http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../BAO210OBKU.DTL

Interesting. I never really trusted those carnival type rides that are taked apart and put back together. This just reinforces that.

Is Yo-Yo at Carowinds going to close because of this?

I think theres is a different model like its not a portable so I would doubt it. I never ride carnival rides because they just look so dangerous like a strong gust of wind could knock them over at any time.

I never ride carnival rides because they just look so dangerous like a strong gust of wind could knock them over at any time.

let me just say, that i have been working with a local carnival company for 7 years now, during the summers to help pay for college and other expenses. In those 7 years, not one ride has ever "blown over" because of wind gusts, and we operate several rides that rise over 40ft in the air. We close in inclement weather situations, which includes lightning, or high winds for safety reasons. Inflatable attractions (moon bounces and such) come down in winds over 15mph.

We operate a Rock-O-Plane, which maybe from the ground does not look sturdy, however i personally have seen it take winds of over 75MPH and not budge an inch during a storm in dayton just last summer.

These rides are SAFE. They all have very strong out-riggers to support themselves and brace themselves. They are not just going to "blow over" in a gust of wind.

while i suppose i understand your fears, and anything can happen at any time, carnival accidents are RARE. just as amusement accidents are. In my 7 years, the biggest accident we had involved a child jumping down our air slide, after being told not too (dis-obeying rules) and breaking his leg on impact. We carry with us one of the best safety records in the state of ohio, and the country.

All rides after being assembled on site are inspected by the assembly team, as well as by a supervisor. In many cases, a state inspector from the Department of Agriculture will check them as well before we are able to opearate. In addition to being checked at the time of being set-up, rides are also checked by employees every day before opening to the public at a given event, just like the rides at KI are tested on a daily basis.

it makes me sick that people are so afraid of carnival rides. i assure you they are safe. carnival rides and carnival workers have been given a bad reputation and stereotype by movies and the media, but it is false.

thank you.

Yet, this morning on The Today Show, it was said that these type of rides have more regulations than those at permanent parks.

***Edit*** I typed this before SpecialK's post. I was referring to the above posts.

There is at least one member of the Outdoor Amusement Business Association who posts here. Carnival rides ARE subject to more regulation, inspection and, typically even maintenance inspections than are fixed site rides.

Then, I wonder if (statistically) they are safer.

The wear and tear caused by the assembly and disassembly of traveling rides would seem to negate any additional inspections and regulations.

I think this is incredibly unfortunate and terrible for the victims, but for all the people who don't ride carnival/amusment park ride b/c they are afraid of somthing mechanicly going worng thats just dumb. If the people who build and design rides found that a ride was more unsafe than not they wouldn't be distributing the ride in the first place. I do agree that there might need to be some more saftey checks and regulations, but if you honestly think that carnival rides are unsafe you are just kidding yourself. Do you really think some little mom and pop carnival ride lender really wants/could even afford to deal with a lawsuit? Even big corporations like CF, even though a lawsuit wouldn't affect them as much as some little ride lender, does almost everything they can to avoid one, meaning they do just about everything they can to make sure that their rides are in safe working order. Your probably more likely to get struck by lightning than be involved in an amusment park/carnival ride accident.

More:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,356504,00.html

And this accident occurs on the heels of Rep. Ed Markey`s call for federal oversight of fixed amusement park attractions. Carnival and temproary ride attractions in the US are already regulated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions issued a press release denouncing this proposed legislation. And of particular interest in that press release is the paragraph that I quote below.

In addition to state jurisdiction, mobile rides in this country are regulated by the CPSC. Because of this additional oversight one might expect mobile rides to have fewer injuries than fixed-site rides. However, accidents on mobile rides make up nearly half of the total injuries reported by CPSC between 1997-2004, despite ridership being lower at these attractions. This illustrates that the CPSC jurisdiction over mobile rides has had little impact on their safety record.

This accident just proves that even with federal oversight, it does not make portable attractions safer. These are mechanical devices. No amount of federal oversight will prevent freak accidents from happening. Things can and do go wrong, even with the best maintenance and regulatory procedures in place.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...Q.DTL&tsp=1

Video:

"Everything was as it should be or we wouldn't have allowed it to open," Malerbi said. "This is in the hands of the experts to figure out what malfunctioned."

That's funny. I saw on the news where it was reported that the ride was making an unusual noise for at least an hour before this incident. Yet, no one bothered to see what was making said unusual noise?

From what I have read, carnival rides are more dangerous (not saying it's true). A lot of them (not based in Ohio or California) manage to dip inspections.