Rider Responsibility

The term "Rider Responsibility", as it is used by the amusement ride industry, generally refers to laws governing the actions and decisions of riders. Not all states have implemented laws regulating rider behavior, and detailed requirements vary from state to state.

Saferparks endorses the use of reasonable Rider Responsibility requirements in state law. The ASTM F-24 industry standards committee has developed several paragraphs for that purpose (from ASTM F770, section 5):

• There are inherent risks in the participation in or on any amusement ride, device, or attraction. Patrons of an amusement ride, device, or attraction, by participation, accept the risks inherent in such participation of which the ordinary prudent person is or should be aware. Patrons have a duty to exercise good judgment and act in a responsible manner while using the amusement ride, device, or attraction and to obey all oral or written warnings, or both, prior to or during participation, or both.
• Patrons have a duty to not participate in or on any amusement ride, device, or attraction when under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Patrons have a duty to properly use all ride or device safety equipment provided.

The industry standard language forms the basis for Rider Responsibility laws in many states. Patrons should always adhere to the common sense rules stated above, and be aware that they may face criminal charges if caught acting in a reckless manner around thrill rides.

	Consumers should be aware that some states have, at the behest of industry lobbyists, adopted inflated Rider Responsibility laws holding riders responsible for virtually anything that goes wrong during a ride cycle.
	Example: South Carolina's Rider Responsibility law runs 4 pages instead of the standard 5 sentences and criminalizes 23 broadly-defined patron decisions and behaviors. Penalties include fines, jail time, and detention of customers (including children) by carnival employees for any length of time and in any manner deemed "reasonable" by the carnival operator. more

Rider Responsibility laws are ostensibly created to address the problem of "Rider Misconduct", which the amusement ride industry claims is the major cause of injury accidents. According to the industry's logic, any injury that cannot be directly linked to equipment failure or blatant operator error is blamed on the patron.

The New Jersey Dept. of Community Affairs categorizes ride-related accidents differently. With the addition of three extra categories, New Jersey regulators show that deliberate misbehavior causes no more accidents than equipment failure. The vast majority of amusement ride accidents are simply mishaps, the natural consequence of loading a high volume of untrained children and adults into open cars on powerful spinning and speeding machinery.

Willful misbehavior is a serious problem for the amusement ride industry.  However, Saferparks has not found any evidence within the state or federal data to support the industry's contention that willful misconduct is the cause of most accidents. 

Confusion, inexperience, inattention, and poorly-fitted restraints are also serious problems for the amusement ride industry, carrying the potential for catastrophic injury. They require different preventative strategies than those used to combat misconduct.

Rider Responsibility laws based on industry-standard language are a fine idea, but they shouldn't be sold as a magic bullet solution to 90% of all ride-related accidents.

Responsibility is not something that can be created by passing a law, but it can be fostered through clear communication and consistent enforcement of limits.  If the amusement ride industry wants patrons to take responsibility for their own safety, then that expectation should be clearly communicated in amusement park advertising and public relations materials and consumers should be kept well-informed of known hazard patterns.

As long as amusement parks and carnivals are marketed as exciting and carefree entertainment, patrons will act excited and carefree. Industry PR campaigns teach parents to think of amusement rides as the safest form of family entertainment.  The potential dangers are deliberately downplayed to the public.  Corporate lobbyists work very hard to arrange exemptions from, or restrictions to, reporting laws so that serious accidents are hidden from public view.   It seems a bit disingenuous for the industry to publicly proclaim that amusement rides are perfectly safe, hide all evidence to the contrary, and then quietly lobby for laws that hold those same children, or their parents, liable for ride-related injuries.