PARK RIDE OVERSIGHT SOUGHT; BILL CALLS FOR AMUSEMENT PARK EMPLOYEE TRAINING.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

They are the nation's most elaborate playgrounds, drawing millions of thrill-seekers with their white-knuckle rides, stomach-churning drops and high-speed loops through twists of metal.

And although California is second only to Florida in the number of visitors to its theme parks, there is no statewide oversight of these attractions.

Now one child is dead, five visitors hurt and 28 other people traumatized in three accidents this week at amusement parks in California, where only carnival rides are subject to state inspections.

``It's a very ironic contrast,'' said Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Martinez. ``We inspect elevators, we inspect ski lifts, we inspect portable rides. Why not the big theme parks?''

Torlakson has sponsored a bill, scheduled for a Senate vote next week, that would mandate regular state inspections and certified training programs at California's theme parks. Florida and 32 other states already have such programs in place.

``People go to these parks for a thrill and escape,'' Torlakson said. ``Yet they want in the back of their minds to know they're going to be totally safe.''

Six Flags California in Santa Clarita and Los Angeles' Universal Studios already are subject to regular inspections by the Los Angeles County Division of Building and Safety.

``We would support any legislation designed to make sure things are running as safely as possible,'' Magic Mountain spokeswoman Bonnie Rapjohn said. ``But it needs to be said we wouldn't be in business if we weren't so self-regulating when it came to safety issues.''

Still, Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, like the balance of amusement parks statewide, undergo no such public oversight because state law leaves the issue to local governments, and Orange County has no inspection program in place.

Torlakson said there's no question that regulations would make a difference. But a similar bill he introduced last year was killed in committee hearings, its leading opponents from the amusement park industry.

This time around, he is working with park officials. Six Flags and Knott's Berry Farm are now among the supporters.

In seeking support, he cites a spate of amusement park tragedies.

On Christmas Eve, a tourist was fatally injured at Disneyland when a piece of metal tore loose from the Columbia sailing ship and hit three people on the dock. The Disneyland mishap was blamed on poor training of the ride operator, something that would be remedied with a certified training program, he said.

Just last weekend, 12-year-old Joshua Smuphat plunged to his death from a ``free fall'' ride at Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara. An investigation into that incident is ongoing.

``I'm hearing this loud and clear from parents, from children's advocates,'' Torlakson said. ``They're amazed that nobody is looking over the shoulder (of) the industry. Nobody from the outside is investigating accidents. There's no state inspector to come in where Josh died, just the local police, and that's just to determine if there was a crime.''

Nobody is saying the parks are inherently dangerous. Indeed, only one in 7 million theme park ride passengers is injured to the point of requiring hospitalization each year; one in 250 million dies, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.

And 75 percent of those amusement park injuries are caused by the riders themselves, Torlakson acknowledges.

What they are saying is that rides - which each season become more high-tech - should be checked by an outside pair of eyes and that the operators should have extensive training.

``I can't believe that anyone would question that,'' said Tim O'Brien, an editor at Amusement Business, a trade publication based in Nashville, Tenn. ``But that's not to say that I don't believe any of the rides at any of these parks isn't safe. There's not a roller coaster at any of these parks that have been involved that I would not go on.''

Beyond inspections, backers of mandated state oversight want more extensive training for workers who operate fast-moving, computer-driven rides that carry millions through loops, gravity-defying curves and free falls.

At Magic Mountain, ride operators undergo behind-the-scenes and on-the-job training, then start first on the smaller rides before taking on the more sophisticated ones, Rapjohn said.

And before the park opens each day, every ride undergoes more than 100 man-hours of inspections by teams of electricians, carpenters, mechanics and engineers, Rapjohn said.