U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20207 FEB 12 1993 SUBJECT: Deaths and Injuries Associated with Amusement Rides This memorandum provides current information on deaths and emergency room-treated injuries associated with amusement rides "Ride" incidents included in this memorandum were limited to those as defined by Section 3(a)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act: "...any mechanical device which carries or conveys passengers along, around, or over a fixed or restricted route or course or within a defined area for the purpose of giving its passengers amusement, which is customarily controlled or directed by an individual...who is not a consumer with respect to such device..." While fixed-site rides are not considered consumer products under the Act, both mobile and fixed-site rides were included in the following analysis for the purpose of comparison. Injuries Hospital emergency room data on amusement ride-related injuries were obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS). Based on the free text descriptive comment that was reported for each injury, the data were screened, where possible, to eliminate injuries such as those involving "mechanical bulls," "slides," "giant slides," and coin-operated "mechanical horses" sometimes found at restaurants and stores, etc. We also eliminated injuries where it appeared that playground equipment was involved. In most cases, where a device was described as a "ride," it was counted as such. While it is possible that some non-ride attractions also were described as a "ride," we believe that the proportion of such cases would likely be small. Also, no attempt was made to identify "rides" which may have been Page 2 There were an estimated 7,700 hospital emergency room-treated injuries associated with amusement rides in 1991. For about three-quarters of the injuries, the NEISS comments provided some information regarding the location of the incident. Assuming that rides in permanent theme parks and traditional amusement parks would be fixed-site types and that rides at fairs and carnivals would be mobile, the comments show that locations of injuries were about evenly divided between fixed and mobile sites. Deaths A review of NEISS data and the Commission's files of in-depth investigations, death certificates, newspaper clippings, consumer complaints, and other sources, identified 94 amusement ride-related deaths reported to CPSC from 1973 through 1992. These deaths do not represent a sample of known probability of selection nor a complete count of all amusement ride-related deaths. Nevertheless, many cases provided information about the circumstances involved in amusement ride-related deaths. Occupational deaths were not included in this analysis. However of those reported to CPSC, some appeared to have occurred during the erection or disassembly of amusement rides. Table 1 provides the distribution of reported, non-occupational fatalities by year and location. Table 2 provides the types of rides involved by location. Factors Contributing to Reported Mobile Ride Deaths Rider behavior appeared to have been the major factor contributing to six mobile ride deaths. In five of these incidents, three involving whirling rides and two involving ferris wheels, the victims were reported to have stood up, changed seats, or otherwise removed themselves from the safety restraint prior to falling from the seating compartment. In some cases the victim was reported to have consumed quantities of alcohol and/or drugs. In the sixth incident, the victim, who was said to have consumed alcohol and marijuana, fell from a gondola seat of a whirling ride after a carnival had closed for the night. Examination of the gondola found no defect in the safety bar latch mechanism. Four deaths involving mobile rides appeared to have resulted from ride or maintenance failure. All involved whirling types of rides, and occurred when the seating compartment became separated from the structure or became loose enough to tip over and eject the victims from the ride. Page 3 Table 1. Amusement Rides: Reported Fatalities by Year and Ride Location Ride Location Year Total Mobile Fixed Unknown Total 94 28 43 23 1992 1 1 -- -- 1991 3 -- 3 -- 1990 -- -- -- -- 1989 3 -- 3 -- 1988 5 3 2 -- 1987 4 -- 4 -- 1986 5 4 -- 1 1985 2 1 1 -- 1984 5 3 2 -- 1983 5 1 4 -- 1982 2 1 1 -- 1981 8 3 3 2 1980 5 1 3 1 1979 7 4 3 -- 1978 15 2 10 3 1977 5 2 1 2 1976 9 -- 2 7 1975 1 -- 1 -- 1974 6 1 -- 5 1973 3 1 -- 2 Source: National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) and CPSC In-Depth Investigation, Death Certificate, and Reported Incident Files, 1973 - 1992 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission/EPHA Page 4 Table 2. Amusement Rides: Fatalities by Type and Location of Ride Ride Location Type of Ride Total Mobile Fixed Unknown Total 94 28 43 23 Whirling Rides(1/) 28 17 8 3 Roller Coasters 25 1 16 8 Ferris Wheels 12 5 2 5 Tramways, Skyrides 5 -- 5(2/) -- Bumper Cars 2 -- 2 -- Other 8 -- 7(3/) 1 Unknown 14 5 3 6 (1/)Rides which move in a circular, non-vertical manner. (2/)Three of these deaths occurred in a single incident. (3/)Includes: 3 types of train rides, 2 log rides, 1 swinging ship ride, and 1 kayak ride. Source: National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) and CPSC In-Depth Investigation, Death Certificate, an Reported Incident Files, 1973 - 1992 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission/EPHA Page 5 Two deaths attributed to mobile rides may have resulted from operator failure. In one case, a nine-year-old victim, who allegedly had not been properly secured in his seat on a roller coaster, was thrown from the ride. In the other case, a four-year-old appeared to have slipped under a restraining lap bar on a whirling ride. In this incident, it was reported that the victim may have been too short for the ride, and that the operator had not measured the child before placing her on the ride. For three mobile ride cases, a combination of factors was believed to have been involved. In the most recent accident (July 1992), one victim died and her two seatmates were injured as they were thrown from a whirling ride when the safety lap bar released while the car was being operated at a high rate of speed. All victims had consumed alcohol and were reportedly warned about their behavior as they waved their hands in the air and lifted their feet above the footrest. Another incident appeared to have involved a combination of behavior and ride failure, where the victim (a fatality) was reported to have rocked the seating compartment of a ferris wheel, causing the other victim (an injury) to fall forward. The safety bar was pushed open, resulting in both victims falling from the compartment. Subsequent examination of the ride indicated that the safety bar could be pushed open with little force. In the third incident, a child was killed when he climbed onto the ride platform and was struck by the carriage of a miniature ferris wheel. In this case, the death may have resulted from a combination of a lapse in parental supervision and operator failure, in that the operator appeared to have improperly monitored the ride and provided insufficient barriers in the area of moving parts. Factors Contributing to Reported Fixed-Site Deaths Rider behavior was reported as the major factor contributing to 10 deaths involving fixed-site rides, which occurred in a variety of circumstances. For three of the whirling ride deaths and the two train ride deaths, the victims were said to have deliberately left the safety restraint or compartment. Other cases involved such behavior as standing up on a roller coaster, running out onto the electrified floor of a bumper car ride before the ride was over, and an instance where a young child, who was riding on a whirling ride with her family, stood up and fell over the side of the compartment. A recent fatality occurred when the victim was rocking his chair on a ferris wheel and the chair turned backward causing him to fall, hitting the chair below. It was reported that the victim had been warned by the operator two times to stop. Ride or maintenance failure was said to be a factor in all five deaths involving skyrides; in one of the deaths, rider Page 6 behavior was also involved. In these cases, the gondola separated from the supporting cable. In the incident in which rider behavior was also a contributing factor, the victim was reported to have been swinging the gondola; this, in combination with a clamp which did not grip the cable properly, was said to have allowed the compartment to fall. The two instances in which ride failure was reported for whirling rides involved failure of the latch mechanism on the door of the compartment. Other reports of death involving ride failure included one in which a victim was electrocuted on a bumper car ride, one in which a victim was electrocuted on a boat-type ride, one in which a victim was thrown out of a roller coaster train when automatic controls failed to keep two trains from colliding, and one where the victim fell to his death when his seat on a ferris wheel slipped off its axle. Operator failure was reported in three fixed-site incidents. In one case, an employee who mistakenly assumed that the train a roller coaster ride was empty, switched the track to direct the train to a low-clearance service area. In another case, the operator prematurely lowered a hydraulically operated lap bar on a swinging ride. The victim, who was leaning over at the time, was struck in the spinal area. In the third case, the victim fell from a roller coaster when the operator failed to secure her under the shoulder-type harness of the ride. Other fatal incidents were reported which may have involved a combination of factors. In one case, a six year old victim attempted to vacate his compartment of a roller coaster when it had come to a stop past the normal loading/unloading point. The operator decided to send the coaster around the track again, and the victim fell out of the car. The victim climbed back through the tracks and was struck by the coaster as it returned. It was indicated that the operator had tried to stop the coaster, but that it was gravity driven and that there was no way to stop it once it reached the top of the incline. In another case, a nine year old victim was reported to have jumped out of a log ride as the ride approached a steep incline. The victim fell into the water between the log boat and the side of the chute in which the ride travelled, and became trapped under the log. The ride was reported not to have been equipped with seat belts or restraining bars One of the most recent deaths occurred when the victim fell from a whirling capsule ride. The state investigation determined that the victim slid from her inside seat to an outside seat and was thrown from the capsule. It was reported that the lateral movement permitted by the safety restraints and the alcohol consumption by the victim both contributed to the accident. Page 7 Summary We estimate that about 7,700 injuries associated with amusement rides were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms during 1991. The Commission also has received reports of an average of about five deaths per year which occurred on these devices. The types of rides in which deaths occurred appeared to differ between fixed-site and mobile locations. This, however, could be attributed to the greater number of roller coaster and skyway/tramway deaths in fixed-site parks, rides which by their nature would be more common in permanent locations. It is also possible that deaths in theme and other fixed-site parks may receive greater publicity than deaths in other locations, and therefore may be more likely to be included in our data sources. In view of the nature of the data available for analysis and the small number of deaths reported, firm conclusions should not be drawn about differences in the factors which were reported to have contributed to deaths in fixed as compared to mobile locations.