A recent study shows that roller-coasters, carnivals and “kiddie rides,” while providing lots of fun during the summer, also carry a downside to the thrill. A massive study of hospital injury records reveals that 4,400 children a year get hurt on these rides. While most of the injuries are not real serious, about 67 children a year, or 1.5 percent, are injured badly enough to be hospitalized. The analysis of data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), which includes reports from about 100 nationally representative hospitals, is the most in-depth study to date. It tracks 20 years of injuries that occurred at fixed-site amusement parks, mobile carnivals and fairs, and coin-operated rides at places like malls, stores and restaurants.
Dr. Gary A. Smith, who conducted the research for Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, says about 20 children a day are hurt on rides in the peak season between May and September, which is “one every two hours.” Such harm – and the most in-depth study to date on ride injuries – highlights the need for more awareness, better education and increased tracking and oversight. Dr. Smith made this observation:
In the past, the discussion has always been on roller-coaster injuries and the bigger rides. The message here is that these injuries occur across a broad spectrum of types of rides and across many locations.
Overall, Dr. Smith’s team found that some 92,885 children ages 16 and younger were injured on amusement rides between 1990 and 2010. Researchers conducted a case-by-case review of more than 5,626 narratives from the NEISS reports. Officials with the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) said that about 297 million people – adults and children – safely rode 1.7 billion rides in the U.S. in 2011.
The most serious injuries are deaths, but the new report didn’t include how many children died. That’s because fatalities aren’t tracked by hospital injury reports. Fifty-two deaths tied to amusement rides were logged between 1990 and 2004, according to a 2005 report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Unfortunately, there are no later figures available. More girls than boys were hurt on rides – 55.5 percent versus 45.5 percent – which was a surprise because boys are typically more injury-prone in such studies, according to Dr. Smith.
Most children were hurt during falls, with nearly 32 percent of injuries caused by falling in, on, off or against rides. The head and neck was the most common body part hurt, 28 percent, and soft tissue injuries were the most common kind, accounting for 30 percent of the harm, the study showed. Big, fixed-site amusement parks appeared to account for about 33 percent of the injuries, with mobile carnivals responsible for about 30 percent. That’s an uncertain figure, though, because in about 25 percent of cases the particular site was unknown. It was rather surprising that nearly 12 percent of injuries reportedly were caused by rides at malls, stores, restaurants or arcades. The youngest children, those aged 0 to 5, were most likely to be hurt on those rides, and they were more than twice as likely to suffer concussions and 1.76 times more likely to suffer cuts.
The big problem with amusement park rides involves uncertain regulation. The CPSC oversees mobile rides used for carnivals and fairs, but currently the agency has no jurisdiction over fixed-site rides at big parks or small malls. Instead, various state and local authorities are responsible for those rides, so even limited common standards often aren’t followed. That issue, combined with spotty tracking of injuries and deaths, means that it’s impossible to tell exactly which attractions are responsible for most harm, or whether it’s getting worse over time.
Dr. Smith says that his mission is to inform the public, the industry and policymakers, adding that “we want to inform the people who have the ability to keep kids safe.” Those people include the owners of the places where the attractions are located and the owners and operators of the various rides as well as parents. But most parents are entitled to rely on the industry to keep children who use the rides as safe as possible.
Source: NBC News
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