Followers

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Safer Parks

Here is a link to an informative web site. www.saferparks.org

I particularly like the editorial on Ride Related Human Error.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

One Reason Why Amusement Parks Should Be Regulated

One Reason Why Amusement Parks Should Be Regulated

On March 29, 1980 thirteen year old Kyle Foss died in an unfortunate incident on
a roller coaster ride, one of the newer attractions at a Santa Clara, CA amusement park. During the investigation the CPSC learned that park officials spirited some fifteen cartons of records out of the park in an attempt to conceal them from investigators. The CPSC learned of the deception through what started out as a series of anonymous telephone calls from a former park employee who asserted that they used his automobile to remove the records from the park premises. It took several weeks of effort on the part of the CPSC’s investigative team to convince the caller that they really needed a sworn statement describing what the caller saw. The investigative team got their sworn statement.


When confronted with that affidavit, corporate officials yielded the records.
Examination of the records showed that the park had experienced earlier difficulties with
the ride, some scenarios similar to that which resulted in the Foss death. Park officials never reported the incidents to the CPSC as required by section 15 of the Consumer Product Safety Act.

Further examination of the records yielded a staff memo that informed their employees that the park was obligated, under the law, to report such incidents to CPSC as potential substantial product hazards. Confronted with what the CPSC found in their records the company agreed to a $70,000 civil penalty for failure to report under the Consumer Product Safety Act. The CPSC issued the closing news release on January 27, 1981. Make a note of this date.

Shortly thereafter, a strange thing happened. The United States Congress thought it might revisit the definition of "consumer product" in the CPSA. They did by removing the fixed rides in theme parks from the definition of "consumer product." The net result was that the CPSC no longer had authority to inspect parks, examine their records or investigate incidents.

On August 13, 1981 CPSC lost jurisdiction over these rides. By even stranger coincidence, the chief lobbyist for the industry was the same company official (by then former company official) who penned the staff memo informing employees that their company was obligated under the law to report such incidents to the CPSC as potential substantial product hazards. More important was the argument that the industry used to convince Congress that federal oversight of the industry was not necessary. Industry argued that local officials inspected the rides and therefore federal presence was redundant and therefore unnecessary.

To the extent that what industry said was true it was true. County and local officials inspected the rides in the same manner as they would inspect habitable dwellings and commercial real estate. Their inspection authority ended with their preoccupancy approval of the structure, for all intents and purposes focusing on compliance with applicable building codes. Little or nothing in these inspections addressed operation safety or continued structural integrity. I am of the opinion the amusement ride industry misled the Congress, at best, and outright lied, at worst.

Kyle Foss died because park management failed to comply with reporting requirements that may well have prevented his death. What excuse are we going to have when the next one dies? This industry is self-insured, self inspected and self regulated. Self-inspected and self-regulated in corporate America are oxymorons.

This is clearly a case of the fox guarding the proverbial hen house. The industry will say they have all sorts of self-inspection programs and arguments that they are regulated and inspected by local authorities and industry associations. Do not be fooled. Don’t believe such arguments. Inspections should be mandatory and unannounced and address more than compliance with building codes.

The purpose of government is to do for the people that which they cannot reasonably be expected to do for themselves. Since the people cannot assure, for themselves, that amusement park rides and attractions are safe then the government should do that for them.

Have things really changed sine March 29, 1980?

Ride Accidents

Here is site that list many amusement ride accidents. www.rideaccidents.com