6.2 Summer fun under scrutiny
When summer hits it's amusement park season. crowds rush the open world. In Istanbul it's Luna Park. Paris Tokyo and los Angeles have Disneyland. Some people wait in line for hours for their favorite rides. Roller coasters provide much of the draw for young and old alike. There's the thrill of the height the rush of sound the feeling of being weightless and then the falling down down down In fact the names of the rides alone hint at the thrill that is to come Australia has the Tower of Terror and Japan the steel Dragon.
But is this summertime tradition safe A quick glance at the national newspaper headlines from July 2011 makes the thrills seem hardly worth the risk Freak roller coaster accidents cause concern over their safety reads one article. At a theme park in new york in the United States a twenty-nine-year-old father was thrown from the roller coaster Fide of Steel as it made its rapid descent. He was wearing a safety belt at the time. A couple of days later in the state of Texas riders were suspended 14 stories up in the air for over 30 minutes before being able to climb down an emergency stairway to safety.
These accidents lead to questions about how roller coasters are regulated. What went wrong on the Ride of Steel to result in a man's death Many times in accidents such as these the cause is not clear in this particular case an investigation by the Department of Labor was conducted to obtain more information. The department found that it was not that the roller coaster was unsafe but that the ride operators violated the rules. On this ride safety devices restrain the legs shins and lap to secure each person in the car. The rules required riders to have both legs so they can be properly secured on the ride the man who was thrown however didn't have either of his legs but he was still permitted to board the ride.
As a result of this death the park implemented new practices Now all employees who operate the ride must be retrained in safety procedures new signs must be posted that specify the safety regulations and park management must now review the safety procedures prior to a ride operator's shift
However it's not just the adventure seekers that are in danger Rides aren't fully automated they need operators Unfortunately operators have also been the victims of accidents. A twenty-four-four-year-old ride operator in sautron France died when he left the control booth and his legs were crushed under the ride. In order for rides to operate safely both riders and operators have to adhere to rules and restrictions. In the Ride of Steel accident the theme park was initially accused of employing ride operators that were under the legal adult age of eighteen New York state law requires ride operators to be at lest eighteen years old. In later reports the park was able to clarify that the operators of the ride were over eighteen.