Category: Safety

Paper: Safety evaluation of amusement rides using accumulated accident data: Accident data framework

Woodcock, K., 2022. Safety evaluation of amusement rides using accumulated accident data: Accident data framework. Journal of Themed Experience and Attractions Studies 2, 40-53. Link

Continue reading “Paper: Safety evaluation of amusement rides using accumulated accident data: Accident data framework”

A mountain coaster is not a roller coaster

The case of an injury on the Branson Coaster

Like many reports covered in the RRRR database, multiple media reports used imprecise terminology that has real implications for potential misunderstanding of hazards to the public. While it is understandable that a reporter may not know the difference when beginning to collect information for a report, it is irresponsible to be cavalier about terminology in the published version. Any hazards that may be implicated in this case have no relevance to “roller coasters”.

Continue reading “A mountain coaster is not a roller coaster”

Report of rider injury

The fatal injury on the Schlitterbahn “Verrückt” waterslide has been reported as a decapitation.

Earlier accounts referred to a “neck injury”. Reporters enthusiastically parsed past Consumer Product Safety Commission reports and noted 28% of injuries in their dataset were head and neck injuries. They did not report that the CPSC data on amusement rides substantially overstates injury occurrence due to the inclusion of swan boats, ball pits, laser tag, corn mazes and other things that are not what you would popularly consider “amusement rides”. A study I published in the journal Safety Science in 2014 found the national estimate of actual amusement ride injuries was less than 2/3 of what CPSC data would suggest.

Continue reading “Report of rider injury”