Regulation Overview

Amusement ride safety in the United States is regulated through a patchwork of voluntary standards and federal, state, and local laws.

• The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is authorized to investigate accidents and work with manufacturers to correct defects or hazards, but only on traveling carnival rides. Rides operated at amusement parks and water parks are exempt from federal safety oversight.
• State and local governments are responsible for establishing safety audit/inspection programs for the amusement rides that operate within their jurisdiction. Since federal safety officials are not allowed to address safety problems on permanent park rides, each state/local government must also bear the full burden of safety oversight for its amusement park rides. This includes data collection and trend analysis, technical investigation of serious accidents, and negotiating mitigation of manufacturing defects.
  
  As of 2008, 24 states had implemented a government inspection and accident investigation program for amusement rides. 11 states relied on insurance companies or 3rd party inspectors to audit industry compliance with safety standards and regulations. 9 states fell somewhere in the middle, with government exerting authority over some, but not all, critical safety functions. 6 states had no established regulations for the safety of amusement rides.
• There are no mandatory national safety standards for amusement rides, but the amusement ride industry has developed an extensive suite of consensus safety standards through the ASTM F-24 committee. State and local rules, where they exist, may reference ASTM industry standards, government-drafted requirements, or a combination of both.

• Consistency/uniformity of state rules
  There is no central agency with authority to coordinate a national public policy for amusement ride safety, so each local jurisdiction designs its own rules and programs.
• Public accident investigations
  As of 2008, 21 states still did not have government officials authorized and trained to investigate serious amusement park accidents, and Florida law exempts large parks from public investigation of accidents, including fatalities.
• Specialized expertise
  Some hazard patterns and some catastrophic amusement ride accidents require knowledge, education, and experience beyond that available in state or local ride safety agencies, yet federal experts are prohibited from investigating major accidents or examining critical safety issues at permanent parks.
• Nationwide coordination of safety-critical information
  No agency is empowered to make sure that safety issues identified on a ride in one amusement park are corrected on similar equipment in all states and all companies.
• Centralized data collection
  No agency is empowered to collect nationwide data on amusement ride accidents and monitor for critical events or trends. The better state programs may identify and correct hazard patterns within their local jurisdiction, but local agencies have no authority to extend safety improvements nationwide.
• Government participation in standards development
  Consensus standards developed by the amusement ride industry are weak in some key areas, such as child safety and operational requirements. Lack of federal authority over amusement park rides reduces incentive for industry to address problems that may not cut into profit, but do injure customers.
• Public Education
  No public safety agency has authority and the effective means to educate U.S. consumers about safety issues on amusement park rides. This function is most important for parents of young children, older adults, and consumers with certain physical or mental conditions.

• Federal oversight - Portable rides only
  • Congressman Markey's "National Amusement Park Rides Safety Act"
• State oversight
• Industry standards
• Blueprint for safer thrills - A team approach to accident prevention
• How to report accidents or safety concerns