Wildwood Ferris Wheel Accident
by Joel Kofsky on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 6:14am
First, my heartfelt condolences to the family for their tragic loss. As many of you know, I operated a business on the Wildwood boardwalk for over 30 years. This ride is located a block away from where I was and this really hit home.
Naturally, I am not saying whose fault this was but I have had many arguments with my friends and family about allowing our kids on certain rides. My reasons are as follows and they may well apply to other amusement parks.
1. Almost all of the operators are summer employees; even if trained the previous year they forget things.
2. In Wildwood, there is an extraordinarily large percentage of foreign workers. Many speak passable English by August, but this early in the season it is a challenge for them.
3. Many can not read English fluently and may not understand the directions.
They simply smile and say "yes" when asked if they understand the operating instruction as they fear losing the job they crossed the world for.
4. Many of these kids just got to the US; they are still jet lagged, finding their way around, and simply exhausted.
5. This may be their first taste of freedom; sometimes it's beer.
6. It is boring to work out in the hot sun all day and say "next, ticket please".
You lose focus.
I do not know who operated the ride nor am I saying anything is wrong at this pier. As a parent, I am just pointing out some facts and if the amusement ride looks like it may pose a risk I would suggest watching the operator and see how prudent they are with safety checks (pulling bars into locked position, checking belts..etc).
And please do not let you child ride alone. Anyone reading this knows I seldom post...I am doing it so you think and protect your kids.
