Volume 3, No. 13. July 11, 2003
Reporting
report
It seems that new
news is old news when it concerns the release of new information on amusement
park safety. But while each new bit of information reaffirms what we already
knew, it at least gives us a greater understanding of perspective.
The latest study
was gleaned from IAAPA’s voluntary incident reporting project. The International
Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions last year had its members begin
submitting annual stats on injuries at their properties. This information was
included in an analysis published in the National Safety Council Research and
Statistical Services’ June/July issue of Injury Insights newsletter.
The release of
this information reveals that the voluntary reporting system has, by and large,
been successful. An average of 46 of the top 48 U.S. parks participated in each
of the past two years’ surveys, along with a sample of more than 100 smaller
parks, tourist attractions and family entertainment centers. “We were very
pleased with our membership’s initial response to this important safety
data initiative, and we expect even greater participation in future years as
members become more familiar with the process,” said IAAPA President J.
Clark Robinson in a statement.
The information
also reveals that fixed amusement rides are, by and large, safe. “The results
are very much in line with data at the state agency level and thus further confirms
what the industry and the public have known all along, that amusement parks
and attractions are an exceptionally safe form of recreation for the entire
family,” Robinson said. According to the survey analysis, the fixed amusement
ride sector sees an average of 2,486 injuries per year in the United States.
The NSC analysis
acknowledges that, historically, self-reported data tends to be as much as 15
percent lower than the truth. Even so, that’s still less than 3,000 injuries
in a sector with an estimated 303 million users per year. The IAAPA survey results
also are lower than the 6,704 estimated injuries put forth in the latest U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission report, but as that figure is derived from
data from 100 U.S. hospital emergency rooms, previous independent studies have
concluded that the CPSC figure is geographically skewed.
Whichever figure
we use, the NSC newsletter provides a perspective showing how low the injury
rate in amusement parks truly is. One of its tables lists “Injury Risk
for Common Recreational Activities.” Drawn from a variety of sources, the
table lists 24 recreational activities, with basketball (876 injuries per million
participant days) and football (864) the most injury-prone activities, way ahead
of soccer at 343. Bicycling has a rate of 232, fishing 88, golf 68, badminton
24. Tied at 8 are billiards/pool and fixed-site amusement rides.
The only recreational activity listed as safer than fixed-site amusement rides is darts with rate of 3 injuries per million participant days.
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
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