Messing With Texas

Amusement parks are full of things that are bad for us. Budget busting prices, diet bursting food choices and germ laden queue areas are just some of the hazards one faces when out for a day of thrills. However, the rides themselves are only supposed to give the illusion of danger. In reality, we expect them to be completely safe.

A review of the statistics confirms that the average ride in a theme park will be a safe one. According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), an industry trade group, “the chance of being seriously injured on a ride at a fixed-site park in the U. S. is 1 in 24 million.” As one fan sight stated, “you are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident driving to the park than having an accident on a ride.”

No matter how good the statistics, sometimes people end up on the wrong end of the numbers. Lightning will sometimes strike twice and four to five people will die each year in amusement park accidents. Whether these deaths are caused by the rider not following the rules, the operator not doing his or her job correctly or a flaw in the ride’s design, only a full investigation can provide the information needed to make riders safe in the future.

Last week 52-year old Rosa Irene Ayala-Gaona ended up on the wrong side of the odds when she “was ejected from the Texas Giant roller coaster at Six Flags Over Texas theme park...fell 75 feet, struck a metal support beam, then landed on top of a metal tunnel structure.” It is too soon to figure out what went horribly wrong, but it is known that the state of Texas will not be involved in the investigation. The state’s regulator will simply make sure that the ride is insured and inspected before it can be reopened. Therefore, the only investigation into the incident will be conducted by Six Flags.

Corporations exist to make money and having a reputation for operating unsafe parks would interfere with Six Flag’s ability to maximize shareholder value. It is, therefore, in their best interest to conduct the most thorough investigation possible. However, the public’s interest is not necessarily taken into consideration when an inquiry of this type is done outside of their view. There is also no guarantee that the company will release all of their findings.

There was once a time when the media could be trusted to serve the role of public watchdog but this was before the news was expected to be a profit center. True investigative journalism has not fared well in the world of a 24 hour news cycle where sensationalism is more effective at attracting eyeballs. The credibility of two of the networks is also compromised for this particular subject by the fact that the corporations that own them have substantial theme park holdings.

A death on a roller coaster is certainly sensational and there has been a lot of coverage. Unfortunately, even in reporting the basics of the story, there has been some glaring errors. For example, one news story reported that “at least 14 injuries were tied to the park’s Texas Giant over the past five years.” In fact, this coaster has only been opened in it’s current incarnation since 2011. Another report quoted a witness as saying the victim had expressed concern that she was not properly secured but an employee had told her that “as long as you heard it click, you’re fine.” One website states that this statement is inconsistent with the type of hydraulic restraint used on this ride. These failures do not inspire confidence in their ability to bring the full story to the public.

The state of Texas’ failure to become an “omniscient third party” in the investigation is not an accidental oversight on their part. Instead, it is part of a carefully cultivated image. Along with a $490,000,000 fund for corporate welfare, Governor Rick Perry boasts of a lack of corporate income taxes and minimum regulations in his efforts to poach businesses from other states. Not only do they not have a state fire code, smaller counties are prohibited from enacting their own. They are also the only state that does not have a mandatory workers compensation insurance program.

Not only has this lack of regulation helped Texas increase their number of jobs since before the Great Recession, it has helped the state assume a leadership position over the rest of the states. Texas is tied with Mississippi for the largest percentage of employees earning the federal minimum wage. It leads the nation in workplace deaths with over 400 in every year since 1995. In the five years ending in May 2012, the property damage in fires and explosions at chemical and industrial plants in Texas was the same as in all other states combined.

Illinois is one of the states that Rick Perry has focused on with his message of business friendliness. With 950 high-risk industrial sites, this state is second only to Texas, which has 1,300. Perhaps Illinois’ tougher regulations are responsible for the fact that “Texas has more than three times the number of accidents, four times the number of injuries and deaths, and 300 times the property damage costs.”

The Governor is not adverse to all government regulations. He did recently sign a law that, among other things, “requires all clinics to become ambulatory surgical centers, even if they do not provide surgical abortions.” I guess when you lead the country in workplace deaths and executions, you need some way to “cement the foundation on which the culture of life in Texas is built.”

Carl Petersen is a parent, an advocate for students with special education needs. For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com.