Amusement Park Injuries Soar

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that emergency room injuries from amusement park rides rose 87 percent over five years.

Injuries at amusement parks that were serious enough to warrant emergency treatment rose from an estimated 2,400 in 1994 to 4,500 in 1998, Ann Brown, the commission’s chairwoman, wrote in a recent letter to Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass.

Brown was responding to a request for information from Markey, who is the ranking Democrat on the House Commerce subcommittee on telecommunications, trade and consumer protection.

After the spate of fatal roller coaster accidents this summer, Markey said he would introduce legislation giving the commission power to set standards for amusement park rides, perform inspections and investigations, recall unsafe equipment and impose civil penalties.

In August there were four deaths from separate incidents on amusement park rides.

The commission regulates so-called “mobile” rides that are hauled from carnival to carnival, but not rides at amusement parks and other permanent sites. To regulate rides at permanent sides, the commission would need at least a $5 million increase in its budget and additional staff, Brown said.

Regulation of amusement parks is now left to state and local authorities. Brown said 14 states plus the District of Columbia do not have inspection programs.