Lack of Secure Restraint for Young Children

Amusement rides operated in the United States are not required to effectively restrain young children, no matter what the level of hazard exposure. The gondola wheel in this photo has no restraints or physical barriers to keep children inside and carries riders almost 100 feet in the air. Despite the obvious child safety hazards, the manufacturer's recommended height limit is 42" for unaccompanied children. That corresponds to a minimum age limit of four years for kids riding alone. Operators are not required to post any warnings to parents about the lack of restraints or the deadly fall hazard. In 2006, a kindergartener was killed falling from a similar ride in California.

Young children who become frightened tend to run for mommy or daddy, even if they're on a moving amusement ride at the time.  Children who feel perfectly safe when a ride is moving may panic when the ride stops and try to climb out, even if the car is high off the ground. Young children who are used to jumping off swings and bikes and spinning playground merry-go-rounds, are just as likely to jump off a moving amusement ride.  The difference is that amusement rides are motorized heavy equipment.

Young children are able to unlatch most kiddie ride restraints fairly easily, and many rides approved for use by young children don't have any restraints at all. If you're going to allow toddlers and preschoolers to ride alone, even on very small rides, look for rides with more securely-fitted restraints. The same goes for older children (ages five through eight or nine) on rides with significant fall heights, rides with strong spinning forces, or rides with rapid changes in direction.  

Young children are vulnerable to falling or being thrown off rides if the restraints fit poorly.

• Many industry-standard restraints are designed so they don't even touch the body of a small child rider, much less provide effective restraint against the forces of motion. 
• Some containment designs allow children at the lower end of the allowable range to easily slip out of the restraint.
• Some ride designs rely on the riders' ability to brace themselves with their feet or grab handholds in anticipation of a curve or drop.  Small children often can't reach the floor of the car with their feet on a full-sized ride, and may not have the knowledge or skill to safely brace themselves.
• Restraint analysis and commentary from ride engineer David Collins: Consider the Wiggle Factor

Children who just barely meet the height limit, children who are taller than average for their age, or children who are thinner than average for their height, may be more vulnerable to this kind of accident. The drop ride shown below bounces riders up and down to a height of 28 feet above the ground and is approved by the manufacturer for use by unaccompanied children as young as four. Note that one of the youngest children has slipped both arms out of the restraint. Even if the older child next to her was paying attention to the little girl, his restraint doesn't allow larger riders enough movement to safely intervene.

Chris Hondros/Getty Images

• Photos of child safety-related restraint hazards
• Examples of safer restraint choices for small children
• Saferparks report on falls/ejections
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission project report on amusement-ride restraint failures, "Human Factors Review of Restraint Failures on Mobile Amusement Rides" (359 KB pdf)

Note that the CPSC report is restricted to failures on portable rides due to a 1981 law exempting amusement park rides from federal safety oversight.  Parents should remain aware that similar failures occur on fixed-site rides.

While seatbelts are more likely to keep a toddler inside a ride than a single lap bar or a piece of clothesline, they are not foolproof.  Ride along with your child until you feel he understands and can anticipate the loading, unloading, ride action, and what to do if the ride stops unexpectedly.  Teach your child about amusement ride safety in the same repetitive, patient way you teach him about bike safety or traffic safety or water safety.