How many people are injured on U.S. amusement rides each year?
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 100,000 people were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to mechanical amusement rides, inflatable amusement devices, and waterslides between 1997 and 2004, an average of 12,500 injuries per year. • 60% of the injuries were related to the use of amusement rides. • 20% of the injuries involved inflatables. • 20% of the injuries were related to the use of public waterslides. The CPSC estimates are based on a probabilistic sampling of approximately 100 hospital emergency rooms around the country. There has been legitimate controversy over its use for products with non-uniform distribution, such as amusement rides. In 2005, after years of political battles with the theme park lobby over sampling data that showed rising injury rates for fixed-site rides, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ceased publication of statistical data on injuries associated with amusement rides. The CPSC’s last published report discu
