feet (20') in height; 3. Any tram, open car, or combination of open cars or wagons pulled by a tractor or other motorized device, except hayrack rides, those used solely for transporting patrons to and from parking areas, or those used for guided or educational tours, but does not necessarily follow a fixed or restricted course; 4. Any bungee cord attraction or similar elastic device; 5. Any climbing wall over ten feet (10') in height except for not-for-profit entities that follow the YMCA Services Corporation’s Climbing Walls Safety Guidelines or the Boy Scouts of America Guidelines; (B) Board—the amusement ride safety board established in section 316.204, RSMo; (C) Department—the Department of Public Safety; (D) Designee—an individual acting under the authority of the Office of the State Fire Marshal; (E) Director—the director of the Department of Public Safety; (F) Division—Division of Fire Safety, Office of the State Fire Marshal; (G) Operator—a person or the agent of a person who owns or controls, or has the duty to control, the operation of an amusement ride or related electrical equipment; (H) Owner—a person who owns, leases, controls, or manages the operations of an amusement ride and may include the state or any political subdivision of the state; (I) Qualified Amusement Ride Inspector—any person who is— 1. Found by the director to possess the requisite training and experience in respect to amusement rides to perform competently the inspection/investigation required by the Missouri Amusement Ride Safety Act; 2. Certified by the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials (NAARSO) to have and maintain at least a level one certification; or 3. Certified by the Amusement Industry Manufacturers and Suppliers (AIMS International); (J) Qualified Aerial Adventure Course Inspector—any person who is— 1. Found by the director to possess the requisite training and experience with respect to Aerial Adventure Course amusement rides to perform competently the inspection/ investigation required by the Missouri Amusement Ride Safety Act; or 2. Certified by the Association for Challenge Course Technology (ANSI/ACCT) to have and maintain at least a level one professional certification; or 3. Certified by The American National Standards Instituteaccredited Standards Committee of the Professional Ropes Course Association (ANSI/PRCA); or 4. Certified by an industry-recognized organization not listed above. Such requests shall be reviewed for approval by the director. Requests shall be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and approval is at the sole discretion of the director; (K) Related electrical equipment—any electrical apparatus or wiring used in connection with amusement rides; (L) Safety rules—the rules and regulations governing a rider’s conduct on an amusement ride, provided such rules and regulations are prominently displayed at or near the entrance to, or loading platform for, the amusement ride; (M) Serious incident—any single incident where three (3) or more persons are immediately transported to a licensed off-site medical care facility for treatment of an injury as a direct result of being on, or the operation of, the amusement ride; (N) Serious physical injury—a patron personal injury immediately reported to the owner or operator as occurring on an amusement ride and which results in death, dismemberment, significant dismemberment, or other significant injury that requires immediate inpatient admission and twenty-four (24) hour hospitalization under the care of a licensed physician for other than medical observation; (O) Stop order—a written and/or verbal order issued by a qualified inspector, state fire marshal or designee for the temporary immediate cessation of the operation of any amusement ride; and (P) Aerial Adventure Course—any activity where patrons are suspended from a pulley over an open span consisting of an inclined wire or fiber to traverse with the primary force for propulsion being gravity. AUTHORITY: section 316.206, RSMo 2016.* Original rule filed March 1, 1999, effective Sept. 30, 1999. Amended: Filed April 2, 2003, effective Oct. 30, 2003. Amended: Filed Oct. 15, 2004, effective April 30, 2005. Amended: Filed Sept. 13, 2024, effective April 30, 2025. *Original authority: 316.206, RSMo 1997.