Everyone is drunk at that thing man, that's all there is to understand. No need to have carnival rides. I'm tired of all the r****d Aggie kids wanting to bring back bonfire. Are you ****ing kidding me? But this is basically the same ****. Its like that video game Lemmings -- what all do you have to do to make sure some dumbasses don't kill themselves.
The rules are that you need to be 48" tall to ride alone and at least 42" if you want to ride with a parent. The article quotes the operator as saying, "she's a really big 3 year old." LOL Total fail by both operator and parent.
If the operator checked the kids' height and she was ok to ride, then I wouldn't fault the carnival. Although I do find it hard to believe that 3yr old was tall enough to ride and ride by herself. My almost 5 year old just meets the requirements. And I'm apprehensive of him riding some of the smaller rides; I wouldn't dream of putting him on that. And no way even if she was tall enough, would she have the skills and judgement to know you have to stay seating and harnessed and hold onto the bar. Common sense people. But some parents lack it. I wouldn't be surprised if the Rodeo found another Carnival company to run it next year though. 2 major incidents in 2 years.
If the requirement is that a child between 42"-48" inches ride with a parent, they should have pulled the kid off when the parent got off. Being that the operator works for the carnival, who would you fault?
That's what I said, if the child met the height requirement. I haven't read anything that stated exactly what the child's height was, just that she was big for a 3yr old (I have hard time believing she was even 42 inches). But definitely if she was between 42 and 48 the operator should have kicked the kid off...however the child never should have been on that ride in the first place if the mother was doing her job. There is a ride just like that at the rodeo that is better suited for the 3-5 year old crowd. And honestly I would never put my life or son's life in the hands of some ride operator I do not know. As a parent I'll decide what I feel is safe for him (not some sign) and I'll buckle him.
