Who regulates amusement parks? Questions have been raised after a boy, 14, died after falling from ride
So when a 14-year-old boy fell to his death last week on an amusement park ride in Orlando, Florida, there were questions about who should be held responsible and how the incident happened in the first placeTyre Sampson fell from the Orlando FreeFall drop tower, which takes riders up and then drops them nearly 400 feet at speeds that reach more than 75 mph, according to ICON Park, where the incident happened.
When it comes to standardization of safety at parks, the industry relies on ASTM International, an organization that develops and publishes standards for a number of industries including amusement parks, he said. "It was always the agricultural institutions that were in charge of these sorts of events and that led to a modern-day regulatory structure where -- in most states -- some branch of the state department of agriculture has oversight over fixed rides," he said.
"It could make things worse," King said, adding that getting the federal government involved does not make things better."They would have to now deal separately with a federal regulatory agency that would suddenly become responsible for every fixed-site amusement ride in the United States," he said. Both King and Lewison told CNN they thought state agencies were doing a great job regulating amusement parks.How often do people die on amusement park rides?