With summer in full swing, you may be planning a trip to an amusement park with your family or friends. Unfortunately, if someone in your group sustains a serious injury on a park ride, your fun day may quickly turn into a life-changing catastrophe.
While current amusement park accident statistics are hard to find, there were more than 30,000 injuries at U.S. amusement and theme parks in 2016. To boost your odds of having a tragedy-free day, you may want to avoid four of the more dangerous amusement park rides.
1. Roller coasters
Even though many thrill seekers love steel and wooden roller coasters, riding one may be risky. After all, when you are on a coaster, you are vulnerable to blunt-force injuries from both stationary and moving objects. Additionally, you may suffer a significant injury if the roller coaster’s restraint system fails, as you may fall a great distance.
2. Bumper cars
Many traveling fairs have bumper car attractions you may be itching to ride. Still, even if the ride does not malfunction, you may sustain a soft-tissue or skeletal injury when crashing into other cars. If something goes wrong, however, you may encounter enough high-voltage electricity to electrocute yourself.
3. Boat rides
On hot days, cooling off on a boat ride may be both refreshing and exciting. These rides can be dangerous for a couple reasons. First, if you come free from the ride, you may break a bone or cut yourself. Furthermore, any time a ride incorporates water, there is some drowning risk.
4. Water park Playgrounds
If you have young ones in your family, you may love to watch them experience a water park playground. These play areas, though, may put a child’s life in risk. That is, your son or daughter may drown even in shallow water. Similarly, when traversing a wet space, everyone in your group is potentially susceptible to significant injuries in a slip-and-fall accident.
While you may want to avoid the more dangerous amusement park rides, you should realize you or a loved one may sustain a life-altering injury on any ride at any park.