Carnivals are pretty weird, man. You might remember how they would roll into town when you were growing up — you and your friends would get excited about the fried dough and perhaps see signs for bearded ladies and other oddities.
Of course, there would be rides with names like the Hurl-a-Twirl or Revenge of King Kong. You would look at them with slight unease, not only because of the heights and blazing speeds, but also because they seemed as if they were a bolt away from completely collapsing or flinging passengers off the ride.
Flash forward to 2022. The world may have changed since then — bearded ladies are now likely to be seen in woke razor companies’ advertisements, for example (see the Daily Wire’s thoughts on that here) — but two things remain the same: Carnival rides are still dangerous as can be, and fried dough is still a crave-worthy treat.
Nowadays, state fairs have taken the place of carnivals in some areas, but the premise is the same. Once a year, a traveling group of ride operators sets up shop, assembling thousands of metal pieces and light bulbs, connecting the electricity, and creating a mini-village with cotton candy, prizes, funhouse mirrors and makeshift roller coaster rides.
We can’t offer any culinary advice for the fried dough, but we can lay out some of the riskier carnival rides from the last few decades that still operate today.
According to some reports, there are an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 injuries on permanent amusement park rides and traveling carnival rides each year. Despite the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission monitoring rides, there is little to no federal oversight of carnival amusement rides. States decide the level of inspection each ride needs before it is approved for safety.
However, many argue that states are often lackadaisical with the inspection process for a variety of reasons. This has led to dozens of deaths over the years, they claim. Others place the blame for accidents on ride operators and manufacturers. It is an ongoing debate, and the solution is not as obvious as one might think.
Regardless, here are three rides that have caused such grief multiple times.
The Gondola
While typically found on ski mountains, gondolas are also popular features at carnivals and state fairs. Instead of being transported up a snowy slope, however, couples or young families majestically ride above the crowd walking about in a random parking lot by the highway as the smell of cigarettes and cheap perfume wafts through the summer’s night air. Beautiful.
Riders should be aware that while there might be some great people watching, their ride may be malfunctioning.
For example, in 1979 at the State Fair of Texas, one man died and 16 others were injured when two gondola cars on the Swiss Sky Ride crashed into each other and plunged 80 feet below onto the crowd.
According to The New York Times, “The manufacturer of the ride, Von Roll of Switzerland, also built a similar ride at Six Flags Over Mid-America in St. Louis. A car from that ride plunged 75 feet to the ground in 1978, killing three persons. An investigation fixed the cause as the failure of a 4-inch nylon bushing.”
In 2022, carnival gondolas are still causing problems.
At the Florida State Fair in February, a little girl fell 35 to 40 feet after slipping out from underneath the ride’s safety bar, as reported by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Thankfully, she only hurt her wrist and nobody else was injured.
Still, it should serve as a warning. If you’re at a fair or carnival and want to impress a date, maybe skip the gondola attraction and show off with skee ball or that game where you have to knock down the glass bottles. It’s typically safer.
The Fire Ball
In 2017 at the Ohio State Fair, one man was killed and seven others were injured after a ride known as the Fire Ball malfunctioned.
According to CNN, the ride “consists of at least six rows of seats that spin around 40 feet above the ground as the entire structure moves like a pendulum, [and] broke apart while it was in motion,” which led to the fatality.
One witness gave CNN her horrifying account of the tragedy: “The ride had four riders per cart. This piece snapped off and the riders came out of the cart,” she said. “At least two (people) flew through the air at least 20 feet before landing on their backs on the concrete.”
Authorities maintained that all safety procedures were followed before the ride was allowed to operate.
Michael Vartorella, chief ride inspector of the Amusement Ride Safety Division, said at the time, “My children, my grandchildren ride this equipment so our guys do not rush through this stuff.”.
He also told reporters the ride had been inspected at several different stages and was signed off on the day of the incident.
Following the tragedy, then-Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) ordered a full investigation and mandated that all fair rides shut down.
In 2021, there was still confusion as to exactly what happened, but reports indicate that the ride itself was severely damaged from rust, among other mechanical issues.
U.S. News reported that parties involved disagreed over who was to blame for the accident:“The maker of the spinning, swinging Fire Ball ride said years of undetected excessive internal corrosion caused a carriage holding four riders to break apart just hours after a final inspection. Attorneys for the victims believe the state’s inspectors missed obvious warning signs and also blamed the ride’s operator and maker, though no one was charged.”
The state implemented more safety precautions after the fatality, but some ride operators now argue the rules are too stringent.
For example, in 2021, one vendor opted to cancel all events in Ohio, choosing instead to operate in neighboring states.
“Amusement operators say they especially can’t afford to have their rides grounded for repairs that they don’t believe are warranted coming after a year when they were shut down because of the pandemic,” U.S. News reported.
“I can’t gamble like that,” Val Gorham, who runs Cromer United Amusements from its base in Eaton, Ohio, told U.S. News.
“When I go 15 miles to Indiana or to West Virginia, Georgia, Florida or Kentucky, my equipment’s fine,” he said.
The Sizzler
The next ride that lands on our list is the Sizzler.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, this ride “is similar to the ‘Scrambler’ and ‘Twist,’ [and] turns in one direction as people sitting in its carriages spin the opposite way.”
The Sizzler has killed at least five people since 2000. Still, despite those deaths, experts say the Sizzler is safe if people are following the rules of the ride.
“You have to keep your fanny in the seat, your back against [the] seat-back, your feet on the floor, and your hands on the lap bar,” Ken Martin, a Virginia-based safety consultant, told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “When the ride is operated per the manufacturer’s instructions and the patrons follow the manufacturer’s instructions, it is one of the safest rides on any midway.”
However, the Inquirer noted in 2019 that proper instructions for the ride are a little opaque.
For example, “the manufacturer … recommended in 2007 that all Sizzler operators install belts,” but it was not a requirement.
States are also inconsistent in their guidance. According to the Inquirer, “following some fatalities in the early 2000s, some states required seatbelts on the Sizzler rides” but not all. This means that some ride operators could still be using versions of the Sizzler without seatbelts, so ride with caution.
Conclusion
These were just a few of the risky rides we found that are still operating in various capacities throughout the United States. They might be safe when fully inspected and rules are properly followed, but how often state regulations actually ensure that happens remains unclear.
Additionally, some critics fear that the employees who set up the rides — who are often temporary workers — might not be trained sufficiently. That lack of training, they suspect, leads to mistakes in putting the machines together. Others argue that those who complete the safety checks before the ride starts might not be trained enough either.
Most critics of carnivals are in agreement that ride manufacturers and ride operators should make safety their number one priority. To ensure that happens, some argue a federal regulatory commission is needed, while others claim that states should retain the right to craft their own rules. It does not appear that there will be a solution anytime soon.
Ultimately, this is still a free country.
If you enjoy carnival rides, and they are legal in your state, have at them if you dare. Just keep in mind that despite the seal of approval from the government and the folks operating the machines, they may not be as risk-free as you imagine them to be.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.