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Florida Theme Parks Voluntarily Report Ride Injuries

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 22, 2008

TAMPA - One 34-year-old woman stepped off the Jazzy Jellies ride at SeaWorld and fractured her ankle. A few weeks later, at Roa's Rapids in the same park, a 63-year-old woman inhaled water.

Tales of heart troubles, dehydration and, in some cases, broken bones come out of the grade-yourself report card for Florida's theme parks, made public each quarter by the state's Bureau of Fair Rides, a division in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Busch Gardens, Tampa's only theme park on the list, reported no incidents over the first half of the year.

Most of the reports came from the theme park-rich Orlando area.

Walt Disney World, for example, reported 15 incidents on its rides, ranging from stomach issues at Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest to chest pain on the Magic Kingdom's Splash Mountain.

The theme parks voluntarily report such incidents to the state. They have their own inspectors and safety programs and are not required by law to make the reports, although there is an agreement between the major parks and the state to voluntarily provide incidents in which ride patrons are hospitalized.

The state is not required to inspect the rides at major theme parks, defined as businesses that have more than 1,000 employees, but it does require safety and inspection reports. The bureau's own inspectors do look over rides at fairs, carnivals and festivals, said Rob Jacobs, a spokesman for the bureau.

The major theme parks must provide information that their rides meet state standards, he said. Each year, the parks send the state an update affidavit

Generally, Jacobs said, carnival-type rides such as roller coasters, upside-down rides on tracks or those spinning in the air, are safe.

The number of injuries on those rides, he said, "has been pretty consistent over the years. Most of the accidents are in go-cart tracks and water parks."

Across the nation, the number of amusement-ride injuries that end up with a visit to the hospital has steadily grown over recent years, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which attributes the increases to more people going to more parks. The commission says the increases, for the most part, are "statistically insignificant."

Hospital treatment of the amusement-ride wounded in the United States increased from about 15,400 in 2005 to 17,800 in 2006, the commission reported. Last year, there were about 18,800 injuries.

Florida is home to about 180 permanent amusement or theme parks and more than 220 traveling amusement companies.

Bill Avery, a consultant and risk-management expert specializing in amusement rides and former safety manager with Busch Gardens and SeaWorld, said the newer, bigger, faster rides pretty much are safe.

"I've thought about the bigger, faster; the dynamics of the new rides," he said. "I'm not sure if any of that is a safety factor. If you look at what happens around country, many of the incidents [involving injuries] we are seeing are on the older-style spinning rides, the same kind that Grandpa and Grandma used to ride."

He said the newer rides have improved safety features, including state-of-the-art restraints, and are operated by computers, "so it takes a lot of the risk out of it," he said. "The more decisions you take away from operator, the better you are."

A lot of improvement is still needed in the reporting aspect of the amusement-ride industry, he said. Each theme park uses different criteria, and some injuries may go unreported to the state.

"Reports are predicated on who gives the reports," he said. "Does everyone follow same sheet of music? Absolutely not."

If someone is slightly injured in a ride and gets medical treatment the next day, that may not get reported, he said. If someone gets hurt and is taken to the hospital, only to be treated and released, that may not be reported, he said.

He estimated that one of eight accidents that require medical attention goes unreported.

"A lot," he said, "slips through the cracks."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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