Brandon Zucker dies at 13; injury at Disneyland brought focus to amusement park safet

[snopes]

In the days and months after 4-year-old Brandon Zucker was trapped under the Roger Rabbit Car Toon Spin ride at Disneyland in September 2000, his mother said, she would sit at his hospital bed and whisper her son's favorite phrase into his ear: "I have an idea." She would beg, even as hope dimmed, "Get up and let's get out of here. Let's go home."

Although Brandon left the hospital, he never recovered from his injuries. He died at age 13 in his mother's arms at Children's Hospital of Orange County, more than eight years after the widely publicized accident that helped focus attention on amusement park safety.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...,4509442.story

[Wild Redhead]

The accident marked the first major investigation conducted by the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health under a law regulating amusement parks. That law required parks to report serious injuries and accidents and gave the state the authority to investigate and order fixes.

The state determined that Disneyland employees did not properly load Brandon into the ride -- with the smallest child farthest from the cutout entryway -- and failed to fully lower the lap bar.

It also ordered significant safety changes to the ride, including a sensor-equipped guard around the bottom of each car.

Sorry for the long quote but it is necessary to make the point I want to make. They can make laws, and they can make safety canges and all of that surely helps but I think it's just as important to properly train and supervise the people operating the rides.

This is a very tragic story. I feel so badly for this family. I hope the mother is right and Brandon is living out his childhood at this very moment.

[aoshi]

This is indeed very tragic. I am a cast member and also work in attractions (in WDW, not DL). I really hope this shows the cast members there that we need to take every guest's safety seriously. I do think they do a good job in training us, but there are certain people who don't take it seriously. I hope he/she was fired.

[Mickey is a gyrl]

The state determined that Disneyland employees did not properly load Brandon into the ride -- with the smallest child farthest from the cutout entryway -- and failed to fully lower the lap bar.

Wild Red Head, I think it's funny that we've quoted the same piece.

My complaint is this- if it's one lap bar, it's not going to lower on everyone's lap the same way. My family had an exchange student in 2000-2001 that was 5'10". She and I went on the Tower of Terror when there were bars, not seat belts. Do you think a lap bar could lay on both the laps of persons that are 5'10" and 5'0"?

I'm just saying that if the parents were in that car, then a lap bar that goes across all laps wouldn't have gone over his (I've never been to Disneyland, so I don't know how this ride works).

[CSGirl]

Originally Posted by Mickey is a gyrl

My complaint is this- if it's one lap bar, it's not going to lower on everyone's lap the same way. My family had an exchange student in 2000-2001 that was 5'10". She and I went on the Tower of Terror when there were bars, not seat belts. Do you think a lap bar could lay on both the laps of persons that are 5'10" and 5'0"?

I knew 2 brothers that worked there when there were lap bars. They would purposely hold the bars away from them when they locked, so they would fly up in their seat more.

I actually can't think of any ride at the amusement parks I've been to lately that only have a lap bar. Even the older rollercoasters at Six Flags NE have added a seatbelt with it.

[Aureal]

Originally Posted by Mickey is a gyrl

My complaint is this- if it's one lap bar, it's not going to lower on everyone's lap the same way. My family had an exchange student in 2000-2001 that was 5'10". She and I went on the Tower of Terror when there were bars, not seat belts. Do you think a lap bar could lay on both the laps of persons that are 5'10" and 5'0"?

Yeah, I had that problem with the ride, too. I was sitting next to a rather chunky guy, so the bar was significantly higher than my lap and I'd start to fall up when the ride dropped.

That was only mildly disturbing compared to the time that I rode Space Mountain without a seatbelt, though. The attendant had me sit practically in the lap of the guy I was riding with and I couldn't reach around him to get the seatbelt before the ride started... Oh yes, and I was sitting in the very front car, nowhere for me to go but out. Man, I was sure I was going to get chucked out on one of those curves and go hurtling halfway across Disneyland...

[geminilee]

Originally Posted by Mickey is a gyrl

My complaint is this- if it's one lap bar, it's not going to lower on everyone's lap the same way. My family had an exchange student in 2000-2001 that was 5'10". She and I went on the Tower of Terror when there were bars, not seat belts. Do you think a lap bar could lay on both the laps of persons that are 5'10" and 5'0"?

If two people are sitting, isn't it the width of stomach, buttocks, and thighs that determine where the lap is, rather than height?

Although, for the OP, it should be obvious to pretty much anyone that a kid is going to be much narrower than an adult, and will rattle like the last pea in the can.

[Mickey is a gyrl]

Originally Posted by geminilee

If two people are sitting, isn't it the width of stomach, buttocks, and thighs that determine where the lap is, rather than height?

Although, for the OP, it should be obvious to pretty much anyone that a kid is going to be much narrower than an adult, and will rattle like the last pea in the can.

Her being taller than me meant she had longer legs. MUCH longer legs.

[Judecat]

I do believe it has more to do with weight than height -- because I found out almost 30 years ago that a size 18 does not ride a roller coaster with a size 2, unless size 18 is prepared to hang onto size 2's belt when size 2 starts slipping out of the seat.
Really - I wasn't any later than '77, and I almost lost my friend, litterally, one what was then one of the newer coasters at Kings Dominion.

[mags]

The good thing that has come out of the rare accidents is that many parks no longer have a single lap bar. In fact, I haven't seen one in any coasters, in particular, recently, although I do remember them from the 80s and early 90s. They have been replaced with individual lap levers for each side, and a block in the middle of the seat. They also often have actual seatbelts.

The depth of the thigh is the main issue with the single lap bar. I do remember that I enjoyed the single bar coasters with my older sister a little more than being so firmly stuck to my seat, but I am certain it is much safer this way.