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Handbook for Playground Safety <br />• Swings should not be attached to composite structures. <br />• Swing seats should be designed to accommodate no more <br />than one user at any time. <br />• Lightweight rubber or plastic swing seats are recommend- <br />ed to help reduce the severity of impact injuries. Wood or <br />metal swing seats should be avoided. <br />• Edges of seats should have smoothly finished or rounded <br />edges and should conform to the protrusion recommenda- <br />tions in 5.3.8.5. <br />• If loose -fill material is used as a protective surfacing, the <br />height recommendations should be determined after the <br />material has been compressed. <br />5.3.8.3.2 Full bucket seat swings <br />Full bucket seat swings are similar to single -axis swings since <br />they move in a to -fro direction. However, full bucket seat <br />swings are intended for children under 4 years of age to use <br />with adult assistance. <br />• The seats and suspension systems of these swings, includ- <br />ing the related hardware, should follow all of the criteria <br />for conventional single axis swings. <br />• Full bucket seats are recommended to provide support on <br />all sides of a child and between the legs of the occupant <br />(see Figure 24). <br />A <br />Vll <br />i <br />,,1111011 <br />t"„ru;u;F <br />0010111111101 <br />Figure 24. Example of full bucket seat swings <br />• The full bucket seat materials should not present a stran- <br />gulation hazard, such as might be presented with a rope or <br />chain used as part of the seat. <br />• Openings in swing seats should conform to the entrap- <br />ment criteria in §3.3. <br />• Full bucket seat swings should be suspended from <br />structures that are separate from those for other swings, <br />or at least suspended from a separate bay of the same <br />structure. <br />• Full bucket seat swings should not allow the child to enter <br />and exit alone. <br />• Pivot points should be more than 47 inches but no more <br />than 95 inches above the protective surfacing. <br />5.3.8.3.3 Use zone for single -axis swings — belt and hill <br />bucket <br />The use zone in front of and behind the swing should be <br />greater than to the sides of such a swing since children may <br />deliberately attempt to exit from a single -axis swing while it <br />is in motion. See Figure 25. <br />• The use zone for a belt swing should extend to the front <br />and rear of a single -axis swing a minimum distance of <br />twice the vertical distance from the pivot point and the <br />top of the protective surface beneath it. <br />• The use zone for a full bucket swing should extend to the <br />front and rear a minimum of twice the vertical distance <br />from the top of the occupant's sitting surface to the pivot <br />point. <br />• The use zone in front of and behind swings should never <br />overlap with any other use zone. <br />• The use zone to the sides of a single -axis swing should <br />extend a minimum of 6 feet from the perimeter of the <br />swing. This 6-foot zone may overlap that of an adjacent <br />swing structure. <br />5.3.8.4 Multi -axis (tire) swings <br />Tire swings are usually suspended in a horizontal orientation <br />using three suspension chains or cables connected to a single <br />swivel mechanism that permits both rotation and swinging <br />motion in any axis. <br />• A multi -axis tire swing should not be suspended from a <br />structure having other swings in the same bay. <br />• Attaching multi -axis swings to composite structures is not <br />recommended. <br />38 <br />