Anyone who grew up riding wooden roller coasters or getting tossed around on a county-fair Zipper knows that a little “harmless terror” is half the fun. Today’s rides are taller and faster, but expectations haven’t changed. You strap yourself in and trust that the people responsible for your safety have done their jobs.
On Monday, October 12, Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, 42, died after falling from the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia while riding with his son. According to Cobb County police, Kariem struck other riders before falling beneath the ride, injuring four people.
Investigators are still determining what happened aboard the coaster, which travels at 70 mph and uses lap-bar restraints. Six Flags has since temporarily closed nine similar coasters at six parks as a precaution.
Why Permanent Amusement Park Rides Fall Outside Federal Consumer Safety Oversight
The tragedy comes shortly after Six Flags Magic Mountain in California retired its X2 coaster amid allegations that more than 100 riders suffered serious injuries, including brain trauma. There’s no established connection between those incidents and Kariem’s death, but the recent events have renewed questions about who oversees roller coaster safety in the United States.
The federal government hasn’t regulated permanent amusement park rides since 1981. Instead, each state sets its own inspection and safety requirements, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission remains responsible for traveling carnival rides. Critics have been calling this uneven system the “roller coaster loophole.”
What happens after an inspector discovers a safety issue also depends on where the ride is located. Some states require regular government inspections, while others rely largely on park operators and private inspectors. David Bertozzi, president of the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials, told the New York Post that when he discovers a safety issue in a state without mandatory inspections, “I have no authority to shut them down.”
Sen. Ed Markey has pushed to close the loophole since 1999, but the amusement industry has continued to oppose federal oversight. He’s also criticized Congress for losing interest in ride safety once the summer season ends, once remarking that “as the weather cools, so does Congress’s interest.”
The chances of getting seriously hurt on a ride at a permanent amusement park are low, with industry estimates putting the odds at about one in 15.5 million rides. But injuries still happen, and a National Safety Council report counted an estimated 652 roller coaster injuries across North America in 2024, up from 458 in 2023.
For Kariem’s family, those numbers cannot begin to explain the loss of a husband and father who went to an amusement park and never came home.
Riders can look into their state’s inspection requirements before visiting a park, but keeping people safe is ultimately the responsibility of the operators, inspectors, and regulators overseeing these rides.
The post The 45-Year-Old Loophole That Keeps Roller Coasters Off the Federal Radar appeared first on VICE.
