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Support the National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act!
Update: December 18, 2007: Editorial by Kathy Fackler
We just received notice from our friends over at Saferparks, that the House of Representatives will be voting on major legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is asking that Congress revoke the 1981 loophole exempting amusement parks rides from all federal safety oversight. The theme park lobbyists and industry reps are out in full force, "educating" the members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which is crafting the language of the bill. I need your help to reach out to Congress -- especially the members of the Commerce Committee -- and help them see the human cost of shielding amusement parks from standard public safety policy. View more information about a national plan here.
We are asking you to please call, write, or email your congressmember and urge them to support HR 2320, the National Amusement Park Rides Safety Act. Send a copy to the committee and subcommittee chairmen and Rep. Markey (contact info below). You can find your congressmember at this website.
If you have questions about the exemption or the proposed legislation, feel free to contact Mark Bayer on Rep. Markey's staff. HR2320 has been endorsed by Saferparks, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, and National Safe Kids Campaign, among others.
Below, we've listed contact information and a fact sheet about amusement ride safety. We've also listed links to articles on our website. If you care about your family's safety at amusement parks, or if you or your family has experienced an injury at an amusement park, your personal words are sure to have some affect on this issue. Please either call or write and voice your support of HR 2320!
Elected officials really do take citizen calls seriously. The industry doesn't have a compelling public policy argument for this special interest loophole. We could end this matter if they could justify their vote by saying that their constituents are complaining. Your phone call or letter can do more than you imagine. Please help Saferparks create a safer future for everyone who visits U.S. amusement parks!
Thank you so much!
MyParenTime's Family Community
Articles about Amusement Park Safety at MyParenTime.com:
Contact information for committee chairmen and Rep. Markey
Representative John Dingell
Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
2328 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4071
Representative Bobby Rush
Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Trade
2416 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
phone: 202-225-4372
fax: 202-226-0333
Rep. Ed Markey
2108 Rayburn House
Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
202-225-2836
staff: Mark Bayer
The Facts About Amusement Ride Safety
- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 100,000 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to amusement rides, inflatable amusement devices, and waterslides between 1997 and 2004.
- 60,000 injuries were related to use of amusement rides.
- 20,000 injuries involved inflatables. The annual injury count tripled from 1997 to 2004.
- 20,000 injuries were related to use of public waterslides.
- Children are at highest risk of amusement ride injury.
- Half of all accidents and 3/4 of all falls and ejections involve children under 13.
- Restraints and bracing points in many rides approved for children are designed to fit adult bodies and can leave small riders vulnerable to falls or forceful ejection.
- Amusement park rides are NOT subject to federal safety regulations. Only 27 state governments have safety officials authorized and trained to investigate ride accidents.
- State and local government regulatory programs, where they exist, keep track of individual rides and the way they're operated within a specific jurisdiction.
- The better state programs audit and supplement industry’s safety measures through independent inspections of the machinery and safety records.
- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) does looks at safety problems on carnival rides, go-karts, and inflatables through a wider lens.
- The CPSC can track problems that occur on multiple rides in different states, establish uniform safety standards, negotiate hazard mitigation plans with manufacturers, and broadly disseminate urgent safety information to industry and consumers nationwide.
- No public safety agency is empowered to perform those critical duties for rides operated at U.S. amusement parks.
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