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Are amusement park rides safe?

Results so far:

Yes
72% 318 votes Total: 444 votes
No
28% 126 votes
Yes

Anyone in the mood for a ride on the Superman Tower of Power? Personally, I think I will pass. The recent incident involving a female thrill seeker having her feet severed off by a loose cable during a ride of the Tower of Power has certainly raised a lot of questions about the safety of theme parks.

Here in Australia, there is a big debate currently going on about the fact that the Australian equivilant of the Tower of Power, known as the Tower of Terror, at Queensland themepark Dreamworld has not been shut down. There are several other rides here in Australia also developed by the same people who designed the Tower of Power, and their safety is also being questioned.

When you make the choice to go on a thrill ride, there is always an element of risk. You choose to put yourself at risk by making the decision to ride in the first place and should understand that certain things may go wrong at any moment. However, the rarity of these incidences suggests that the danger in riding a thrill ride at a theme park is very slim. In fact, reported death or injury on a theme park ride has been very low overall and is something that is rarely heard of.

Theme park rides go through vigerous testing procedures every day. They receive constant maintainence and all precautions are taken to eliminate risk. However, like anything, sometimes something goes wrong. But the chances of it happening to you are less than 1%.

With anything thrilling, you make the decision to participate. If you are worried about the safety risk, then do not put yourself at risk of riding. However, you are more likely to receive an injury on the way to the theme park than riding one of the rides.

Learn more about this author, Holly Rogers.
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No

Are amusement park rides safe? They are, only if it is not your loved one or you that has been killed or hurt on one!

I won't even try to spout statistics....they wouldn't matter to me anyway if it were one of my children or grandchildren who had been killed or hurt on an amusement park ride. It wouldn't help at all to know that only one in a million are hurt, or that only one in a gazillion are killed. My heart would have a gaping hole in it the size of the planet for the rest of my life, no matter how consoling the numbers of accidents considering the number of people who ride them might sound.

We are bored - our kids are bored - we've been there and we've done that til' we have to invent more dangerous thrill rides, more exciting and "livin' on the edge" activities to give us that once in a lifetime "I'm in the zone" feeling.

What's really going on here? Does anyone really know? I don't - I do know, however, that everyone talks about the "good ole' days" and how life used to be so much easier and less expensive and slower. Believe it or not, people used to actually stop and smell the roses....now that was a real thrill - the sweet, heady aroma of a beautiful, fragile rose that cost a few finger and hand pricks to get to. But, alas, the only ones who do that these days are the senior citizens!

Amusement park rides are most definitely amusing and thrilling, but is the rare, but deadly or grievously injurous really worth the price? Not for me...I don't ever want one of my loved ones to be one of the STATISTICS just for the sake of the thrill - do you?

Learn more about this author, Glenda Weiler.
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