News: California orders tighter ride standards

Posted at 12:32 AM EDT (0432 GMT)

Jun. 18th, 2005 -- Five years after the death on Disneyland's Indiana Jones ride, the California Supreme Court has ruled that the state's amusement park rides must be held to stricter safety standards.

In a 4-3 decision, the court says that ride operators have to use "the utmost care and diligence", the same standards applied to transportation vehicles. Previously, ride operators were required to use "reasonable care".

Given the recent death at Walt Disney World, many other states are calling for tighter ride regulations. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. has introduced a bill into Congress that would hold permanent parks to the same standards as traveling carnivals. The park industry argues that additional regulation is not needed, stating that the odds of being injured on a ride are 1 in 10 million, 1 in 790 million of being fatally injured.

See Tampa Bay Online and the Duluth News Tribune for more.