Classification guide

This classification guide explains the classifications in the accident data framework.

There are five variables. Operation type and ride type pre-exist the accident occurrence and are used for tabulation across multiple reports. Each amusement ride or device is always the same ride type, and each operation type is always the same operation type.

The qualities unique to a specific accident are:

Operation type

  • Fixed site – theme park, amusement park, family entertainment centre, arcade with rides, go kart track, adventure attraction venue
  • Mobile – carnival, fair, operation providing portable rides for public use
  • Waterpark – independent waterpark or waterpark area of theme park or amusement park

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Ride type

There is great variety among rides and multiple classifications have been used. Differentiating rides by market (e.g., “family”, “kiddie”) provides little information about the nature of the ride. Some reporting schemes use non-exclusive categories, which makes analysis difficult. This framework divides mechanical revolving rides from roller coasters, and separately classifies patron directed, adventure, and waterpark attractions. This guide explains the boundaries between types.

Mechanical ride, not roller coaster: The “flat ride” type includes rides with rotation, translation, and combinations of rotation and translation on a fixed base or low/slow tracked rides.

  • Horizontally revolving rides (e.g., carousel, swing tower); translating (e.g., drop tower, frog hopper); and multiaxial rotation, partial rotation, and translation (e.g., Fireball, Scrambler, Tornado, Remix, CliffHanger, Paratrooper) rides
  • Vertically revolving rides (e.g., Ferris wheel, gondola wheel, Zipper)
  • Flat tracked rides: Slow train/car or boat rides (at most, minor undulation), single-level mine train/ghost house dark ride
  • Motion simulator and Motion theatre (seats pitch/roll/yaw/heave and may raise during show cycle)

Mechanical roller coaster type: This type includes roller coasters and other track-guided rides with speed, elevation or both

  • Roller coaster 
  • River rapids
  • Flume ride
  • Gondola / sky ride
  • Multi-level mine train / ghost house dark ride

Patron-directed amusement devices: The patron-directed ride type involves the start, stop, or steering of the rider’s path by the rider or a companion in the ride vehicle.

  • Go kart
  • Scooter (bumper car)
  • Inflatable bounces, pillows, slides, climbing device; velcro wall
  • Trampoline park and play structures
  • Walkthrough attraction, funhouse, queue (excluding load/unload platforms), and scenery
  • Mountain coaster (although is steered by the tracks, it has patron-directed braking)

Waterpark: The waterpark category includes slides and other water features. Due to the number of reports citing the pool deck, this is also included.

  • Waterslide: including tube slides, body slides, splash pad slides
  • Pool
  • Wave pool
  • Lazy river
  • Pool deck

Adventure attraction: Only bungee attractions and ziplines are included.

  • Bungee
  • Zipline 
  • EXCLUDES ropes courses, climbing walls

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Event type

(The following event types will be grouped as “Rider” related events.)

  • Inappropriate action: intentional performance of inappropriate action such as self-extraction, causing unintended harm, such as through fall and impact or unintentional ejection after standing or rising during the ride cycle.
  • Rider medical condition: Rider experienced a medical condition or reaction, potentially but not necessarily aggravated by ride experience. Includes pain of unspecified origin unless origin implied by the report. Includes motion sickness.
  • Rider action failure: while walking, standing, loading, unloading, e.g., jump during ride cycle or evacuation, slip or trip. The action was a reasonable one during the exposure, but it was executed in a way that resulted in failure, such as falling, striking against a structure or another rider, landing in an unintended position or location. The failure of action may have been by a different person than the rider who was injured (e.g., small child on trampoline crushed under falling adult). Failure of action describes body action performance, and not start/stop/steer of vehicles.
  • Patron encroachment: A non-rider has entered a restricted area/hazard zone during operating hours, whether the area/zone is marked or unmarked, possibly resulting in impact or fall.

(The following event types will be grouped as “Ride” related events.)

  • Ride malfunction: Loss of integrity of ride structure or mechanical components including restraint devices, e.g., collapse, detachment, derailment, release of hydraulic fluid, chain broke, tipped over
  • Ride hazard exposure such as: Chemical – release of chemical that should not have been released or effects of usage of unintended concentration; Electricity – fatal or nonfatal electric shock – electric current was conducted where it does not belong; Foreign object – injury inflicted by foreign object on ride when rider came into contact with it. Includes contact with hazardous foreign objects left in ride by others, debris falling or blowing onto the ride other than loose parts that should have been attached to the ride separating from the same ride. (If struck by parts abruptly detached from ride, event is classified as malfunction.)
  • Entanglement in machinery or structures –  Rider’s hair, clothing, jewellery, or body part became entangled or pinched in machinery while walking, sitting, standing, or riding, or a loose part of machinery (such as rope) entangled rider’s body part. While the rider moved or was moved by the ride, while remaining within the provided restraint and containment system, part of the rider’s body impacted against stationary or moving object that is or should be outside clearance envelope or into a gap that failed to exclude the rider’s body part. Injury may have been produced by the impingement but the body part was not entangled or entrapped in the gap (entanglement).
  • Unintended body motion: Rider’s body was moved due to ride forces within the restraint and containment system, with or without impact, for example flailing during abrupt changes of direction or sudden acceleration or deceleration.
  • Ride ejection: Ejection was reported and report does not cite any self-extraction, malfunction, or misoperation. The rider has unintentionally separated from the ride or ride vehicle due to ride forces and inadequate containment of body size or shape. The ride acceleration caused the mass of the rider to exit through a gap wide enough for the rider’s shape to fit through, or rider slipped through a gap and fell due to gravity. The rider did not rise up, lean out, or make any attempt to exit the ride, but rider may have been in an alternate position not anticipated by the ride designer. All structures and components were intact, properly operated, functioning as designed. Ejected rider may have landed on the ground or another exterior structure, or may have struck against outer structures within the vehicle or ride surroundings not intended for rider contact.

The following event types will be grouped as “Operation”.)

  • Misoperation. Operator started or stopped the ride too early, too late, too quickly, too slowly, in the wrong direction, at the wrong place, incompletely. e.g., operator did not fasten restraint devices or verify fastening by patron. Operator misoperation may have resulted from control interface design or other barriers to effective performance. This event type is not faulting the operator, just describing that the operator action was incorrect. This event type does not apply to patron use of ride, even in patron directed rides. See rider event types. 
  • Separation failure. Independently moving riders or vehicles collided with other riders or vehicles. Includes rides subject to gravity and momentum of free-moving bodies or vehicles, and vehicles steered or braked by the rider such as bumper cars, go karts, mountain coasters.

A separate classification is provided for the following.

  • Submersion. Rider was submerged in water and drowned or rescued from drowning

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Severity

More than one person may have been affected in the occurrence. Severity is based on the most severely injured person. The number of injured or exposed persons is also recorded as fatal and non-fatal totals.

  • Fatal – one or more persons fatally injured. 
  • Hospitalization – one or more persons were hospitalized at least overnight but none fatally injured.
  • Medical care – one or more persons treated and released but none hospitalized overnight. This classification includes reports of persons transported for care, and persons who self-transported to medical care offsite.
  • First aid – one or more persons received first aid performed by first aid personnel, but the person was not transported or referred to hospital or medical clinic offsite.
  • Comfort onsite – one or more persons received comfort onsite (which may have bene provided in the first aid facility) but comforts limited to rest and provide material for self-administered treatments such as bandages, analgesics, ice packs. If treatment was performed by first aid staff, such as wash and dress wound, then classify as first aid.
  • No known injury – no injury was mentioned.

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Operational stage

  • Bystander/spectator – nearby the ride, such as parents watching child on ride, or preparing to enter the queue
  • Queue – before arriving to load position, but after joining queue; may be inside show building or outside ride enclosure, such as extended queue
  • Load / unload – at point of accessing ride vehicle or exiting from it
  • In ride – during the ride cycle in motion
  • Pause – ride cycle pause such as normal pauses to change of direction, approaching unload station, or stoppage.
  • Evacuation unload
  • Post-ride – a reaction attributed to ride has occurred after unloading

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