Tireless investigation needed to prevent repeat of ride tragedy
Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich did not mince words in his description of this week’s deadly ride accident at the opening day of the 164th Ohio State Fair: “It’s a nightmare. It’s a terrible situation.”
State and county fairs, after all, are designed to be stomping grounds for fun, amusements, entertainment and education for children and adults alike. They are not designed to be breeding grounds for death, injury and destruction.
The accident that killed an 18-year-old Marines enlistee and injured seven others on the Fire Ball ride late Wednesday afternoon shocked the senses of those who witnessed it. As the pendulum ride was swinging riders 40 feet above the midway while spinning them at 13 revolutions per minute, one of the cars broke off, tumbling riders to the ground.
Just what caused that car to break loose remains an anguishing mystery. Operator error? A loose screw? Irresponsible rider behavior?
While it would be satisfying to pinpoint the cause and assign blame to a party found guilty of precipitating the accident, the truth is that it’s far too early to point fingers. Thus far in the investigation, however, we are encouraged by the responsible behavior and speedy reactions from virtually all players with stakes in ride safety:
The governor immediately ordered all rides shut down at the fair and implemented mandatory new inspections of all of them. Rides reopened Friday.
KMG, the Dutch manufacturer of the ride, has ordered all 43 versions of the Fire Ball in use around the world to be shut down until more is known about the cause of the malfunction in Ohio.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture and ride company Amusements of America completed at least three thorough inspections of that ride and all others before awarding it a permit. Some rides did not pass muster and were shut down.
FAIRS REMAIN VIABLE
As those and other investigators continue to sort through potential causes of the accident, one victim of the midway crash should not be attendance at the state fair or at county agricultural expositions, such as the Columbiana County Fair that officially opens in Lisbon on Monday and runs through Aug. 6.
When put in perspective, injuries and deaths from amusement thrill rides are quite rare. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, for example, reports less than 1 percent of injuries on rides in the U.S. require hospital care. The Outdoor Amusement Business Association says the chances of suffering serious injuires on a thrill ride are 1 in 9 million.
Injuries that do happen often result from those who violate Ohio’s Rider Responsibility Law by failing to keep hands and arms inside the ride, not staying seated and holding on or taking selfie photos while the ride is in motion.
Though we could understand why some would want to stay away from the most daring of thrill rides as the investigation plays out, the accident should not keep patrons away from fairs altogether.
After all, amusement rides alone do not a fair make. At next week’s fair in Lisbon, for example, there’ll be plenty of farm and animal displays, educational exhibits, grandstand concerts and races plus dozens of delectable fair-food concessions.
We therefore encourage robust fair attendance while urging public and private investigators to work tirelessly toward pinpointing the source of the Fire Ball tragedy and doing all possible to ensure it is never repeated on any midway in the world.