Kentucky Senate introduces ride safety legislation

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Chitown said:

^At age 16 I was a junior.

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I was a freshman... in college. (I was also too young to be hired in the rides department at Kennywood. You had to be 18 back then.)

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PhantomTails said:
With all due respect, a lot more can go wrong with a meat slicer than on a computerized amusement ride.

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Hmm, like what, you could get a cut? lose a finger? lose an arm.... lose both feet?

With all do respect.

Being a past ride operator for 3 seasons with one year being a minor, and 2 years being 18 or older, I think the key would be to higher better people and offer more training prior to the park opening for its first weekend. Hiring people 18 or older is not such a bad idea, but the maturity of people really vary in the age range of a typical ride operator (16-24 or so).

I think the first step would be more selective in the interview process and make an effort to choose people that have good performance in school, seem responsible, and a good work ethic. Of course its probably harder to find people as it is, but from my experience there are always few people that quit very early in the season. By going through a more selective process, the cost of having to deal with these poor performers and hiring new people to replace them could be avoided.

I think the training process could also be increased, with verbal testing and also more than a day of hands on training of the ride. Of course this is also more costly, but again it might save in the long run.

Another issue is the nature of the job is repetitive, so keeping people excited later in the season is something to consider. Most places have socials, special ride sessions, etc to keep people happy, but this is certaintly something that most parks try to address.

My home ride was a roller coaster, but I did spend a day operating an intamin gyro drop ride. I am not exactly sure of the differences from an operations point of the view, of the intamin 2nd generation drop ride and the gyro drop ride that I operated. But there were mirrors that you used to watch the vehicle and passengers as it moved up the lift. Although people always scream, there does seem to be some question over why didn't the ride operators notice the situation and stop the ride cycle. The cable would have still caused lacerations, but the more serious injury could have been prevented if the ride was stopped.

I think the main issue in this accident was a maintenance related issue. Although I am not sure of how often they check the cable, it either needs further inspection or the people doing the inspection were not doing it properly. There is another concern in that it seems that this type of cable situation, should be something that the ride is designed to detect and if it detects estop the ride. I think if the ride had this logic designed into the ride, it would have prevented the more serious injury, even if ride operators or maintenance did not do their job properly.

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CPJ said:

Hmm, like what, you could get a cut? lose a finger? lose an arm.... lose both feet?

With all do respect.

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Give me a break! This discussion is about accidents caused in part by the negligence of ride operators. While what happened in Kentucky was a tragedy, but the operators had no part in that poor girl losing her foot.

On a meat slicer, all you have to do is let your hand slip and you could lose a finger. On most amusement rides, a catastrophic failure would have to occur in order for there to be significant injuries.

The ride operator did have something to do with it. By simply watching the ride, they could have stopped the ride before it all happened.

^Out of all the drop towers I have been on, I never saw the ride-ops staring at the cars going up the tower.

This isn't an age thing. Only reason it's being brought up is because the one ride-op happened to be 16. What if she was 18? You going to raise the minimum age to 21?

You're right, it's a park thing. Pay attention next time you ride Power Tower at CP. They look up.

Been to CP but have never rode PT. I have been to plenty of other parks where ride-ops don't constantly bend their necks the whole time watching the cars go up.

If a ride-op did that all day, they wouldn't be able to move their head side to side. If anything, they should have video cameras setup to monitor it.

You know what, like everything, you have to draw limits somewhere... how many library books, how many items in the 10 items or less line, how many drinks per wristband... there always could be exceptions, but still, you have to make a rule. The US has decided that you are an adult at 18. It's when we vote, it's when we serve in the military. You have to be 18 to operate a meat slicer or a cardboard bailer so you don't hurt yourself, it only seems reasonable you have to be 18 to operate HEAVY machinery- be it a computer controlled ride or a commercially driven truck on the freeway so you don't hurt others. We've drawn the line, it is clear, amusement rides need to follow. It doesn't matter if there is a responsible person who returns all the books they read, or reads up on the politicians and knows who they want to vote for... a line has to be drawn. Limits have to be set, you can not make exceptions for individuals in certain situations, the girl crying on the stand saying she wished she could have done something is the perfect example. Rules have to be made, you have to place a line somewhere. It's not personal, but (phantomtail)... you'll understand when you're older.
*** This post was edited by CPJ 3/9/2008 4:23:32 AM ***

^I agree with that.

For the people wondering why they don't look up, you should have read my previous post. On drop zone (drop tower now) at king island, the operator has a mirror that he looks down at that gives him a view of the vehicle as it makes its way up the tower. You look up at the beginning, but eventually have to look at the mirror since that is the only way you can see it. And in all instances, the ride operator should be watching the ride, regardless. An age limit might help, but more selective hiring would be best. More training and also perhaps monthly evaluations as opposed to just a mid year evaluation might help also.

So while the state Senate is congratulating themselves for passing legislation to improve ride safety, they're cutting 12 percent of the budget of the state agency whose responsibility it is to inspect rides and amusements. But that part isn't the headline.

^^^^Well, explain why the whole country doesn't set the driving age at 18? A vehicle is one of the most dangerous weapons if involved in a crash. If you can serve your country at 18, why do you have to be 21 to have a beer?

Don't sit here and preach that 18 is the magic number because it isn't.

*** This post was edited by Chitown 3/9/2008 5:33:47 PM ***

Never said 18 was the magic number, but it is better than 16.

Driving at 16 isn't the best idea and the accident rates at that age show it.

And why do you have to be 21 "legally" have a beer? I don't drink, so I don't really debate that one.

Well.. since you asked... the driving age for the whole country is 18. Anything younger is considered probationary. Not news here people. Ever wonder why they turn your picture a funny direction until you're 18?

That's not the point. At 16 in alot of states, you are legal to drive a car without adult supervision. Sure, you may have to take a Driver's Ed course, but the fact remains, alot of 16 and 17 year olds can drive without assistance.

If a 16 or 17 year old is properly trained on an amusement park ride, they should be able to operate it.

It's apples and apples here.

I don't know of any difference on a driver's license in Illinois except that you're are under 21 or 21 and over. In that case they just change the color backround.

One issue parks run into with minors are the crazy hours they can work. They have to take twice as many breaks as everyone else.

I think 16 is fine for operating rides. I was 16 when I starting running the Whizzer. I was responsible, because our crew had a good supervisor...which is what it really comes down to.

The difference between a 16 year old driving and a 16 year old running a ride is that when they are running a ride, it's not their life that's in danger. When they are driving, the life threatening activity is to them self. When they are operating a ride, the life threat that they are responsible for is to people they don't even know. Maybe that has something to do with why less mature people shouldn't operate rides.

On the other hand, I have met a lot of 16 and 17 year olds who were pretty mature...

When I worked at Power Tower during Halloweekend Fridays in 06, I always wondered why I had to look at the ride as it was going up the tower. It was necks straining, but I still did it. Some ride ops didn't (but were supposed to). After this accident, I understand why I had to do that.

That poor girl. This story still makes me sick. It's a huge black mark on SF's record no matter who is at fault.

So did something change where only 16 and 17 year olds drive cars without anyone else on the road?

If a 16 year old plows into a minivan with a large family and kills them all, the life threatening is just to himself?

Sorry, that makes no sense.

Thanks for playing though.