Many Ride Operators At Amusement Parks Are Barely Old Enough To Drive
The experienced amusement park injury lawyers at Reiff & Bily recently reviewed an article published by SmartMoney magazine on Friday, May 29, 2009 entitled Ten Things Theme Parks Won’t Tell You. Number 5 on the list is entitled Our Ride Operators Are Barely Old Enough To Drive and it goes on to say that even the most benign ride can turn dangerous when an inexperienced person is operating it. At many parks, especially seasonal ones, ride operators tend to be young summer workers but there are no Federal laws requiring amusement ride operators to undergo any kind of training program. Some states, including California and Minnesota, have introduced state laws regulating safety and training. Still, “There is no internal consistency from park to park in terms of how they instruct their employees,” says Adam Glick, an attorney based in Elizabeth, New Jersey who has handled numerous amusement park injury cases. “The workers tend to be college students on vacation. Most of the rides operators are concerned about flirting with the opposite sex.” Even if they are not, disasters can and do occur.
Subcategory 6 of the same article entitled We’ve Got A Screw Loose - Literally and speaks to the dangers of shoddily maintained rides and missing seat belts. The article goes on to note that “undertrained operators aren’t the only danger amusement parks face. Lurking beneath the glossy candy colored ride exteriors may be shoddily maintained gear shifts and missing seat belts which can turn a roller coaster ride deadly.”
I have written many articles and blogs about hidden dangers at amusement parks and will ask all of you to review the SmartMoney magazine article which so well addresses these issues.
If you or a loved one has been injured on an amusement park ride, please contact one of our experienced amusement ride injury attorneys at Reiff & Bily at 1-800-421-9595 or online at www.reiffandbily.com for a free consultation.
