Congress considers regulating thrill rides
Lawmakers this week will consider a bill to increase regulation of traveling carnival rides and allow federal investigation of fixed theme park rides.
Though amusement park rides travel up to 100 mph and injure thousands a year, they're less regulated than baby strollers and car seats. A bill sponsored by Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., would give oversight of thrill rides to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The measure is scheduled for consideration by a House committee this week. Similar measures sponsored by Markey have idled in Congress for eight years, and Markey called the lack over oversight "a historical disgrace," The Washington Post said.
Four people on average per year die on amusement rides in the United States, the Post said.
The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions has spent $430,000 on lobbying, and retained a lobbying firm for $1.8 million, since 2001, when Markey's bill was first heard in Congress, the Post said. Individual theme parks, including Disney, Universal and Anheuser-Busch, have spent millions more on lobbying, the paper said. // Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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