Editorial: Needed reforms are still lacking six months after Verrückt tragedy
More than six months have passed since a young boy was killed at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kan. The accidental death — on a water slide called Verrückt — stunned the community and the nation. It was a horror.
The ride is now permanently closed. But that alone is not sufficient to prevent future tragedies.
In the weeks after 10-year-old Caleb Schwab died, public officials promised a full investigation, as well as a review of the rules and regulations surrounding amusement park rides. To date, both commitments remain unfilled.
The privacy of the Schwab family, who lost their son and brother, must be respected. But with protections in place for sensitive information, the results of investigations into the accident should be released. That’s the only way the public can know if regulations were followed at the park, which remains open.
Equally important, public officials must redouble efforts to examine how amusement park rides are designed and regulated.
Mark Holland, the mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., told The Star editorial board it’s unlikely the board of commissioners will take up increased oversight of theme parks. Among the considerations Holland cited was a concern that a direct role might transfer liability for an accident from the park’s owners to the community.
That seems improbable. Kansas law specifically allows local governments to enact regulations for amusement rides.
But even if true, that sidesteps the real issue. Someone other than a park’s operator must make sure bolts are tightened and welds are solid. If the Unified Government can’t or won’t, the state must.
Kansas law now requires an annual self-inspection of fixed-site amusement rides “by a qualified inspector.” State regulations say inspectors must be certified by the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials, known as NAARSO.
NAARSO isn’t a government agency. It’s a nonprofit charity, with a yearly budget of about $300,000. Tax records for 2015 show it had no full-time employees, just a part-time office manager and a director.
Kansas should go further. Ride inspection should be a responsibility for a state office (perhaps the state fire marshal), which would conduct operational and structural tests at least once a month. Those reports should be made public and should be prominently posted online. Failure to meet required safety standards should mean closing an entire park, not just the ride involved.
The state also should provide a toll-free hotline and email address so members of the public can communicate concerns about ride safety.
Missouri has taken a more aggressive approach to amusement ride oversight. Still, there’s a glaring problem: Water slides are specifically exempt from the rules. Lawmakers in Jefferson City should close that loophole this year.
Even with improved inspections, fixed-site rides can still be dangerous. That’s because inspectors examine structural issues, not the safety of the overall design. Private insurance companies may look at design but may also lack the expertise to adequately assess ride safety.
It would be inefficient for states to hire engineers to pass judgment on how an amusement ride works. That’s where the federal government comes in.
Ride design guidelines are now compiled and published by a private international group called ASTM, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials. The amusement ride group includes engineers, designers — and amusement park operators.
ASTM’s recommendations are precise and well-thought-out, but they are voluntary and enforced on a state-by-state basis. That needs to change. Congress should require fixed-site theme park rides to conform to ASTM standards and require independent pre-construction design review and approval. It must also oversee ride testing prior to use.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, whose district includes the Schlitterbahn park, should ask for hearings on the safety of amusement park rides.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission could play an important role here. It regularly reviews product designs for safety. Yet since 1981, the commission has been prohibited by law from judging design and operational safety of fixed-site amusement park rides.
It’s called — we’re not kidding — the “roller coaster loophole.”
The loophole should be closed, and Congress should consider giving the Consumer Product Safety Commission a role in monitoring fixed-site amusement ride design and operation. Toasters get more scrutiny than Verrückt.
“The exemption of rides at amusement parks from CPSC oversight makes no sense on safety or policy grounds,” Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, a supporter of federal oversight, said in an email.
To their credit, amusement park operators do not entirely reject more oversight. They’re wary of federal red tape and overreach, and they think the product safety commission lacks the expertise to understand amusement rides. But industry officials say they wouldn’t automatically rule out additional scrutiny, at either the state or federal level, if they think it would enhance safety.
In fact, the best operators know increased regulation would help their parks by making visitors more confident and safe as they buckle in.
Lawmakers can make amusement parks safer. And they should act before the roller coasters and water slides reopen this spring.
This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Editorial: Needed reforms are still lacking six months after Verrückt tragedy."