That's the scariest thing. The older I get, the further away from that thinking I swing. Going to the local fair and other such events, I'm always slightly terrified at the idea of those rides being packed and moved from town to town, and (excuse the stereotype) setup and run by fringe members of society. I'd guess that there's some sort of governing source that has to sign off on those rides.. but how many? Is that guy having a bad day? Does he even care? Did his boss just piss him off? No one really questions those things until a tragedy happens - and very sadly that always means it's too late for one family.

I rode on a scrambler at a fair against my own better judgement somewhat recently. The operator wisely suggested that we put my daughter on the interior to avoid her getting squished (read: crushed). It's amazing how much that ride forces you to the external wall of the cart. I heard creaking on that cart as I tried my best to keep my weight off of the wall, and I spent most of the ride thinking about how if the welds didn't hold, that I would be flung down on the metal bird nest of equipment about 4 feet down, followed closely by my sister and daughter.

Another anecdote.. Wisconsin has a pretty well known water park - Noah's Ark. But years ago there was a more obscure water park for the kids that couldn't convince their parents to spend $60 a head and an entire afternoon afternoon trying to keep their kids from drowning - and that park was Rainbow Falls. When I was about 10 they released a new ride called "Zero Gravity". It was a U-shaped ride that you went down on a 2-person tube (front and back).

You'd get in at the top of a rather precarious platform with a single teenage operator to start you out. He'd hit the button to make the water jets propel you out. Those water jets failed to their job about 50% of the time, so the teenager would move to the back of the raft, and unceremoniously kick several times at the back of the raft. I don't know the actual grade of the decent, but it was damn close to a straight vertical drop. Then you'd slide up the other side, and eventually settle into the bottom.

There were not belts of any kind, nothing but you gripping the handles to keep you on your raft. We would run straight back in line to experience the horror again and again the first year it was released. The next year I couldn't get over the pit in my stomach, and I never rode it again. I still don't like rides with "drops". I can't believe there were no notable incidents on that ride, given its rudimentary design and lack of any safety features..

Pretty much. I remember it being much taller and steeper, but that could have been my 10 year old memory.

I think a regulatory standard of some kind would have stopped these guys soon after they drew up their design on a cocktail napkin. I have no doubt that some people may not need those regulations to focus on safety as their top priority. The point of such regulations, though, is to create some sort of floor for safety standards that prevents ideas from idiots like this from taking shape.

I agree free markets can work to help prevent such actions, but that assumes that the decision makers are capable of the foresight to realize that cutting corners could have a dire effect on their bottom line (in case someone's serious injury or death isn't enough) at some point. I see no evidence to suggest that anyone involved had such foresight.

Yeah, I get it. I don't know what the perfect solution is, and I respect opinions on both sides. Without knowing much of anything about the industry, I would think that you'd have a couple of engineers that review the designs and ask questions, as well as be on site for testings, progress checks, etc.

There's the other side that if you have the regulating agency has their ass on the line, chances are those rides aren't going to be very exciting - considering they're not going to get compensated based on the buzz or ticket sales they bring in.

My heart just goes out to the family. In times like these I don't even know that it would be more comforting if they told you "I'm really sorry - we had this checked and checked, everyone was on the top of their game, but conditions were just such that a freak accident occurred and no one could have done anything to prevent it", but I think it's better than "The guys that built and operated this thing seemed to not care that their ride was on safe, and it was your son that had to pay the price for that negligence".