Make that too clear to them, and they may think twice about going to the park at all. It's a delicate balance.
My point exactly.
Yeah this does nothing for the situation. Like you said, this is only the first time it's happened, millions have ridden European-style beltless rapids before and I'm sure millions have stood up on them before. There was a negligible chance this would happen but it happened anyway. However, you have to remember there are things you can do at a park that are way more likely to hurt someone. If it wasn't this it would have been a kid with a phone flying out of their hand and striking someone, a basketball striking someone on a coaster, the idiot who ran on Skyrush's platform during our Hershey trip last year and got the ride E-stopped for forty minutes could have hurt himself, a kid going in after his hat with a multi-ton ride vehicle charging right at him, tons of examples. Now adults do stupid things too (going in after your hat or wallet after losing it on a B&M invert, dad taking his phone out on the ride, some dude's girlfriend showing off her little lanyard trick during Stark Raven Mad), but they should be held accountable for their actions. Likewise, the parents of these children should be responsible for the actions of their children. Their job should either be to supervise them on the ride, properly teach them amusement ride safety, or just take them to Chucky Cheese's if that's too big a responsibility to have them around powerful equipment like that.
You are certainly correct. Hundreds, probably even thousands do it all across the UK on a typical day and you never hear about it. This was a one in a million thing but it did happen. My point, as I said above, is that this was lower on the list of things that could go wrong with unattended kids in the park. Even if it doesn't jeopardize safety, unattended children in school groups are a pain in the rear in general. It's a problem that ranges from throwing trash on the midway to E-stopping rides to, in today's very rare and extreme case, a fun day at Drayton Manor ending in death. Bottom line is that young schoolchildren cannot be trusted or expected to make mature, informed decisions around a park full of other guests and equipment with safety regulations that all need consideration. Therefore, they need to be chaperoned by someone capable of being considerate with these things that can be held responsible for their actions.
That message can be interpreted as "It's only a bad thing if you get caught", though. A pictogram of a person falling from the boat might get the message across better. You want to signal that standing up is forbidden because it's dangerous, not that it's forbidden and therefore cool to do as a dare. Threatening to expel people doesn't make the act of standing up seem more dangerous, only more forbidden. The park receives a great number of visitors who are in their "contempt for authority" age, so any warning signs better ground their message in danger rather than in authority.
