Amusement Ride Safety

Safety is our industry’s top priority and amusement rides in the U.S. are extremely safe.

• In a typical year, more than 385 million guests safely enjoyed in excess of 1.7 billion rides at approximately 400 North American fixed-site facilities.
• The chance of being seriously injured on a fixed-site ride at a U.S. amusement park is 1 in 15.5 million rides taken.
• One injury is one too many and the industry is continuously working to enhance all aspects of safety.
   

Safety by the Numbers

Safety data is collected and compiled by the National Safety Council on an annual basis. Incident reporting is mandatory for IAAPA members in the United States.

Below are the number summary ride safety numbers from the North America Fixed-Site Amusement Ride Injury Survey, 2020 Update and then 2019 Ride Incident Survey Report.

IAAPA members can access North America Rides Survey Reports from 2001 – 2020 here.
 

Please note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many parks did not operate, and those that did, operated with restricted capacity in 2020. Because of the added uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the number of estimated injuries decreased significantly, and comparisons to previous years should be made with caution.

Resources

• U.S. Ride Safety Reports
• ASTM Standards

Fact Sheets

• Safety Tips
• G-forces
• Design & Technology
• Regulations & Standards
• Ride Restraints
• Ride Operators
• Loose Article Advisory​