Inflatable Amusement Rides: Death Traps Who knew moonwalks and inflatable slides were so dangerous? Flimsy and poorly anchored amusements have been responsible for a rash of injuries and deaths in recent years. [Consumer Reports Safety]
More From Consumerist
-
Nothing Quite Like Being Stuck 150 Feet In The Air For 2 Hours To Put You Off Roller Coasters
-
Man Claims In Lawsuit That Six Flags Kicked Him Off Ride Because He Has No Hands
-
Rich Families Hiring Tour Guides With Disabilities So They Can Skip Long Lines At Disney World
-
Despite Economic Woes, Americans Are Still Getting Their Kicks At Theme Parks
-
Woman Stuck On State Fair Ride Picked A Bad Day To Conquer Her Fear Of Heights
For even more fun just add water and dish detergent.
@Skeetz: This also reminds me of my neighbors. They have a trampoline that has the netting on around it and they herd 4-5 kids in at a time with super soakers.
@Skeetz: I have neighbors who are so hyperprotective of their kid they won’t let him play with other kids whose parents let them eat hotdogs (because he might also eat a hotdog) or go to preschool because he might get germs or eat sugar or a long list of other things.
They do, however, let him play in moonbounces he’s too small for and on the other neighbor’s sketchy trampoline — also overcrowded, and in dubious repair. (They also let him watch about six hours of TV a day.)
They are very, very bad at assessing parenting risks!
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): That sounds exactly the same way as I treat my dog. No stranger food or excessive treats. Healthy eats only. Can’t play with unknown dogs because who knows if they’re up to date on their shots or what their temperament might be… But go ahead and run around the broke down, abandoned, and rusted up school yard playground because my lazy ass don’t wanna walk you alllll the way down to the dog park.
Geez.. I’m mean!
The CR blog did not call them “death traps”. They indicate there’s been a rise in accidents that correlates to better record keeping and a rise in popularity. There could have been a correlating DROP in accidents from other party activities.
I am not defending these contraptions, but think you’re putting words in CR’s mouth.
Oh wait, that’s you, which is even worse.
@robdew2: Have you ever noticed the Consumerist frequently uses satiric hyperbole in their headlines?
@Shadowman615: Only on slow news days.
If there isn’t a chance it will kill you, it’s not very fun.
I could name a laundry list of toys I had as a kid that would amount to millions of dollars in fines if a company tried to market them today.
@zentex: JARTS??
@Homerjay here for OxyClean!: Man, kids today must have a terribly boring childhood what with their parents wringing their hands and fretting over every possible bad thing that can happen to them.
@Real Cheese Flavor:
Though I DO have a trampoline, only one kid is allowed in at a time.
@Homerjay here for OxyClean!: Jarts were cool…that was until I threw a Jart (I was about 5 years old) and it hit my great Aunt in the leg. Thankfully it was only a minor injury, and a large bandage was all that was needed.
My parents opted for the “safer” version of Jarts. Instead of the Lawn Dart, you had a flat rigid disk with a hole in the center that you threw like a frisbee. The object was to get the disk in the ring for 1 point, or to land the disk around a stake in the center of the circle for 5 points. The problem was that it had wings on the outer edge that resembled a Chineese throwing star, and because they were about 5 times heavier than a standard frisbee, it could do some serious damage if it hit someone.
@Rachacha: What the cool kids did with Jarts was to throw them straight up as hard as you could. The winner was the person who got the thing embedded in the ground the furthest.
@Real Cheese Flavor:
My friends and I played with them that way almost exclusively.
@Homerjay here for OxyClean!: i think those things are actually back on the market, however to get around the liability of selling weapons, they are sold in 2 parts, you have to buy the dart and the fins separately…so i’ve heard
@zentex: i remember when they recalled diving batons bc people started impaling themselves on them (or had been for the decades they were in production)…as david letterman (i think) said “sell millions of anything, and someone will find a way to impale themselves on it”.
what ever happened to survival of the fittest?
Our fraternity rented one of these for a late-night party years ago. It was a ton of fun for a bunch of college students at a kegger, but we almost had major problems when several of us jumping inside it made the inflatable start bouncing down the slight incline of the ground straight toward the bonfire. We didn’t notice it from inside, but others saw us bouncing toward it and managed to stop it just in time. I’m now involved with community festivals in my town, and have passed this info on to the rest of the event folks to be sure they all know. Thanks!
@Kevin L. Hudson: Your advice to them is to keep drunken idiot frat boys away from the vicinity?
@HiPwr: No. His advice is “no bonfires.” Drunken frat boys at community festivals are always welcome!
@alexburrito: I thought his advice was to keep the beer and matches away from the 7 year olds.
I have been involved with the amusement industry for several years and have found inflatable bounce units to be safe when operated properly. Most injuries in these come from unsupervised use at parties not at fairs. People are careless and don’t feel they have to follow the rules, so no matter how well the piece is maintained and operated, an occasional accident will happen.
Reminds me of Dreamspace – the 8,200 square foot inflatable that killed 2 people a few years ago when it lifted off the ground.
@dwb:
Oh my God. I Googled that and found CCTV video. That was terrifying. It looked as if the thing came to life and tried to walk!
The issue is with the supervision and setup of the device. I am sure these are perfectly safe when used properly, set up properly and supervised properly by people who know what they are doing. But people who rent them allow small children and adults to jump together (a no no) and many other things because they are not properly trained in operating such a device. Many companies who rent these will leave them in your backyard and expect the renting family who has likely never operated one of these to know what they are doing. Your not supposed to operate them in high winds either because well, they can blow away. Happened more times then you think.
Overall your safer with mechanical amusement rides as long as your not doing stupid things like trying to get out of the ride while it is moving or unbuckling a seatbelt during the ride to get more of a thrill. There’s just less risk then with inflatables.
You should also never bring hot soup into one of these things. Eat your soup BEFORE you enter the ride.
@HiPwr: How about Easy Mac?
Easy Mac should not be eaten under any circumstances, regardless of nearby inflatables.
my buddy threw a birthday party fir his then girlfriend at her parents house. He rented a 25 foot tall in flatable slide. I’m 24, 5,7 and 250 lbs. I did front flips and back flips down it and was fine.
i used to work for a large manufacturer of these inflatable monstrosities, they’re fine, so long as they’re anchored well and only have 2-3 people at a time.
have them professionally installed and be smart.
that said, the nameless company in brunswick ohio makes inflatable images from flammable materials and fakes the certification certificate claiming them as flame retardant, so you may want to stay clear of them if you’re worried about fire.
@uncle moe: Why worry about fire? Could they spontaneously combust in the heat or something? I mean, no one would be dumb enough to have an open fire near one, right… oh.
When is Consumer Reports going to do an expose’ on the inflatable devices most people surfing the Internet actually use?
I, for one, would find stats on how many cases of adult lead poisoning have occurred as a result of banned paints and dyes used in the orfices of inflatable love toys far more amusing.