Texas law says rides like the Iron Shark have to pass annual inspections.
GALVESTON, Texas — A malfunction on the Iron Shark roller coaster at Galveston’s Pleasure Pier is raising new questions about how amusement park rides are inspected in Texas, and whether the current system does enough to keep riders safe.
State law requires rides like the Iron Shark to pass annual inspections before they can operate, but those inspections are not carried out by the state. Instead, they are handled by private inspectors who are typically hired either by the amusement parks themselves or by the insurance companies that cover them.
Chad Points, a Houston attorney who has represented dozens of clients in amusement park cases says that setup is a problem. Points, a trial attorney, argues that inspectors should answer to the state, not the industry.
“The inspectors themselves, in my opinion, should be employees and work within the Texas Department of Insurance, the regulating body,” Points says. “Instead of working for the insurance companies providing insurance to the amusement parks — that’s, that’s for sure. Number 2, if we’re going to do these annual inspections, then why isn’t the actual manufacturer of the ride, who knows it best, part of that structure?”
Points also called for more frequent reporting of ride incidents. Under current rules, parks are only required to report injuries a few times a year, which can mean significant delays before problems become public. He suggested requiring parks to report incidents on a monthly basis instead. Any changes to the inspection system would have to go through the state legislature.
As for Pleasure Pier, officials say they actually exceed the state’s minimum requirements, conducting two private inspections per year — one every six months. The park says its ride operations were confirmed to be in compliance with those requirements at the time of the malfunction.
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