(Jen Schiavoni, today’s guest blogger, is a researcher extraordinaire, long-time friend and an inspirational voice behind the launch of VeraQuest).
I am not a thrill-seeker. And with being afraid of heights to boot, well…I simply can’t relate to America’s infatuation with roller coasters and some of these crazy rides I’m seeing in commercials for amusement parks this summer. I’ve ridden roller coasters in my time, don’t get me wrong. But every time I’d get strapped in, the anxiety would creep right in, and I instantly regretted my often-peer-pressured decision to ride the ride. The slow click-click-click as you climb skyward for that first drop, especially on those wooden roller coasters…it just made my stomach churn, and my mind race. Is this safety bar locked properly??? The person who checked it was just a teenager – he probably doesn’t really care about my safety! Let me off this thing!!
So knowing I’d probably get repeatedly pressured into this horrifying roller coaster situation, I was never the one to recommend a trip to the amusement park. But I’ve made the excursion several times over the years nonetheless – my friends and family simply always enjoyed going. According to the latest VeraQuest survey, they are not alone. Nearly nine-in-ten Americans (89%) either “love” or “like” amusement parks. With only 11% indicating that they “dislike” or “hate” amusement parks, I’m clearly in the minority.
My concerns about the safety of some of these thrill rides are not particularly shared by others either. Our poll shows that three-quarters (75%) of Americans feel that amusement parks do a good job of monitoring and maintaining safety standards. I’m not too surprised, though, to see that younger adults are more likely to feel this way than older adults (especially those 65+). And interestingly, women are more skeptical about amusement parks’ safety measures than men.
I don’t like that my safety concerns are validated on rare occasion by some terrible accident concerning an amusement park ride though. The two recent accidents – a woman died after falling off a roller coaster in Texas and seven were injured when a log flume rolled backwards down a hill and flipped over in Ohio – certainly caught my attention. Luckily, I’m old enough now that I don’t anticipate having to go to an amusement park again, but the news still had me thinking…I’d never get on one of those types of rides right now. These stories are just too scary.
We asked Americans what they would do upon hearing about these accidents, assuming they had plans to visit an amusement park within the next few days, and I was comforted to hear that 46% agreed with me. (Turns out, I’m not such a huge wimp afterall!) Nearly two-in-five (39%) would still go to the amusement park but would be less likely to go on these types of rides, while 7% would cancel their visit altogether. The remaining 54% are far braver than I am – they would still go to the amusement park and would be just as likely (or even more likely) to line-up for the thrill rides. Consistent with the results regarding amusement park safety perceptions, we see that older adults (50+) and females would be more likely to avoid these rides (or avoid amusement parks altogether) than younger adults (18-49) and males.
How big of an amusement park fan are you? Would you stay off the thrill rides after hearing about a significant accident, or would you actually feel even more confident that safety measures are being taken and line-up for the scariest rides without hesitation?
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