On March 24, 2022, a young man Tyre Sampson lost his life when he fell from the Orlando Free Fall ride. Footage that captured his last moments showed the world the negligence that can take place before the takeoff of a potentially dangerous ride. We want this to end here.

Federal regulation of “fixed” amusement park rides does not exist, meaning that our safety is in the hands of our parks, our states, and ourselves. That is to say, if at any point we feel unsafe or insecure before a ride takes off, we must speak up and get out. And we ask that the ride operators do not ignore our cries for help. We ask our ride operators to stop our rides when anything doesn’t feel right. The risk is too great.

We ask our states’ departments to re-examine their minimum safety requirements for fixed amusement parks. We need you to require all rides to have secondary, or “redundant” safety restraints, to minimize risk, especially in the event of mechanical or human error. 

We ask our states’ departments and our parks to re-examine the requirements for ride operator training. We ask that our states require thorough training, retraining, and random drug testing of ride operators. Ride operators should always be able to enforce park rules and ride restrictions.

We ask all parks to continue to strictly enforce all park rules, including height and weight restrictions. We need all ride restrictions posted in clear view at the ride entrance.

We ask that our restraints be double checked by ride operators, preferably using the peer review method. At the very least, we need ride operators who care about riders and handle their jobs with care.

We ask that you continue to ensure the safety of ride operators with thorough training and proper equipment as well. 

Lastly, moving forward, we are calling for justice for the families of those who lost their lives in amusement parks across the nation.
Amusement parks must be held accountable for allowing preventable injuries and deaths to occur. 

Thank you. 

The following are previous examples of incidents involving faulty restraints or operator error/neglect

Wongel Estifanos, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, Colorado (2021)

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/09/27/us/colorado-glenwood-caverns-adventure-park-child-death/index.html

The park had recently been warned about the seatbelts and negligence before Estifanos’ death.

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/colorado-theme-park-was-warned-about-rides-seat-belt-problems-years-before-6-year-olds-death-lawsuit-says/?amp=1

Rosy Esparza, Six Flags Over Texas (2013)

https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/21/us/texas-roller-coaster-death/index.html

Joshua Smurphat, California’s Great America (1999)

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/amp/Mother-Sues-Over-Son-s-Death-on-Park-Ride-She-2804733.php