Volume 3, No. 2. January 24, 2002
A
no-brainer
It is fascinating
reading. Eating bacon, sneezing and sexual activity are listed in the same sentence.
There are pillow fights and pogo sticks, swing sets and lounge chairs. There’s
a character named “Hoot,” there’s a Challenger’s challenger,
and there’s an underlying Story.
The plot line is not the least bit suspenseful, however: roller coasters are
safe.
All of this is contained in the two studies on brain injuries and roller coasters
commissioned by Six Flags, Inc., the results of which were presented at a Washington,
D.C., press conference Tuesday. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons
investigated links between roller coaster riding and brain injuries, and Exponent
Failure Analysis Associates studied whether g-forces on coasters are exceeding
safe limits (see Extra!
Extra! for a summary). On hand for the presentation was a panel of physicians
and engineers, along with astronaut couple Rhea Seddon (medical officer and
three-time Shuttle traveler) and Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson (U.S. Navy
fighter pilot and five-time Shuttle traveler). Six Flags President and COO Gary
Story gave a statement as did IAAPA President J. Clark Robinson.
“I thought it was great,” Robinson said of the press conference, which
drew national television network and wire service coverage and, via satellite
feed, placement on local TV news and newspapers across the country. “These
studies that have been done were really remarkable. They leave no doubt in my
mind that this is definitive.”
Remarkable, yes; definitive, not necessarily so. The AANS study, while finding
no viable link between coasters and brain injuries, recommended further monitoring,
and IAAPA is doing just that. At Tuesday’s press conference, Robinson made
public the association’s reporting program begun last year. That news,
along with the results of the two studies, “had a good response from the
(Capitol) Hill,” Robinson said. Furthermore, Story announced that Six Flags
is teaming with AANS’ Neuro-Knowledge program to publicly monitor incidents
at its parks.
The studies did not sway critics— including U.S. Representative Edward
Markey, the most vocal proponent of federal oversight—from continuing their
assaults on the industry’s safety record. Unable to question the content
of such exhaustive research, doubters questioned the funding: $200,000 from
Six Flags. Story and the panelists said the contracts stipulated independence
for the researchers, a stipulation insisted upon by both sides. “We in
this industry have a responsibility to assure the public with truth and science,”
Story said at the press conference. “I can tell you that Six Flags and
my colleagues in this industry have been relying on sound biomedical, biomechanical
and aerodynamic research and science for decades, long before Congressman Markey
ever thought about amusement parks.”
“Frankly, in my business I sometimes have to deliver news to clients that
they may not want to hear,” said Lee V. Dickinson, principal engineer at
Exponent. “Our credibility means a lot more to us than any single contract.”
Any doubters should know that the name “Exponent” still brings a shudder
to some people in the U.S. government, thanks to the company’s no-quarter-given
review of the space shuttle Challenger explosion, a probe that led to a complete
overhaul of the space agency that commissioned their investigation.
While the two studies may not stop the attacks, Tuesday looks like it could
be a watershed day for the industry on this issue. “I don’t think
we’ve ever had anything in the industry with this much coverage, and about
95 percent of it was positive,” Robinson said of the press conference.
Now, at least, the media has a viable and visible tool countering the sensational
but unqualified testimony that hitherto dominated the discussion.
Both studies independently determined that the Consumer Product Safety Commission
numbers are flawed, that g-forces are not increasing even as coasters get bigger
and faster, and that even if g-forces were increasing numerous aeronautical
studies over the decades have shown that g-forces do not lead to subdural hematomas.
The AANS, meanwhile, debunked most of the case studies touted by Rep. Markey,
who, notably, now says that brain injuries are not the issue, though that was
his key focus before Tuesday.
For much of the positive coverage the industry needs to thank not only the researchers
but also “Hoot” Gibson. The former Top Gun pilot was the media darling
of the day, thanks to his 30-year career flying high-performance jets, his shuttle
experience, his professed love of coasters and the charisma and bluntness that
seem to come so naturally to fighter pilots. “I want to address some of
the rather bizarre comments I’ve read that compare roller coaster g-forces
to a ride on the space shuttle or to a fighter jet,” he told the press
conference. “Let me say that this is runaway sensationalism and total hogwash.”
To review the studies, go to www.emerson-associates.com/safety.
Statements by the participants and PDF versions of the studies are available
at the bottom of the page.
For further commentary on the studies’ impact, see Eric’s
Turn below.
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LLC
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