Improvements must be made in the planning and organisation of public events
The Safety Investigation Authority, Finland has completed the investigation into the accident that occurred in the Poker Run boating event held in front of the harbour in Hanko, in which the driver of a boat that participated in a speed test lost control at high speed and the boat ran into the spectator boats. A child died in the accident.
The investigation of the Safety Investigation Authority found deficiencies in the planning and organisation of the public event.
“We have a set of laws that impose safety planning requirements on these kinds of events, related to issues such as marking the track, safety distances and giving instructions to the public and the competitors. Documents on the appropriate planning of the event are also required from the organiser. There was no written plan for the speed test at Poker Run,” says Professor Veli-Pekka Nurmi, Executive Director of the Safety Investigation Authority.
“At the same time, event organisers are required to have many different kinds of expertise specifically for the planning and organisation of events. There are too many requirements coming from different directions, and not even the authorities know each other’s control procedures or requirements on event organisers very well,” Nurmi adds.
The investigation also revealed that the boat that caused the accident was registered for ordinary water traffic – not as a racing boat that would have had features improving safety typical of racing boats. “The technical requirements of boats on one hand as well as the requirements on drivers on the other hand are fairly loose, and this should be addressed, especially since the number of fast boats is growing rapidly,” says Investigator-in-charge Kai Valonen.
The Safety Investigation Authority repeats the three recommendations from previous investigations on the safe organisation of events, especially about clarifying the instructions and requirements on organisation for both the organisers and the authorities. In addition, the recommendations address the training of event organisers from the perspective of safety management. The Safety Investigation Authority also issues two safety recommendations to address both safety distances as well as the protection of the public at events involving high kinetic energy, and urges the Ministry of Transport and Communications to monitor the trend of fast boats moving in between slower ones in increasing numbers and react appropriately, if necessary.
Further information:
Kai Valonen, Investigator-in-charge, tel. +358 2951 50707
Veli-Pekka Nurmi, Executive Director, Professor, tel. +358 2951 50701