As thousands of people packed into the Gold Coast’s Warner Bros Movie World theme park for the school holidays on Wednesday, one of Australia’s biggest roller coaster rides ground to a halt.

A Village Roadshow Theme Parks spokesman confirmed all riders on the DC Rivals HyperCoaster had got off safely, before being walked back down the incline.

No one ever wants to see rides stop – not the theme parks, not the regulators, and especially not the ride passengers.

It’s not the first time it’s happened: riders were stopped on the same roller coaster in January 2024, when a loose scarf got tangled in the wheels and the ride operator stopped as a precaution.

Nearby theme park Dreamworld was home to one of Australia’s worst theme park disasters in 2016, in which four people were killed on a water ride. That tragedy highlighted failures by the theme park operator Ardent Leisure, which was later fined $3.6 million, and the need for stronger safety standards.

Yet as someone who has been voluntarily involved in writing the standards on Australia’s amusement rides for almost 29 years, here’s why I’ve felt comfortable taking my own kids on roller coasters – and what work is being done right now to improve safety further.

What tests do roller coasters have to pass?

Every morning, major theme parks in Australia such as Movie World test their rides before opening. This is mandatory........

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