WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce committee, renewed his call today for Congress to pass federal legislation closing a massive loophole in safety regulation of fixed-site theme park rides. During an oversight hearing with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Markey announced his intention to reintroduce the National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act today, legislation that would extend federal oversight over fixed-site amusement park rides, which are currently exempt from federal consumer product safety laws and regulations.
Rep. Markey said, “With summer approaching, families will once again flock to amusement parks. They rightfully expect fundamental safety measures to already be in place while they enjoy their holiday. Instead, amusement rides located at fixed sites around the country have fallen into a regulatory black hole that blocks the entry of federal safety regulators. When a serious accident occurs, federal investigators should be able to go to the scene and find out what happened, make sure a safety plan is in place, and make sure the lessons learned are shared nationwide. This is simple common sense.”

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.

The National Amusement Park Ride Safety Act has been endorsed by Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, Saferparks.org, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and Kids in Danger. Rep. Markey’s bill will close the special-interest loophole that prevents effective federal safety oversight of amusement park rides. It would restore to the CPSC the standard safety jurisdiction over “fixed-site” amusement park rides that it used to have before the Roller Coaster Loophole was created ed. Markey’s bill also authorizes appropriations of $500 thousand annually to the CPSC to carry out the additional responsibilities. It would restore CPSC’s authority to:

1. Investigate accidents;
2. Develop and enforce action plans to correct defects; and
3. Act as a national clearinghouse for accident and defect data.

“Most people don’t realize that the number of fatalities per passenger mile on roller coasters is higher than on passenger trains, passenger buses, and passenger planes. We cannot wait until the next accident happens, we need to address these loopholes in amusement ride safety now and stop playing roller-coaster-roulette with the lives of Americas families,” concluded Markey.