United States amusement park accidents

United States amusement park accidents refer to serious injuries or deaths that occur at amusement parks in the United States. Many such accidents are reported to regulatory authorities as usually required by law everywhere in the US. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission tracks statistics for all amusement ride accidents. Regulations and records can vary depending on the country. Accidents listed here are caused by one of the following:

1. Negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberate intent to violate park rules.
2. The result of a guest's known, or unknown, health issues.
3. Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance safety instructions, or deliberate intent to violate park rules.

Statistics for the United States

• From 1987 to 2000, there were an estimated 4.5 amusement ride-related deaths per year.^[1]
• From 1990 to 2004, there were 52 deaths associated with amusement park rides (3.7 per year).^[2][3]

• Every day from May through September in each year between 1990–2010 had an average of 20 injuries by amusement park guests under 18 years of age that required hospitalization.^[4]
• In 2011, 1,204 people were injured at 400 amusement parks, according to the IAAPA.^[2]
• In 2019, there were 1,299 injuries from amusement park accidents in the U.S.^[5]

Notable incidents

• Incidents at Disney parks
• Incidents at Herschend parks
• Incidents at LEGOLAND parks
• Incidents at Premier Parks Properties
• Incidents at United Parks & Resorts
• Incidents at Six Flags parks
• Incidents at Universal parks
• Incidents at Warner Bros. parks
• Incidents at independent amusement parks
• Incidents at European amusement parks

References

1. "Amusement Ride-Related Injuries and Deaths in the United States:2003 Update" (PDF). US Consumer Product Safety Commission. 2003-11-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-03. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
2. Jonel Aleccia (2014-07-08). "Thrills or Chills? Roller Coaster Safety a Mystery". NBC News. Retrieved 2014-07-08.
3. Heygood, Michael (3 August 2012). "Carnival and amusement park accidents injure thousands each year". Heygood, Orr & Pearson. Retrieved 28 May 2013. There were more than 15,000 amusement ride-related injuries in 2005 in the US. According to the CPSC, […]
4. Travis DeShong (2019-07-22). "Amusement parks are an expensive way to stand in line while roasting in the sun". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
5. BMW Law Group (2021-06-18). "Amusement Park Accidents and Injuries Statistics". BMW Law Group. Retrieved 2022-03-07.

Bibliography

• ASTM F2291, Practice for Design of Amusement Rides and Devices

External links

• International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions
• Amusement Safety Organization Amusement ride injuries
• US Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Searchable database of Central Florida amusement park accidents From the Orlando Sentinel, covers the quarterly government reports made by Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld Orlando, Wet 'n Wild and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
• Ride accident news archive from 1998 onward