SUMMARY
This report is an investigation into the dangers that are present in the ‘mosh pit’ at rock concerts.
The report outlines the causes and frequency of injuries occurred in the ‘mosh pits’ and the severity of most injuries occurred. It also outlines the main causes of the accidents that occur and the precautions taken to help avoid these accidents.
It is found that injuries in mosh pits happen frequently and in many cases are quite severe. Several deaths have also occurred as a result of mosh pit related incidents.
It is also found that these incidents could have been easily avoided if greater precautions were taken for the safety of patrons in ‘mosh pits’.
It has been recommended that it be compulsory for event organisers to take greater precautions in respect for the safety of patrons in mosh pits.
- INTRODUCTION
‘Mosh pit’ related injuries are found quite often at various rock concerts. This is most likely due to the intensity of the mosh pit. There are however numerous amounts of methods that could be taken to help prevent these incidents. This report will analyse and evaluate the severity of injuries that occur and what methods could be taken to keep injuries to a minimum.
2.0 DESCRIPTION OF A MOSH PIT
A ‘mosh pit’ is the space in front of a stage at a rock concert where patrons cramp into in order to get as close to the stage as possible. Once in this space they will take part in a form of intense crowd dancing with physical contact. The entire crowd moves together, bumping each other, jumping together and bouncing off each other.
2.1 DANGERS IN A MOSH PIT
There are many dangers present in a ‘mosh pit’. The causes of these dangers include overcrowding, lack of ventilation and water fountains, patrons wearing certain clothing or accessories which may cause injuries (e.g. studded apparel), the allowance of cigarettes and alcohol in ‘mosh pits’, crowd surfing and stage diving. The lack of precautions taken into fixing these problems puts patrons at these events in danger of dehydration, exhaustion, bruising, being trampled, broken bones, being burnt, abrasions and many more injuries.
- CROWDSURFING AND STAGE DIVING
A major hazard in ‘mosh pits’ at rock concerts is crowd surfing and stage diving. Crowd surfing is when a patron is hoisted up onto the top of a ‘mosh pit’. The individual is then horizontally passed overhead, hand by hand by the crowd around the dense area of people. The patrons crowd surf ends either when they are passed over the front rail to the aid of a security guard or when they fall through a gap in the ‘mosh pit’ and land on the ground. Stage diving is literally the act of diving into the crowd from the stage. The idea is for the crowd to catch the stage diver and crowd surf them to the back of the venue.
- INJURIES SUSTAINED IN MOSH PITS
Injuries sustained in ‘mosh pits’ are a common occurrence. The majority of these injuries are fairly minor but there is the occasional occurrence of more severe injuries found at certain concerts.
3.1 COMMON INJURIES
There are several injuries that occur commonly in ‘mosh pits’. These include bruising, abrasions, cigarette burns, slight dehydration and strained necks. Almost all patrons in a ‘mosh pit’ will receive a strained neck and bruising. The injuries to the neck are a result of unsuspecting crowd surfers or stage divers landing on the top of the patrons head. Bruises occur from the intense pushing/shouldering that occurs in the ‘mosh pit’. Facial bruising can also occur from being hit in the facial area by either a crowd surfer’s foot or fist. Dehydration comes from the large amount of water lost through the dehydrated persons body due to the extreme heat which is a result of a large amount of people jumping and dancing in a very limited area. The price of water at these venues is usually quite large so patrons will buy as little water as possible resulting in dehydration. Cigarette burns are from the allowance of cigarettes into the ‘mosh pit’ area and abrasions occur either from studded clothing or accessories worn by other patrons or falling to the ground.
- SERIOUS INJURIES
Serious injuries are a lot less common yet still occur in some ‘mosh pits’. Serious injuries include broken bones ( necks, fingers, arms, noses etc) and fractured skulls. Almost all these injuries are a result of crowd surfing and stage diving. If a crowd surfer or stage diver falls through the top of the crowd and lands on their head it may result in a fractured skull or a broken neck. If they do not land on there head they may also receive other fractured bones. The most common fractures are broken arms, ankles, legs, fingers and noses.
- REPORTED DEATHS
Deaths caused by mosh pit related incidents are not as uncommon as most people think. More then 70 mosh pit related deaths were reported worldwide during 1999. Since 1997 there has been three Australians killed in mosh pits. The most common cause for these deaths is from people being trampled due to an overcrowding. As the venue is so overcrowded when a patron falls over it is usually very difficult to make room for the person to get back up again. As a result of this difficulty a number of people have been trampled to death on the mosh pit floor.
- CURRENT MOSH PIT REGULATIONS
Although some venues do enforce certain regulations it is not compulsory for them to do so. This results in many venues having very limited regulations in the interest of keeping their patrons safe.
4.1 CROWD SURFING AND STAGE DIVING REGULATIONS
The most common regulation which venues set are no stage diving and no crowd surfing. There is generally a line of security guards lined up in front of the stage to stop both patrons from getting onto the stage and people from jumping of the stage. The regulation on crowd surfing however is very rarely enforced even if it is a set regulation at the venue. Once a crowd surfer goes over the front rail, security will generally send him straight back out into the crowd instead of excluding the patron from the venue.
4.2 AGE RESTRICTIONS
The majority of venues which have age restrictions only do so that alcohol can be legally served to patrons which are over the age of 18. Some venues do however have an age limit for safety purposes but they are very limited in numbers as the majority of ‘moshers’ are under the age of 18.
- POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS FOR PATRONS SAFETY
There are many ways in which venues could be improved for the safety of the patrons who are going to mosh. These slight changes could help prevent a number of minor injuries, serious injuries and maybe even deaths.
5.1 REDUCING MOSH PIT DENSITY
It is through excessive crowd density that people suffer the most. The majority of deaths occurred in mosh pits are due to the overcrowding of the mosh pit. By reducing the number of people allowed in at a time it will reduce the crowd density and help prevent patrons being trampled, dehydration and exhaustion. It would also help with more common injuries such as bruising and abrasions.
- COMPULSORY AGE RESTRICTIONS
By introducing compulsory age restrictions on mosh pits there will be a dramatic decline in the amount of injuries obtained at rock concerts. This is due to younger patrons generally being smaller and lacking as much common sense as the older ‘moshers’. Two out of the three people that have died in Australia as a result of a mosh pit related accidents have been under the age of 15.
- BANNING STAGE DIVING AND CROWD SURFING
The majority of fractured bones and skulls have happened as a result of crowd surfing and stage diving. Even though most venues have regulations banning these two activities already there are very few venues that actually enforce the rule. There were two Australians paralyzed in 2001 due to crowd surfing related incidents. By enforcing no crowd surfing it will reduce the number of broken bones, fractured skulls and broken necks. It will also help reduce more common injuries such as bruising and strained necks.
- VENTILATION AND DRINKING FOUNTAINS
By providing adequate ventilation and drinking fountains there will be a dramatic fall in dehydration in mosh pits. It will also help the number of people who faint decline in number considerably. This would be as a result of patrons being able to keep there fluid levels up and being kept at a cooler temperature.
- BANNING CERTAIN CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES
Studded clothing and accessories are an enormous problem in mosh pits. They can cause abrasions and are a general hazard when in a confined space with a person wearing them.
- BANNING CERTAIN SUBSTANCES IN MOSH PITS
Cigarettes and alcohol are a serious problem. Alcohol can infer peoples common sense. Cigarettes are often burnt on other patrons as a result of limited space between people. By banning alcohol there would be a general decline of injuries in all areas as a result of people having a greater limit of common sense. By banning cigarettes it will stop people from getting cigarette burns.
6.0 CONCLUSION
After investigating this issue I conclude that there is a definite need for compulsory regulations to be made for ‘mosh pits’. It is obvious that the majority of injuries that occur at rock concerts could easily be prevented as a result of compulsory regulations being brought in for venues to abide by.
7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
My recommendation is that the following regulations be made compulsory for rock concerts with a mosh pit:
- REDUCING MOSH PIT DENSITY
- COMPULSORY AGE RESTRICTIONS
- BANNING STAGE DIVING AND CROWD SURFING
- VENTILATION AND DRINKING FOUNTAINS BEING PRESENT AT THE VENUE
- BANNING CERTAIN CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES
- BANNING CERTAIN SUBSTANCES ( EG CIGARATTES AND ALCOHOL)