Massachusetts shuts down all Sizzler Amusement Rides

http://www.eyewitnessnewstv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6947921

State orders amusement ride shut down




Associated Press - August 17, 2007 4:24 PM ET

BOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts Department of Public Safety orders an immediate halt to the operation of all Sizzler amusement park rides in the state.

The move follows a bulletin from the ride's manufacturer that seat belts should be installed to improve safety.

A 38-year-old man was killed in 2004 when a Sizzler broke apart during a church fair in Shrewsbury.

At the time, state public safety officials determined the accident was caused by loose and undersized nuts and bolts used on the seat.

Wisdom Industries, which makes the Sizzler, says they issued the latest service bulletin in response to "incidents of patrons coming out of their seats."

Massachusetts public safety officials say Sizzler rides in Massachusetts can not return to service until the seat belts are installed.

How To Ride Safely

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 4, 2007



For More Information Contact:
http://www.krmgroup.com






HOW TO HELP ENSURE YOUR SAFETY ON AMUSEMENT RIDES



Summer fun almost always means a trip to an amusement park or fair. Ken Martin, an

amusement ride safety consultant in Richmond, Virginia offers his advice. Here are

some tips and tricks, to make your visit an enjoyable one. The first thing to

remember is to dress appropriately. Proper footwear is must. No bare feet, sandals or

clogs. A good walking shoe or athletic shoe is recommended. Clothes should fit, be

cool and comfortable. No baggy or loose fitting clothes. Secure long hair and other

loose items. Be sure to use plenty of sunscreen.

Skin types vary so pick the one right for you. A hat to protect you from the sun is a

good idea as well. Don’t start on any empty stomach and be sure you are well

hydrated. Water or sports drinks are the best. If you are under a physicians’ care

for any medical condition(s) you should consultant with them before you ride.


When you enter the ride area, pick a meeting place in case of an emergency or someone

gets separated from your group. A location near the Main Entrance/Office or First Aid

Station is best. Cell phones, two-way radios and pagers are good ways to stay in

touch.

But remember some ride rules may not let you take them on the rides. If you do,

remember to keep the device secure, as it can become a missile if it gets thrown

around. Of course you could always leave it with a non-rider. Before you eat or drink

anything remember to wash your hands. Germs can be plentiful in an outdoor

environment with machinery, animals and fowl.



Remember, hand sanitizer is only a temporary fix. Always be aware of the weather. It

only takes a few minutes for a storm to appear. In the event of lightning, a building

or automobile may provide adequate shelter. Never stand in an open field, near or

under a tree or next to an amusement ride.

If there is a map, make sure everyone in your group gets one. If there are children,

be sure each one has an adult or a responsible and mature person with them. Some

rides have special requirements and someone who knows the child must be willing to

act and be responsible for the child. Parks, Carnivals and Fairs are not a baby

sitting service. Never force a child to get on a ride. Their time will come. To be

sure if the ride is right for you, watch it, listen to it and observe the people on

it. If it makes a strange noise, ask about it. If it looks bad such as rust or bad

paint, ask. If you see other people getting sick or dizzy as they ride or get off

and that happens easily to you, you might want to pass that particular ride. If

something just does not look or feel right, avoid that ride. Pay attention to all

SAFETY RULES. They are there for a reason.

Check your own restraint, if there is a problem, speak up. Keep your hands and feet

inside the ride at all times. Do not stand up or try to rock the carrier/seat of any

ride. Remain seated until the Operator tells you can exit. Remember that you are the

final inspector of the ride.


If there is ever a problem, remember to tell someone. Management wants and expects

you to have a good time. Whether it is the Carnival Owner, Fair Manager or a Police

Officer, if you don’t bring a problem to their attention, it could hurt someone.

Everyone wants you to have a good time. So remember to use “common sense” and ask if

you have a question.

Amusement Ride Safety Editorial

July 3, 2007

Amusement Ride Safety Editorial
by Ken Martin, Amusement Ride Safety Consultant


As a child and teenager I always looked forward to summer, it was my favorite time of the year. Swimming, camping and going to the amusement park with my family. I always knew there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Perhaps then I did not even realize what the word safety stood for or the destiny that life was preparing me for.

Now summer has an entirely different effect on me. Just when I think I have seen or heard it all, something occurs that has me wondering how that could have happened. I am speaking of incidents involving amusement rides, some resulting in death and all too often serious injuries.

The amusement ride industry is self regulated. There is no one agency, government or law that applies across the board. In addition there are no record keeping requirements that will account for incidents or even near misses involving amusement rides. This self regulation is further complicated by a few states that adopt these industry standards into law and then attempt to use them as an enforcement tool.

This self regulation is conducted through the American Society of Testing and Materials F-24 Committee on Amusement Rides and Devices. The 400 or so of us that serve as members of this committee, meet several times a year and many more times by phone and email. We are the backbone of amusement ride safety. Why is that? There is nothing else. That is the way the amusement ride industry wants it. Minimal records, minimal training, minimal information all add up to Bad Safety.

One may ask, why minimal records? Years ago in California, then a park called Marriott’s Great America had an incident involving the death of a teenager on a roller coaster. In those days the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) had oversight of fixed sight and portable amusement rides. The CPSC came in and conducted an investigation. Strangely enough the “records” had been removed. As a result of the CPSC investigation and subsequent retrieval of the records, a heavy fine was given to the amusement park. Shortly thereafter the amusement park industry successfully lobbied the United States Congress and CPSC oversight was removed fixed sight amusement rides. Portable rides still fall under the CPSC jurisdiction. No differences in the rides, except portable rides go from town to town.

To further complicate the issue, amusement park industry has started voluntary collections of incident numbers from their member park members that chose to participate. No information is collected fixed parks that do not participate in this particular trade association for fixed parks. The association for portable amusement rides does not collect incident statistics from its members. Neither association records or collects near miss information.
So we have no government agency that records or collects incident information on a nationwide basis. The fixed site amusement ride industry at best tracks only the tip of the iceberg. There is no formal or informal information sharing of incidents, statistics or data. Ride Manufacturers may and most of the time will share mechanical information that pertains to ride operation. On occasion the CPSC will get involved and issue safety information on portable rides, remember they have no oversight of fixed park rides, even though they are the same type of amusement rides.

What does happen when someone is killed or seriously injured or a near miss occurs? The amusement ride industry will start by saying how many billion of rides are given each year. So millions of people ride amusement rides. That is nothing new. They will also talk about bogus percentage released by the CPSC. The CPSC said they never released any percentage statistics. Their previous reports have been all best guesses. I have always wondered where this 80-20-5 percent thing came from. Injuries are 80 percent patron, 20 percent and 5 percent mechanical in nature. Of course this is what happens when the fault appears to lean toward the industry.

Patron related causes are another interesting issue. The industry is quick to point out the patron did something wrong. I think they forget that sometimes a rider may not fit the ride, or the attendant did not check the restraint, failed to properly instruct the rider or the ride was having some problems that were not properly checked out.

The incidents so far this year appear to be pointing out some of the weaknesses in an already less than adequate system. Perhaps one day our legislatures will repair these problems.



Ken Martin, Amusement Ride Safety Consultant
KRM Consulting
Richmond, Virginia USA

Safer Parks

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

I particularly like the editorial on Ride Related Human Error.

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

Amusement Park Advertising

Recently a young child was injured on a kiddie ride at a Virginia Theme Park. It was reported that the child crawled out of the car in which she was riding. I know the people who run this Park. I also know that they would not deliberately do anything thing to hurt someone.

Why the child climbed out may be a mystery. One thing for sure, on the Park's web site for this particular ride, shows a young girl sticking her hands up into the air. What that picture says to me is the Park wants you to stick your hands up. That is a clear violation of Park rules. One of the first rules on any amusement ride is to keep ALL body parts within the container you are riding in.

Some critics will blame the parents. But how could you? This is a kiddie ride. No parents are allowed. Does the Park and the Manufacturer of the ride, not have a responsibility to secure the patrons?

Inflatable/Bounce Safety

On Friday July 30 another Titanic Slide incident happened in Washington State. Here is the news link to the story, http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/04/08/01/loc_slide001.cfm . More information on other incidents involving amusement rides can be found at www.rideaccidents.com .