Hupalo is a third-party inspector, hired by fairs or carnivals to make sure their rides are safe VIDEO Detroit Bureau Chief Ed Garsten talks with the man charged with keeping the rides safe at the Michigan State Fair Windows Media 28K 80K

September 2, 1999
Web posted at: 10:32 p.m. EDT (0232 GMT)

DETROIT (CNN) -- When Mike Hupalo goes to a fair or amusement park, no one rides the roller coaster, the Ferris wheel or anything else until the machines pass his muster.

That should reassure thrill seekers who have been shaken after a string of accidents coast-to-coast. Four people died and several more were injured during late-August amusement park accidents blamed either on mechanical malfunction or possible horseplay by riders.

Hupalo's job is to detect any mechanical weaknesses before they put lives at risk.

"Here I get an opportunity to look at the chain that not only pulls the coaster train up the incline, but also the anti- rollback dogs, which prevent it -- should the chain break -- from coming back down the hill," Hupalo said.

Hupalo is what's known as a third-party inspector. He's hired by fairs or amusement parks to make sure their rides are safe. He was working Thursday at the Michigan State Fair, the oldest state fair in the nation.

"What to look for in each ride varies, of course, with the device," said Hupalo.

He will look at everything from warning signs, to the condition of the tracks, to the inner workings of the ride.

"We have an opportunity to see if any of the cylinders are leaking or any unusual hydraulic leaks," Hupalo said after looking closely at the working parts of one ride.

In Hupalo's 12 years as an inspector, he says he found fairs that travel from town to town are safer than permanent amusement parks.

"In a mobile environment, such as a carnival, you have an advantage where you are going to place your hands on most everything, not particularly during tear down -- or disassembly, but during erection process," Hupalo said.

There are no federal regulations regarding ride inspections, and those at the state level vary widely in their provisions. So the responsibility for safety falls largely on the operators themselves.

Hupalo believes the majority of accidents on amusement rides have little to do with lack of maintenance or the rising thrill factor.

"One of the greatest causes, of course, is a patron engaged in an activity that they should not be doing -- standing up, getting out," he said.

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