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About General Safety
How safe are rides at U.S. amusement parks and carnivals?
How much control do you have over your own safety when you're on a ride?
How many accidents are caused by equipment failure?
What are some red flags that should make you re-think riding a certain ride?
Why is it important to find the ride that fits?
Are today's high acceleration rides more dangerous than slower rides?
The industry blames most accidents on rider misconduct. Is this an accurate assessment?
About Child Safety
Are children at higher risk for injury on amusement rides?
What should parents know about choosing rides for children?
What safety lessons should parents teach children before visiting parks and carnivals?
When is it safe to let my child ride alone?
If my child is too short to ride alone, is it safe for him to ride with his older brother?
Who develops child safety standards for amusement rides?
About Data and Statistics
How many people are injured on U.S. amusement rides each year?
What is the most common cause of amusement ride accidents and injuries?
What are the most common types of injuries on go-karts, waterslides, and inflatables?
Where does Saferparks get its data and statistics?
Who generates the safety statistics quoted by the amusement park industry?
About Safety Oversight
What safety regulations apply to U.S. amusement rides?
What about the big parks like Disney World and Six Flags?
Accountability and government audit rules for theme parks vary widely from state to state. Amusement park rides are exempt from all federal safety oversight, and there is no uniform system of state or local regulations.
- Disney and Universal Studios operate parks in California and Florida. 75% of their parks are exempt from federal and state safety laws.
- California investigates thrill ride accidents at amusement parks, inspects the rides, and audits the safety records.
- Florida does not. All accidents at Florida's major theme parks are handled privately by the company. All findings remain confidential.
- Busch Entertainment operates theme parks in Virginia, Texas, Florida and California. State accident investigation reports are only available for the California park.
- Texas has an insurance requirement and an honor system reporting requirement. The state doesn't employ a single inspector or technical investigator for amusement rides. State law authorizes local police to shut down unsafe rides at carnivals or small parks, but police are prohibited from shutting down an unsafe ride at a park that sells more than 500,000 tickets a year.
- Virginia law requires that the park investigate its own serious accidents and submit reports to county officials. County building code inspectors may follow up if the park reports an equipment failure; otherwise the public safety report is dictated by the park.
- Six Flags and Cedar Fair operate parks in a variety of states. Some have laws authorizing state ride inspectors to investigate serious accidents; some (e.g., Texas, Colorado, Washington) do not.
Who checks up on the carnivals that move around from place to place?
Why are amusement park rides exempt from federal safety oversight?
If signed into law, what would Congressman Markey's bill do?
If a park is already subject to state regulation, why is a federal layer of oversight important?
Why is it important that serious accidents be investigated by the government?
