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The fall of a 13-year-old from a Joyland Ferris wheel has sparked renewed calls for government regulation of Joyland and traveling carnivals that set up at festivals and county fairs across the state. Kansas is one of eight states that does not regulate amusement park or carnival rides, leaving that decision up to cities and counties. Regulations can vary, covering anything from inspections to upkeep to training of ride operators.
Read more from The Wichita Eagle.
1. Alabama
2. Arizona
3. Kansas
4. Mississippi
5. Montana
6. Nevada
7. North Dakota
8. South Dakota
9. Tennessee
10. Utah
11. Wyoming
Of those states, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, if I remember correctly, do not have amusement parks...or at least don't have amusement parks with roller coasters. Nevada does not have state ride regulations, but amusement rides are covered by the Clark County building code, and in fact Clark County, Nevada has some of the strictest ride rules in the country.
I don't know where the data in the news story came from; I wonder if it omits states which have no State ride regulations but also have no rides to regulate.
It is worth noting that in one of the various Wichita Eagle stories about the Joyland incident, Joyland owner David Rohr indicates that he is not opposed to state oversight. Likewise, in the article referenced in this news item, a couple of carnival operators also express support for a State inspection program.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
(Jeff, the "edit news comment" feature is horribly broken...)
*** This post was edited by RideMan 4/26/2004 9:58:53 AM ***
I rode a coaster there at Biloxi Beach Amusement Park. Mind you Biloxi Beach Amusement Park is little more than some carnival rides setup at an FEC, but they do have a kiddie coaster (Schiff, I beleive). There is also a coaster-less FEC with rides situated between Biloxi and Gulf Shores.
If we eliminate North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming from the list of states that don't have amusement ride inspection laws, as the three states that don't have parks, that leaves only seven states that have parks but have no laws. So the count in the article still doesn't work.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
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