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| In Massachusetts, this sign could soon be illegal. |
On May 16, 1999, a 37 year old man was ejected and injured while riding the Superman Ride of Steel roller coaster at Darien Lake.
"Park officials say that the passenger restraint system was working properly, and that the weight of the rider, which was in excess of 300 pounds, could have been a factor."
On September 21, 2002, a 40 year old woman fell to her death at Knotts Berry Farm while riding the Perilous Plunge. According to the coroner's report,
"the woman weighed 292 pounds, had a 58-inch abdomen, and ... her hips were about 50 inches around." The seat belts on the ride only extended 50 inches.
On May 1, 2004, a man was ejected from Six Flag's New England's Superman roller coaster and killed. Investigators found that a contributing factor to his death was that the
"girth of the victim's lower torso was incompatible with the "T" bar restraint" on the ride."
And just a few weeks ago,
on July 19, 2013, Rosy Esparza, a 52 year old woman, was ejected from the Texas Giant and fell to her death. Her weight may have been a factor in her death. While Six Flags has not released the findings of its investigation due to pending litigation, a statement issued by Six Flags on September 10 states that the ride was being reopened with modified restraints and a test seat at the entrance because
"as with other rides in the park, guests with unique body shapes or sizes may not fit into the restraint system."
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| Meet the man trying hard to make your next amusement ride more dangerous. | |
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Weight clearly can be a problem on some amusement rides. The fact is that rides are simply not designed to safely accommodate everyone of every size. That's the reason manufacturers establish height requirements and, less frequently, weight requirements for amusement rides. And while every operator has faced, on numerous occasions, the wrath of a parent who vociferously insists that his child be allowed to ride notwithstanding the height requirement or the guest that only JUUUUUUUST fits into the restraint but steadfastly insists on riding, whenever anyone is injured or killed a central theme in the inevitable ensuing lawsuit is that the operator should not have allowed the rider to board if the ride could not safely accommodate him. But what if it was actually against the law for an operator to enforce height requirements? What if it was actually a crime to turn someone away from a ride due to their weight? Well, if
State Representative Byron Rushing (D., Boston) has his way, that might soon be the case in the fine Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (Thanks to my colleague
Paul Cavanaugh, of Daly Cavanaugh LLP for bringing this one to my attention!).
Click "read more" for the rest of the story....
