printersdevil78 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I did a search and didn't see anything here on this yet. CNN is reporting on a 3-year-old who was injured after flying off a Techno Jump at a Texas rodeo carnival. (Warning: The video is not for the faint of heart.): http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/us/2012/03/16/dnt-toddler-carnival-accident.ktrk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 And here come the: 1.) Lawsuits 2.) Over the shoulder restraints 3.) Seatbelts I love the quote about "She was tall enough to ride, but was too young to ride it alone..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenaapple1974 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I was just checking to see if anyone had posted this. The video made me gasp. Huffington Post's article/video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/16/3-year-old-thrown-from-ho_n_1353587.html?1331914167&icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk1%26pLid%3D144106 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacoaster09 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 OMG... This is why for going on 15 years now I have never gone to a carnival. The guy in the video who the owner of the RODEO... just looking at him ... reaffirms why i don't trust carnivals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) Just watched the video, and I kind of agree with the scary Texas Oil Cowboy guy! She was too young to be on that ride without an adult next to her. Didn't we just have a thread on age restrictions? Seriously, I put blame on guardians and ride op for allowing this tiny kid to sit next to another kid (not to mention failing to stop the ride when she was slipping out)! Edited March 16, 2012 by SharkTums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Apparently, the mother was originally on the ride with the two children, but bailed at the last second. According to the station, the girl's mother reportedly decided she didn't want to ride along moments before it began-- and left her daughter strapped in with her brother. I would say that the blame should be placed on whoever wrote up the rules and restrictions for the ride. You can be 48 inches tall, but if you're skinny enough, those buzz bars won't do anything. Technically speaking, the operator did nothing wrong, as the kid was tall enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 OMG... This is why for going on 15 years now I have never gone to a carnival. The guy in the video who the owner of the RODEO... just looking at him ... reaffirms why i don't trust carnivals. I agree and the owner person never once apologized for what happened, whether or not it was anybody's fault doesn't matter, at least show a little compassion- for a 3 year old girl! And for that I hope he gets his ass sued! Thankfully she seems to be recovering well. Strange that she apparently met the 42-48" height requirement yet somehow magically slipped out of the ride. And the owner blames that on the fact that she was not riding with an adult (again trying to blame the girl rather than take responsibility or at least have any kind of compassion)....how does that make any difference? Is the adult going to hold the child in the ride- isn't that what the restraint system is for? Now lawmakers want to push through tighter regulations on carnival rides......yeah ya think? News report with idiot owner... Video only... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5KGKAAHp-8 Just watched the video, and I kind of agree with the scary Texas Oil Cowboy guy! She was too young to be on that ride without an adult next to her. Didn't we just have a thread on age restrictions? Seriously, I put blame on guardians and ride op for allowing this tiny kid to sit next to another kid (not to mention failing to stop the ride when she was slipping out)! Thinking about it more I have to agree with you, the ride op should have stopped the ride, an adult should have been on there, shoulda shoulda shoulda, but the scary texas oil Cowboy guy (lol, love that) doesn't really seem to care about the girl at all, seemingly no sympathy or concearn, at least publicly, for her well being. Now if you ran a place like this and had something happen like this that was all over the news= bad press, besides at least being HUMAN wouldn't you also do everything you can to at the very least portray to the public and the news media that you give a damn and are genuinely concearned? Or is this just how things go down in Texas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 It seems that 48" tall for a 3 ear old is pretty tall. I would place a little of the blame on the parent. A 3 year old is to young to realize a dangerous situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schotcher Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 (edited) I smell a lawsuit brewing. Edited August 13, 2013 by Schotcher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natatomic Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Restraints don't always nail you down and prevent you from going anywhere. There are plenty of rides were I *could* wiggle out if I wanted to (I wouldn't, because I am an adult with at least SOME common sense, but I digress...). That could very well be the case here - that the little girl got scared and simply tried to wiggle out. The video did try to say that that wasn't what happened but when they said her legs were suddenly on one side of the in-between-the-legs bar, it's very possible that she got them there herself. In my (amateur) opinion, I'd say the mother is responsible for allowing the child to go without her. And the ride-op is responsible for not e-stopping (though there are a lot of ride vehicles to keep an eye on. Maybe he genuinely didn't see it happen). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire2box Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 The girl wast starting to fall out and the ride makes a very near to full revolution before she finally get's ejected. There was clearly a number of things that could of been done to prevent this from ever happening. the mom staying on the ride the mom and/or Ride OP realizing her girl can easily slip out the ride OP paying attention to the rides occupants to see if they are in any sort of distress. Seems like they can all easily be accountable and short of having a 5 point harness system, I don't think the girl would of been alright on the ride at all. ::my two cents:: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Restraints are meant to restrain you sure, but we all know there are several restraints that we could wiggle out of if we wanted/needed to as someone else mentioned. The whole point of varying height restrictions is so if a kid is in that smaller area and has a better chance of 'wiggling out' there's a parent/guardian there to explain to them not to do that and that's dumb and hold on to them. The brother was clearly not a responsible guardian to watch a 3 year old on a ride like that. KT's five and hasn't been on a ride like that! Remember parents, just because your kid is tall enough for a ride, doesn't mean they should ride it!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Restraints are meant to restrain you sure, but we all know there are several restraints that we could wiggle out of if we wanted/needed to as someone else mentioned. The whole point of varying height restrictions is so if a kid is in that smaller area and has a better chance of 'wiggling out' there's a parent/guardian there to explain to them not to do that and that's dumb and hold on to them. The brother was clearly not a responsible guardian to watch a 3 year old on a ride like that. KT's five and hasn't been on a ride like that! Remember parents, just because your kid is tall enough for a ride, doesn't mean they should ride it!!!! This is why, for the most part, TPR parents are far better than any other parents I've seen. And I couldn't agree more: Sometimes it's more than just a restraint- but rather, the wherewithal to know when it is a RIGHT time to go on a ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrt Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 When they say stricter regulations, what exactly would they plan to do? Carnivals have been like this forever. Seems like they'd simply bump up height restrictions or throw on some more restraints, and continue to not give a damn. It's amazing that parents can't discern between what's safe and not. And maybe have some fear and respect for their own child's well being? Especially at a rundown carnival... I don't think I was on my first coaster till like kindergarten, and my dad held me down the entire ride. And it really wasn't till 4th grade that I even rode the 'big kid' flat rides when my parents finally found me capable of surviving them haha. I say we sue all three parties at fault (ride op, carnival, and parent) or maybe march them off into the fiery pit of death! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay20016 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Devils Advocate: I've not seen where the ride op was stationed, but it would be good to remember that you can not always see everything from a single point as the front cars and center mast will occlude the back ones on a lot of these spinning rides. Hell, Witch's Wheel at Cedar Point scared the bejeezus out of me the time I rode it because the restraints aren't that great and certain clothes (especially when wet as you get after Shoot the Rapids) cause you to slide a bit more than one should... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
printersdevil78 Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 ^I was thinking the same thing about the ride op‘s not being able to see everything from his or her vantage point. In fact, I wouldn’t have seen the girl slipping out during the first revolution of the video without the help of the enhanced image… and I was looking for it. To those who are criticizing the Scary Texas Oil Cowboy for his lack of compassion, as much as I hate to say it, he’s doing the absolute right thing. I don’t think there’s any doubt that he (or the rodeo if it’s an LLC—and if he has any common sense whatsoever, it is) is going to be sued over this. In the American courtroom, it’s incredibly easy for a good lawyer to convince a jury that remorse equals guilt. I saw it in person (but didn’t fall for it) when I sat on the jury for a lead paint poisoning case a few years ago, and I’ve read a couple “Dear Abby”s on it, as well. I’m sure his lawyer advised him not to express remorse, especially while being recorded. Of course, in the courtroom, it also works the other way. If things don’t look like they’ll turn out in favor of the rodeo, I’m sure Scary Texas Oil Cowboy’s lawyer will advise him to tell the judge he would lay down his own life if he could go back in time and prevent this great tragedy from happening; he was just in shock at the time of the interview. And that’s your sad-but-true legal lesson for the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDCOASTERFAN Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 To be honest I think it was the mom's fault- parental guidance doesn't mean "Walk your kid onto the ride and leave him/her there if you decide to bail". I do smell a lawsuit brewing though. Seatbelts could have helped prevent this,but so could just leaving the girl off the ride to begin with.....I'm still waiting to hear the results of the Hopi Hari accident from a few weeks ago myself though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCBoilermaker14 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Well,this is not good.I don`t why they would let a 3 year on a ride of manner. Anyway in my state ferris wheels are banned in fairs because some wise person got himself killed,by tipping over the cart. But here come the lawsuits and new laws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 To be honest I think it was the mom's fault- parental guidance doesn't mean "Walk your kid onto the ride and leave him/her there if you decide to bail". I do smell a lawsuit brewing though. Seatbelts could have helped prevent this,but so could just leaving the girl off the ride to begin with.....I'm still waiting to hear the results of the Hopi Hari accident from a few weeks ago myself though. I thought one of the news reports mentioned it has seatbelts and lapbars. Oh wait, nevermind...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 ^That is also the tallest three year old I have ever seen! Look at those legs in the video, they're longer than mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mechanic Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Is that the same type of "bouncey - bouncey" ride of TPR fame? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Gumball Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 My first initial thought before reading opinions on here: What on earth is a 3-year-old doing on a mid-sized ride like this anyway? Like Elissa said mentioned about the age restriction thread that we just had...this is kind of an example of it. Sure the child may have been tall enough but if the child has no control and/or are still skinny enough to slip through, then problems are to be had. Parental discretion should have been strongly used especially when the child's so young and/or just making the height requirement. So the parents are in the blame for sure (in my opinion). I'm not sure what the duties are of a ride attendant/height checker when it comes to this other than making sure they're past the magic line...whether if they can still deny someone due to looking a bit young and not able to control themselves or if they look physically too slim (as opposed to being too large) for a restraint to hold them in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSum1_55 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Most rides with buzzbars, it is possible to slip out if you want to, bu difficult to slip out if you are not trying to. The parent should have been present, as the kid was probably trying to slip out. However, to restate the obvious, in this country, you can sue for stupidity and win. Americans should stop suing the people giving the rules that they were big enough idiots to break, and instead sue God for allowing them to be born with a low IQ. Then again, God would have to file for bankruptcy soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCBoilermaker14 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Most rides with buzzbars, it is possible to slip out if you want to, bu difficult to slip out if you are not trying to. The parent should have been present, as the kid was probably trying to slip out. However, to restate the obvious, in this country, you can sue for stupidity and win. Americans should stop suing the people giving the rules that they were big enough idiots to, and instead sue God for allowing them to be born with a low IQ. Then again, God would have to file for bankruptcy soon. Some people sue for the stupidest things,like losing something,or a 80 year old couple sueing a someone of over just going to a abodaned house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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