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Saferparks 5-Year Plan: "Protect Your Kids and Mine by 2009"
Saferparks is working to reduce the risk of serious amusement ride accidents involving children by expanding and strengthening the layers of protection provided by parents, public safety officials and industry.
- Safety regulation provides checks and balances to industry, transparancy in the marketplace, and important safety information to consumers. Commercial pressure is strong to cut costs and draw as many customers as possible. Regulatory officials audit safety procedures and act as impartial investigators after serious accidents.
- Sharing safety-critical information from regulatory reports, medical research, manufacturer's safety bulletins, and other sources can alert consumers, regulators, and industry to potential safety issues so they can head off problems before they become tragedies.
- Child safety guidelines establish common practices to help industry, regulators, and parents protect the most vulnerable riders from dangerous amusement ride experiences.
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Note 1: The order in which the agenda items appear indicates dependency, not priority. Each component is equally necessary, and the issues are tightly coupled:
- Without regulation, there is no reliable public access to accurate information on accidents and injuries involving children.
- Without information sharing, there is no reliable way to know which ride designs, operating policies, and safety features are working to protect children and which ones are failing to protect children.
Note 2: The first two components will improve understanding of ride-related failures for patrons of all ages. Although child safety is the focus of Saferparks' 5-year-goal, creating a comprehensive prevention program for all ride-related failures is the ultimate goal.
