Rationale

Many family-oriented amusement rides and devices Operators permit lap sitting. The practice is widespread in the amusement industry worldwide. Many amusement ride and device Operators report that children are better behaved and controlled when sitting on the lap of a supervising companions compared to when the child is sitting on their own. However, none of the international amusement ride standards; ASTM F2291, EN 13814, GB 8408, or ISO 17842, address when lap sitting is appropriate. There was an incident involving lap sitting that the Authority Having Jurisdiction partly attributed to lack of clear direction on when lap sitting can be acceptable. Consequently, lap sitting has been forbidden in at least one large jurisdiction.