WASHINGTON, D.C.- Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), who has been pressing Congress for several years to close an unusual safety exemption in the law that excludes any federal participation in investigating and preventing deaths on amusement park rides and is the author of the National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act to close this massive loophole in safety regulation of theme park rides, today issued the following comment following the news that a second death has occurred on the same ride – the “Mission: Space” attraction at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida – in less than a year:

“I urge the amusement park ride industry to drop their ill-advised campaign to prevent any federal safety oversight of these rides,” said Rep. Markey. “Every one of these tragic deaths should be treated the way we treat a fatal accident on a plane or a train:  it should be investigated by local and state experts, but also by federal experts who have the authority to do whatever is necessary to get a complete picture of the history of the ride, the maintenance history, the changes in the ride operation that have been made over time, similar accidents or injuries, and so forth.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission is the nation’s leading safety agency on amusement park rides, but because of a special industry loophole in the law, no federal expert from the CPSC is even allowed to visit the accident scene or participate in the investigation.  This is madness.  The legislation to eliminate this special interest loophole has been repeatedly blocked by the industry so that it can continue with business as usual.  Today’s accident makes clear, once again, that ‘business as usual’ in the amusement park ride industry can be dangerous to your health.”

The nation’s leading safety agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), oversees the safety of carnival (“mobile”) rides, but a loophole prohibits the CPSC from overseeing the safety of park (“permanent”) rides. Markey’s legislation would allow the CPSC to perform its intended mission – preventing accidents before they occur by ensuring that safety corrections found necessary on one ride in one state are implemented on all similar rides in all states.

For more information about Rep. Markey’s work on amusement park safety along with a copy of the National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act bill, please visit http://markey.house.gov

 H.R. 2500 - National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act (27.32 KB)