Theme Parks’ Latest Injury: Same Red Flag
Four-year-old Brandon Zucker lies at UCI Medical Center, after being run over by a car on Disneyland’s Roger Rabbit ride. His accident has become the proving ground for California’s new amusement park law and has triggered heated debate over the controversial issues of child-safe ride design and rider responsibility.
Brandon’s accident was not a freak occurrence, nor should it have been a surprise to Disneyland. Brandon fell out the open side of a moving ride because the single lap bar failed to restrain him. My son lost half his foot in a similar accident on Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 1998, when he was 5.
Over the past two years, I have spent countless hours discussing the lap bar design and the general issue of child safety with Disneyland representatives. I’ve sent reports of lap bar accidents in other states showing that this is a chronic problem. I’ve offered suggestions ranging from child-proofing the rides to ride-proofing the children to signs like those posted on escalators that clearly point out the mechanical hazards so parents understand that kiddie rides are not always child-safe.
Last April, another child was injured on Disneyland’s Roger Rabbit ride when she slipped underneath the lap bar and caught her leg in the ride machinery. Last year at EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth ride, a 5-year-old child suffered a serious leg injury because he got off the ride too early. Impulsive children overstimulated by a theme park visit will do that. It is predictable behavior and should be guarded against. Single lap bars were designed almost a century ago to protect adults. They cannot be counted on to protect young children.
Some theme park chains have been upgrading their restraint systems to better protect children. Paramount has installed special seat belts on many of their kiddie rides, with a guarded release button that makes them difficult for children to unlatch. According to a recent article in The Times, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios have been equally responsive to the body of evidence showing that lap bars pose a unique danger to young children.
Brandon Zucker’s tragedy marks the first major accident to be investigated at a California theme park since AB 850, the California Permanent Amusement Rides Safety Act, was passed last year. The investigation comes at a critical time, coinciding with the first formal comment and review cycle for the proposed amusement ride regulations. The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health has been working with industry representatives and consumer advocates since January in an attempt to reach consensus on those regulations.
The two groups remain deadlocked over accident reporting. If, as the industry says, riders have responsibility in accident prevention, they need information.
DOSH initially defined reportable injuries as those requiring care by a licensed physician “in response to a serious medical concern directly related to the accident.” After nine months of negotiations with theme park executives, DOSH has significantly limited the accident reporting criteria.
Under the new definition, neither the first Roger Rabbit accident, nor a Space Mountain derailment in August would be considered reportable to the state.
Prevention is the primary focus of AB 850, and collecting data on system failures is a prerequisite to any kind of prevention program. Brandon Zucker is in the hospital today because amusement rides can kill or maim in the blink of an eye. They are no place for unrestrained children.
With that in mind, prevention should focus on two complementary goals. The first is to set and enforce standards of child-safe ride design. This cannot effectively be done at the state level. Permanent amusement rides, oddly enough, are the only products marketed to children that are specifically exempt from federal mandates for child-safe design. U.S. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) introduced federal legislation last October that would have granted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission regulatory authority over ride design. The bill, HR 3032, was vigorously opposed by industry and died in committee. Markey plans to reintroduce the bill next year.
Until Congress requires that manufacturers build child-safe amusement rides, parents who visit amusement parks must learn how to judge for themselves which rides are safe for their children. For that we need access to safety data. Parents cannot protect their children from hazards that remain hidden. DOSH must hold firm against the pressures of industry and demand that California’s parks give an honest accounting of all medically treated injuries.
The recent congressional investigation into the Firestone tire recall offers a timely reminder that American businesses do not always place safety before profit. It also offers reassurance that our government can be responsive to issues of consumer safety. It is our job to hold both sides accountable; to use our leverage, whether that be dollars or votes; to ensure that our rights and our children are protected.
