Less than a week after the drowning of a 4-year-old boy in Great America's wave pool, a San Jose legislator said Tuesday that she would introduce a bill aimed at making wave pools safer, including rules requiring life vests and setting requirements for the number of lifeguards on hand.
"Parents have a false sense of safety that their children are safe and protected in these wave pools," said Democratic state Sen. Elaine Alquist.
She envisions a bill that would:
Require life vests for non-swimmers or children under 4 feet tall.
Prohibit children under a certain height or age from being in a pool unattended.
Set a required ratio for the number of lifeguards per swimmer.
Require parks to set off an alarm or signal before waves start.
Great America already rings a bell. As of this week, the Santa Clara park began requiring life vests for children under 4 feet tall for the wave pool and the Castaway Creek river ride, said park spokesman Gene Fruge`. The requirement is now in effect at wave pools and some other water rides at all of Ohio-based Cedar Fair's 18 parks, as well as at nine water parks owned by Palace Entertainment, including San Jose's Raging Waters.
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