Theme Park Safety: Think Bigger

At a moment when the Walt Disney Co. is showcasing the technological advances of a theme park expansion that will open officially next month, one of the oldest quarters of Disneyland has become the site of yet another serious injury. The playground accident on Tom Sawyer Island last Sunday in which a 6-year-old girl lost a finger while playing with a toy rifle is a reminder of the need for tough theme park regulations that afford maximum protection to the public.

This accident, like others in recent years at the park, points to areas of oversight that remain in a gray zone even after the enactment of state theme park safety legislation. The continuing debate over regulations only recently resolved the need for a broad definition of reportable accidents. Now here comes a new wrinkle: What to do about an accident that doesn’t fall naturally under the jurisdiction of the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health because it did not occur on a ride?

The decision by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate, and with it the possibility that at some point playground equipment could be recalled, is likely to fill a key gap in this particular case. Indeed, such federal involvement also has the potential to be an important supplementary tool in ensuring that rides such as Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, which the state ordered overhauled after a serious accident last fall, are safe for small children. Various agencies, theme parks and consumer advocates need to work together, and it is prudent after Sunday’s accident to review state legislation in considering whether all injuries at theme parks, not just those on rides, should come under state jurisdiction.

The safety of all visitors, especially children, must always be paramount. Taking that safety into account is the surest guide to what is both necessary and reasonable.