Amusement Park and Carnival Rides

A visit to an amusement park or carnival can expose you to a dizzying array of different thrill rides, from high-acceleration 21st century roller coasters to 100-year old Ferris wheels to simple kiddie roundabouts and everything in-between. Each ride may have a different kind of motion, a different containment design, and different safety cautions.

Saferparks categorizes amusement rides into four main groups: coasters and flume rides, spinning rides, pendulum rides, and all other rides. The categories are loosely based on the ride's motion. Coasters and flumes have cars that carry riders up an incline and then let gravity and momentum send the cars through a thrilling series of twists, turns, and drops. Spinning rides spin riders in a circle: some slowly and some very fast; some vertically, some horizontally, and some in multiple and rapidly-changing directions. Pendulum rides swing riders back and forth, sometimes continuing all the way over into a 360-degree loop. Other rides include bumper cars, dark rides, drop towers, and any other amusement ride that didn't fit into one of the other three categories.

The amusement rides in each of the four main groups are categorized more specifically by ride type. Ride typing is straight-forward in many cases (e.g. Ferris/gondola wheels, trains) and more clumsy in other cases. Roller coasters comprise the largest ride grouping by far and should be separated into smaller groups where possible, but the various types of coasters represent more of a spectrum than a set of discrete types.

The following table lists the types of amusement rides included in public accident reports provided to Saferparks by state regulatory agencies. The list is initially sorted according to the number of reported accidents, highest frequency first. Note that a higher number of reported accidents for a particular ride type does not necessarily indicate a higher rate of rider injury. Ride types that are more broadly defined will accrue higher accident counts. More popular rides and rides operated in states with stricter public reporting laws will generate higher numbers of reported accidents.

Click column headings to change the sort. Click on the ride type to view database information specific to that type.

Category	Ride Type	Percentage of accident reports
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - miscellaneous	17%
Coasters and flumes	Flume ride	6%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - wooden	6%
Other mechanical rides	Bumper car	4%
Other mechanical rides	Track ride	4%
Other mechanical rides	Boat ride	3%
Other mechanical rides	Drop tower	3%
Spinning rides	Carousel	3%
Spinning rides	Himalaya-type	3%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - inverted	2%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - family/kiddie	2%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - mine train	2%
Spinning rides	Sizzler/scrambler	2%
Coasters and flumes	Rafting ride	2%
Other mechanical rides	Train	2%
Spinning rides	Spinning cups/tubs	1%
Coasters and flumes	Shoot the chute	1%
Spinning rides	Roundabout	1%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - wild mouse	1%
Spinning rides	Ferris/gondola wheel	1%
Other mechanical rides	Car ride	1%
Spinning rides	Swing ride	1%
Other mechanical rides	Simulator	1%
Spinning rides	Tilt-a-whirl/waltzer	1%
Spinning rides	Plane/jet/helicopter	1%
Other mechanical rides	Sky ride/ski lift	1%
Pendulum rides	Flying carpet ride	1%
Spinning rides	Rotor/gravitron	1%
Spinning rides	Wheel w/spinning cars	<1%
Spinning rides	Orbiter/octopus/remix	<1%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - zyklon	<1%
Pendulum rides	Pirate ship	<1%
Spinning rides	Flipping platform	<1%
Pendulum rides	Ranger/kamikaze	<1%
Other mechanical rides	Bumper boat	<1%
Spinning rides	Trabant	<1%
Pendulum rides	Giant swing	<1%
Spinning rides	Paratrooper-type	<1%
Spinning rides	Tornado-type	<1%
Pendulum rides	Inverter	<1%
Spinning rides	Enterprise	<1%
Spinning rides	Hanglider ride	<1%
Spinning rides	Hurricane-type	<1%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - flying	<1%
Spinning rides	Claw-type	<1%
Pendulum rides	Spinning pendulum	<1%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - bobsled	<1%
Spinning rides	Roll-o-plane/booster/speed	<1%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - stand-up	<1%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - 4th dimension	<1%
Other mechanical rides	Monorail	<1%
Spinning rides	Spinning tower ride	<1%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - suspended	<1%
Other mechanical rides	Sky cycle	<1%
Spinning rides	Whip	<1%
Spinning rides	Looper	<1%
Spinning rides	Spinning track ride	<1%
Coasters and flumes	Coaster - pipeline	<1%
Spinning rides	Robotic ride	<1%
Spinning rides	Spinning ride - misc.	<1%