Safety Overview

Amusement parks and traveling carnivals offer an exciting escape from everyday life, but thrill rides must be used with care. You can help prevent amusement ride accidents by learning how the rides work and how to use them safely.

• Learn About the Risk Factors So You Can Avoid Them.
  Amusement rides are not all created equal.  Each ride type presents different risk factors to different groups of people. For more information, visit the Risk Factors section.
• Follow the Rules and Stay Alert.
• Use Extra Caution with Children and Other Vulnerable Riders.
  For more information visit the Child Safety section and the pages on Age and Health and Riders With Disabilities.
• Respect the Forces.
  Amusement rides expose an infinite variety of human beings to extremes of position, velocity, acceleration, and jerk.  Learn more about the physics of ride safety by visiting the G-force Primer page.
• Patronize Parks and Carnivals that are Accountable to the Public.
  Amusement rides in the United States are regulated through a confusing patchwork of federal, state, and local laws that are riddled with special exemptions.  Visit the Regulation page to find out more about consumer protection laws governing amusement ride safety.