Amusement Parks and Safety
Poor safety conditions in amusement parks are becoming a federal issue, thanks to widely publicized accidents and severe resulting injuries. This week, a House committee will consider a bill that would allow for more federal oversight of amusement parks.
The most famous recent accident on a defective amusement park ride occurred when a thirteen-year-old girl's feet were severed by a broken cable on a Tower of Power ride at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. But this past summer also brought on four deaths from such rides: two four-year-olds drowned in wavepools in two different amusement parks, a woman thrown from a spinning ride and a teenager who fell fifty feet from the top of a ride.
The only federal oversight of such rides comes from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is toothless with respect to amusement parks due to lack of authority and lack of personnel. In addition, the amusement park industry has has highly effective lobbyists to fight investigations into these matters.
This situation leaves safety issues up to the informed consumer. Safer Parks is a good resource for information on how to protect both kids and adults in amusement parks. Two helpful pages on their site are Top Ten Tips for Parents and Teaching Kids to be Safe Riders.
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