Amusement park accidents

Amusement park accidents refer to serious injuries or deaths that occur at an amusement park. Many amusement park accidents are reported to regulatory authorities as usually required by law. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission tracks statistics for all amusement ride accidents. Accidents listed here are caused by one of the following:

According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), a trade association for permanent amusement park facilities, 290 million tickets were sold by US amusement parks in 2010.[1]

Statistics

2003

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported the following in 2003:[2]

2005

According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission:[3]

2011

In 2011, 1,204 people were injured at 400 amusement parks, according to the IAAPA.[4]

Florida

All of Florida's major parks—which include the Walt Disney World Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, Universal Orlando, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay—report quarterly details surrounding accidents and other incidents at their parks. A requirement for these reported incidents is that they be fatal incidents, or that the injured person had required an overnight hospital visit. Four examples of the types of incidents that have been reported to Florida's Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection are listed here:[5]

According to the IAAPA, a trade association for permanent amusement park facilities, the chance of an injury occurring in a park is 1 in 9 million.[6]

From 2004 through 2009, the Orlando-area attractions that attracted the most guest lawsuits were:[7]

2006

2007

Injuries to children

Approximately 4,400 children are hurt each year on amusement park rides, but only 1.5% of those injuries are serious enough to require hospitalization.[13] Between 1990 and 2000, around 82,000 children under 18 were taken to emergency rooms after suffering injuries from amusement park rides. An additional 11,000 suffered injuries on rides outside amusement parks, such as those found at local malls, restaurants, or arcades.[14]

Of those reported 82,000 incidents, 34% occurred at locations where the rides were considered permanent, 29% happened on temporary attractions, and 25% were not categorized.

Girls were injured more often than boys. The most frequent injuries were to the head, neck, arms, face, and legs. Most injuries reported appeared to be due to improper restraints or padding, or were caused by the child falling in, on, off, or against the ride.

Notable incidents

References

  1. http://www.iaapa.org/resources/by-park-type/amusement-parks-and-attractions/industry-statistics
  2. "Amusement Ride-Related Injuries and Deaths in the United States:2003 Update" (PDF). US Consumer Product Safety Commission. 2003-11-01. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  3. Heygood, Michael (3 August 2012). "Carnival and amusement park accidents injure thousands each year". Heygood, Orr & Pearson. Retrieved 28 May 2013. There were more than 15,000 amusement ride-related injuries in 2005 in the US. According to the CPSC, [...]
  4. 1 2 Jonel Aleccia (2014-07-08). "Thrills or Chills? Roller Coaster Safety a Mystery". NBC News. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
  5. 1 2 "Central Florida theme park injuries and illnesses". Orlando Sentinel. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  6. "Amusement park dangers". CNN. 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  7. "Top 5 Central Florida theme park rides that draw lawsuits". Orlando Sentinel. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  8. Report on 2Q2006 incidents
  9. "Quarterly state reports cite "natural" death, injuries". Orlando Sentinel. 2007-01-30. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
  10. "Disney deaths due to natural causes". Orlando Sentinel. 2007-04-18. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  11. "Theme park injuries and illnesses". Orlando Sentinel. 2007-07-17. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  12. "4 seriously hurt at Central Florida theme parks at end of '07, records show". Orlando Sentinel. 2007-01-16. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  13. {{cite news url=http://www.nbcnews.com/health/amusement-rides-hurt-4-400-kids-year-large-study-finds-6C9694699 | title=Amusement rides hurt 4,400 kids a year, large study finds | author=JoNel Aleccia | publisher=NBC News | date=2013-05-01 | accessdate=2013-07-22}}
  14. Michelle Healy (2013-05-01). "Amusement-ride injuries can happen on 'mall rides' too". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-05-02.

Bibliography

External links

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