1
O’Brien, Craig W.; Injuries and Investigated Deaths Associated with Playground Equipment, 2001–2008. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:
Washington DC, October, 2009.
3
Handbook for Public Playground Safety
1.7 Playground Injuries
The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has long
r
ecognized the potential hazards that exist with the use of
playground equipment, with over 200,000 estimated emer-
gency room-treated injuries annually. The most recent study
of 2,691 playground equipment-related incidents reported to
the CPSC from 2001-2008 indicated that falls are the most
common hazard pattern (44% of injuries) followed by
equipment-related hazards, such as breakage, tip over,
design, and assembly (23%).
1
Other hazard patterns involved
entrapment and colliding other children or stationary
equipment. Playground-related deaths reported to the
Commission involved entanglement of ropes, leashes, or
clothing; falls; and impact from equipment tip over or struc-
tural failure.
The recommendations in this handbook have been devel-
oped to address the hazards that resulted in playground-
related injuries and deaths. The recommendations include
those that address:
• The potential for falls from and impact with equipment
• The need for impact attenuating protective surfacing
under and around equipment
• Openings with the potential for head entrapment
• The scale of equipment and other design features related
to user age and layout of equipment on a playground
• Installation and maintenance procedures
• General hazards presented by protrusions, sharp edges,
and crush or shear points
1.8 Definitions
Barrier — An enclosing device around an elevated platform
that is intended to prevent both inadvertent and deliberate
attempts to pass through the device.
Composite Structure — Two or more play structures
attached or functionally linked, to create one integral unit
that provides more than one play activity.
Critical Height — The fall height below which a life-threat-
ening head injury would not be expected to occur.
handbook, are also essential for increasing public playground
s
afety.
A
playground should allow children to develop gradually and
test their skills by providing a series of graduated challenges.
The challenges presented should be appropriate for age-
related abilities and should be ones that children can per-
ceive and choose to undertake. Toddlers, preschool- and
school-age children differ dramatically, not only in physical
size and ability, but also in their intellectual and social skills.
Therefore, age-appropriate playground designs should
accommodate these differences with regard to the type,
scale, and the layout of equipment. Recommendations
throughout this handbook address the different needs of tod-
dlers, preschool-age, and school-age children; “toddlers”
refers to children ages 6 months through 2 years of age,
“preschool-age” refers to children 2 through 5 years, and
“school-age” refers to children 5 through 12 years. The over-
lap between these groups is anticipated in terms of play-
ground equipment use and provides for a margin of safety.
Playground designers, installers and operators should be
aware that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(ADA) is a comprehensive civil rights law which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of disability. Titles II and III of
the ADA require, among other things, that newly construct-
ed and altered State and local government facilities, places
of public accommodation, and commercial facilities be readi-
ly accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
Recreation facilities, including play areas, are among the
types of facilities covered by titles II and III of the ADA.
The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance
Boards – also referred to as the “Access Board” – has devel-
oped accessibility guidelines for newly constructed and
altered play areas that were published October 2000. The
play area guidelines are a supplement to the Americans with
Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). Once
these guidelines are adopted as enforceable standards by the
Department of Justice, all newly constructed and altered
play areas covered by the ADA will be required to comply.
These guidelines also apply to play areas covered by the
Architectural Barriers Act (ABA).
Copies of the play area accessibility guidelines and further
technical assistance can be obtained from the U.S. Access
Board, 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC
20004-1111; 800-872-2253, 800-993-2822 (TTY),
www.access-board.gov.