Amusement Ride Safety: Ride Injuries

MYTH:  There is minimal information sharing and injury reporting within the U.S. amusement industry.

REALITY:

• There are many procedures involving the facilities, manufacturers, and government agencies that result in the reporting of possible or actual problems involving ride safety.  Moreover, the ASTM International standards continue to require reporting within the industry of both incidents and ride-related defects, including notification of facilities when a ride develops a manufacturer-related safety issue.
• Data is also exchanged among the network of state and local regulatory officials spread across the country.
• According to the CPSC, “The high level of expertise developed by state amusement ride officials and their willingness to share their investigative reports and their expertise have been invaluable in . . . preventing future ride incidents on a national level.”
• This process, along with the information-sharing role that insurers, industry seminars, and ASTM all play, ensures that ride safety changes and upgrades are communicated on a nationwide basis.
• Parks have a long history of reporting incidents to state and local bodies throughout the country, as well as working with government officials and inspectors in a partnership to ensure guest safety.
• These public reports are based on data that regulators have deemed essential to ensuring the safety of amusement park patrons, and we are equally confident that the current system is addressing the type of injuries that are crucial to guest safety.
• Additionally, the data analyzed by the National Safety Council is a valuable addition to the existing public documentation of our outstanding safety record.
• Regularly scheduled safety seminars held by manufacturers and industry associations such as IAAPA also allow for the broad dissemination of relevant expertise and data through discussion of the latest advances, standards, and techniques.
• Moreover, through “Guest Relations” offices, signage, and verbal commands, parks work to enlist their visitors as partners in enjoying rides safely and correctly.

MYTH:  Measured in “fatalities per 100 million passenger miles,” coasters have a higher fatality rate than planes, trains, and buses.

REALITY:

• Efforts have been made to recast our outstanding safety record in various ways on occasion, but the simple fact remains that what’s at issue here is an annual average of two fatalities related to fixed rides in the entire country.
• In marked contrast, federal data shows that the number of deaths on America’s roadways was roughly 43,200 in 2005, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 
• Thus, it would seem to make no sense to waste federal dollars on an activity that is already being well-regulated under the current system.