Brain Injury Group to Study Rollercoasters
Excerpt By Jill Serjeant, Reuters Health

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Brain Injury Association said on Thursday it will study the safety of rollercoaster rides in what is thought to be the first in-depth look at whether the quest for extreme thrills can seriously damage your health.

The study by a panel of medical and engineering experts assembled by the nonprofit group comes after two deaths and reports of serious brain injuries at US amusement parks in recent months.

``Are these rides causing problems or not? It seems like a reasonable question to ask given the anecdotal reporting we've gotten of brain injuries related to amusement park rides and the race in the amusement park industry to have the bigger, faster, scarier rides,'' Dr. James McDeavitt, chairman of the Brain Injury Association, said.

``At some point, if that continues, the logical extension is that you are going to pass the threshold of human endurance,'' McDeavitt told Reuters.

Last month a 42-year-old woman died of a brain hemorrhage after riding a spinning attraction at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo, California. In June, a 28-year-old woman suffered a fatal brain aneurysm after riding the 85 mph (136 kph) Goliath rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain park in Valencia, outside Los Angeles.

In June, the Walt Disney Co. settled a lawsuit by a woman who said she suffered a brain hemorrhage after taking a simulated off-road Jeep ride at the Disneyland park in Anaheim, California.

No direct connection between the rides and the injuries was proved by coroners or state safety officials in any of the cases and the amusement park industry has staunchly defended the safety of such rides.

``The same technology and engineering that makes rides faster, also makes them safer. They are designed to thrill but they are extremely safe,'' said Bret Lovejoy, president of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.

``Going to an amusement park is one of the safest activities that a family can participate in--safer than riding a bike, swimming, playing baseball and jumping on a trampoline,'' Lovejoy said.

McDeavitt said the expert panel would be the first group to systematically review isolated reports in medical journals and anecdotal literature linking thrill rides and injuries ranging from severe headaches to concussion and aneurysms.

Part of the study will consist of biomechanical measurements and estimates of the G-forces, drops, accelerations and turns on plunging, twisting rides.

The Brain Injury Association will report back to Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA), who has been lobbying unsuccessfully for federal oversight of theme parks throughout the United States since 1999.

The panel is also hoping to cooperate with amusement park operators. Lovejoy said the industry ``would welcome the chance to participate'' but said any research should be impartial and comprehensive.

McDeavitt said the panel hoped to act as ``an honest, intellectual broker in this process. I really have no opinion. But I think there certainly is a need to look at things in a more systematic manner.''

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