Author: Kathryn Woodcock

Dr. Kathryn Woodcock is Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, teaching, researching, and consulting in the area of human factors engineering / ergonomics particularly applied to amusement rides and attractions (https://thrilllab.blog.ryerson.ca), and to broader occupational and public safety issues of performance, error, investigation and inspection, and to disability and accessibility.

CNE 2017 construction week field trip

This year, three Ryerson Engineering students joined the CNE construction field trip (from left, Taha Simsek, Tyler Nagata, Meghan Keegan). Aside from posing with Squirtles (Pokémon game prizes likely to be the hot commodity this year), they had the opportunity to join me in shadowing some ride inspections and watching the assembly of Canada’s largest fair.

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When the worst happens

The worst thing that can happen at a theme park, amusement park, water park, or carnival is an injury to a rider.  The rider and their family obviously are hurt worst, but the owner/operator and the entire industry shares the pain.

Many people work very hard to make sure rider injury does not happen, and because of the success of that effort, it rarely does happen. In the immediate aftermath, thoughts often go to negligence. Was the inspection skipped or shortcut? Did someone leave a part out? Did the rider bring it on themselves by misbehaving?

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Report of rider injury

The fatal injury on the Schlitterbahn “Verrückt” waterslide has been reported as a decapitation.

Earlier accounts referred to a “neck injury”. Reporters enthusiastically parsed past Consumer Product Safety Commission reports and noted 28% of injuries in their dataset were head and neck injuries. They did not report that the CPSC data on amusement rides substantially overstates injury occurrence due to the inclusion of swan boats, ball pits, laser tag, corn mazes and other things that are not what you would popularly consider “amusement rides”. A study I published in the journal Safety Science in 2014 found the national estimate of actual amusement ride injuries was less than 2/3 of what CPSC data would suggest.

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