On Thrill Rides, Safety Is Optional

Randy Lasitter, Kaitlyn's father, said he was shocked to learn that state agriculture inspectors would be looking into the accident. "We thought there must be somebody they're reporting to in Washington, or working with in Washington . . . but it wasn't," he said. "People who go to those parks have this illusion of safety. It's an illusion, we know that."

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Although the CPSC regulates children's toys, strollers, bicycles and car seats, it has no jurisdiction over rides at fixed amusement parks, such as those run by Walt Disney Co., Six Flags, Universal and Anheuser-Busch Entertainment that host an estimated 300 million people on 1.84 billion rides annually.

Theme parks won their exemption in 1981, after a CPSC probe of ride accidents at Marriott theme parks alleged a coverup of safety hazards. Marriott, represented by Kenneth W. Starr, then a young Washington lawyer, and the industry fought back in the courts and on the Hill, where its top lobbyist complained about the "economic hardship" created by CPSC policing. More safety measures lessening risks would "make the ride worthless," lobbyist John Graff told Congress at the time. "The activities of the commission must be limited."

The exemption was included in an omnibus agriculture bill that year, leaving oversight of theme parks to disparate state programs, including some lacking inspectors or enforcement powers. Family activists and state regulators say that as a result, efforts to find and correct safety problems have been inhibited, the number and extent of ride injuries remains uncertain, and families have been prevented from assessing the risks posed by roller coasters and Ferris wheels, wave pools and spinning rides.

"It would be nice if the federal government could come down and say 'You should do this' . . . and we had some uniform enforcement," said Mark Mooney, the Massachusetts inspection chief and president of the Council for Amusement and Recreational Equipment Safety (CARES), a voluntary organization of state regulators.

Carolyn McLean, a spokeswoman for Six Flags Kentucky, where the Tower of Power ride is slated to be dismantled, said, however, that "our industry is extremely well-regulated at the state level." The ride was inspected daily by the company, Six Flags has said.

Kentucky's inspectors say that state law requires only that they check rides once a year -- about as often as they check supermarket egg displays. Douglas Rathbun, the state inspection chief, said he and his fellow inspectors "follow manufacturer specifications" because "they are the ride experts. You'll not see anyone in Kentucky say 'Add a seat belt' unless the manufacturer says 'Add a seat belt.' "

Oversight elsewhere is often scattershot or nonexistent, state regulators say. New York City's rides, including those at Coney Island, are exempt from state oversight. Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Utah and Wyoming do not monitor their amusement parks, even though Utah's Lagoon park is one of the nation's largest privately held theme parks. Arizona, Kansas and Tennessee do not require state inspections or accident investigations.

The legal patchwork complicates investigations and enforcement. When 3-year-old Myesha Roberson was ejected from a Sizzler and crushed by the spinning machine in Las Vegas in 1997, for example, Clark County officials ordered the ride shut down until seat belts or some other restraints were installed.

Instead, "the ride was removed from Clark County," building inspector David Durkee said. "I do not know what happened to it [and] I don't have the means to track it."

Nancy Medeiros, the senior engineer in California's amusement ride inspection office, also expressed frustration. Rides with problems get sold, she said. "Across the states, there's this network of 'Hey, where did that ride go?' "

After a series of accidents at Disneyland and other parks, California enacted a tough law calling for independent annual inspections and for accident investigations. Court filings by Disney in response to a lawsuit alleging a serious brain injury at its California park had disclosed more than 2,600 visitor-reported injuries on five rides alone -- Indiana Jones Adventure, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Star Tours, Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad -- from 1999 to 2001.