Theme park accident puts focus on U. S. rides
No federal oversight but lobby cites safety record
If you think an amusement park tragedy like the one that killed four people in Australia on Tuesday can’t happen here, Ken Martin says think again.
“It’s not a matter of whether it’s going to happen, it’s when,” Martin, an amusement park safety consultant, told USA TODAY. “The conditions exist.”
Tuesday’s accident occurred on a river rapids ride in Dreamworld, a park on Australia’s east coast. Preliminary reports indicate a malfunction caused two people to be ejected from a raft and two others trapped in the water or by machinery.
Martin says Australia’s rides are subject to federal oversight. The U. S. has virtually no federal oversight, with each state “doing their own thing.” In some states that is very little, Martin said.
The U. S. is no stranger to amusement ride horrors. In August, a 10- year- old boy died and two women were injured in an accident on a giant slide at Schlitter-bahn Waterpark in Kansas.
U. S. fixed- site amusement and theme parks — such as Disney and Six Flags parks – attract about 335 million who take 1.6 billion rides a year, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions ( IAAPA). The likelihood of serious injury is 1 in 16 million, IAAPA says.
Though the rides in those parks generally are safe, enough accidents occur each year that a more comprehensive oversight system should be put in place, said Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
IAAPA spokeswoman Colleen Mangone said there are “well- designed” international standards for design, construction, operation and maintenance that are written into laws inmany states. “There is no evidence federal oversight would improve on the already excellent safety record of the industry.”
The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission oversees traveling carnivals and temporary rides at county fairs, though they don’t conduct inspections, said Patty Davis, a spokeswoman. The commission sets voluntary standards.
In the early 1980s, Congress removed fixed- site parks from the commission’s realm. Martin says it would be difficult to win approval for federal oversight.
“Our amusement park industry has a very powerful lobby in Washington,” Martin said.