# US Amusement Ride Injuries: Mobile vs Fixed-Site Dataset

Year-by-year compilation of every public US amusement ride injury and fatality series, with methodology, denominators, and comparability flags on every number. Mobile (carnival/fair) and fixed-site (permanent park) rides are counted by different bodies with different methods; this dataset preserves those seams instead of papering over them.

Built by Claude Code — 2026-08-20

## Files

- `table1_injuries_by_year.csv` — injury estimates by year/site type (CPSC NEISS series 1993–2004 in three revision states, NEISS query tool 2005–2025 in two groupings, NSC/IAAPA survey 2003–2024 in both estimate bases, state-reported TX/CA)
- `table2_exposure_by_year.csv` — attendance/ridership denominators from six conflicting sources, unreconciled
- `table3_rates_by_year.csv` — published rates + derived variants under every available denominator
- `table4_severity_and_type.csv` — NSC serious/reportable and ride-type splits 2003–2024
- `table5_cause_attribution.csv` — NSC cause module 2022–2024, location splits 2003–2024, Saferparks-derived flags, OABA trade claims
- `table6_fatalities_by_year.csv` — CPSC documented deaths 1987–2004 + the post-2005 void
- `table7_injury_demographics.csv` — peer-reviewed NEISS studies (Thompson, Woodcock, Loder, inflatables, coasters)
- `table8_state_regulation.csv` — 11-state deep dive (statutes, data feeds); `table8b_50state_directory.csv` — CPSC 2010 vs 2015 directory diff
- `table9A_incidents_structured.csv` — all 23,288 Saferparks records, harmonized (MANDATORY FLAG: cannot be used for rates or comparisons)
- `table9B_incidents_notable.csv` — 13 regulation-changing incidents with official causes
- `table9C_coverage_matrix.csv` — Saferparks state × year × record count
- `Saferparks-data-description.pdf` — original codebook

## SOURCES

- S1 CPSC, "Amusement Ride-Related Injuries and Deaths" memo, C.C. Morris, June 16 1998. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/amusemnt.pdf
- S2 CPSC, same series, July 1999. https://web.archive.org/web/20000816225505/http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia99/os/amusride.pdf
- S3 CPSC, "…1987-1999," July 2000. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/amrd2000.pdf
- S4 CPSC, "…1987-2000," Aug 2001. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/amus2001.pdf
- S5 CPSC, "…2002 Update," M. Levenson, Aug 2002. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/amus2002.pdf
- S6 CPSC, "…2003 Update," Nov 2003. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/amus2003.pdf
- S7 CPSC, "…2004 Update," Sep 2004. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/amus2004.pdf
- S8 CPSC, "…2005 Update," Sep 7 2005 (final; series of record). https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/pdfs/amus2005.pdf
- S9 CPSC, "2006 Amusement Ride-Related Injuries" (1-page series-ending guidance). https://web.archive.org/web/20080602161702/http://www.cpsc.gov/library/amus2006.pdf
- S10 CPSC NEISS Estimates Query Builder, live queries run 2026-08-20 (product code 1293, grouped by year, 2006–2025; citation per tool: "NEISS 2006-2025 on NEISS Online Database, released April, 2026"). https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/NEISSQuery/home.aspx
- S11 CPSC NEISS Data Highlights annual PDFs 2005–2024 (grouping 1293+3293+3294+3295). Pattern: https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/NEISSQuery/Data/Highlights/2005/2005%20NEISS%20Data%20Highlights.pdf
- S12 NEISS Coding Manual July 2020 & Jan 2025 rev.1 + Product Code Comparability Tables 2018/2025. https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/2020-NEISS-Coding-Manual.pdf
- S13 Heiden E.J. & McGonegal S., "2001-2002 Fixed-Site Amusement Ride Injury Survey Analysis," Injury Insights, Jun/Jul 2003 (as cited in NSC editions; original not online)
- S14 NSC, "Fixed-Site Amusement Ride Injury Survey, 2013 Update," Jan 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150301061548if_/http://www.nsc.org:80/NSCDocuments_Corporate/Fixed-site-amusement-ride-injury-survey-2013-update.pdf
- S15 NSC, "…2015 Update," Aug 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20201204181924if_/https://www.nsc.org/getmedia/a297579d-978e-437d-bf73-7d36161dac6e/ride-injury-update.pdf
- S16 NSC/IAAPA, "North America Fixed-Site Amusement Ride Injury Survey, 2021 Update," Aug 2022. https://iaapa-hosted-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Regions/North-America/IAAPA+NA+2021+Data+Report+FINAL+8-4-22.pdf
- S17 NSC/IAAPA, "North America Fixed-Site Amusement Ride Safety Report, 2022 Update," Sep 2023 (43 pp). https://web.archive.org/web/20240201154246if_/https://iaapa-hosted-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Safety/Ride+Safety+Report+Update+2024/Final+North+America+Ride+Safety+Report+2022+Data.pdf
- S18 NSC/IAAPA, "…2023 Update, Executive Summary" (public edition abridged), Jul 2024. https://iaapa-hosted-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/dropbox/NSCReport.pdf
- S19 NSC/IAAPA, "…2024 Update, Executive Public Summary," Oct 2025. https://iaapa-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/public/2026-03/2024%20North%20America%20Fixed%20Site%20Amusement%20Ride%20Safety%20Report%20Update%20EPS.pdf?VersionId=8rLplPSx8Z3DYla28EQj7LJJfLBdQ0L2
- S20 Texas Dept. of Insurance, quarterly amusement ride injury reports (rolling CSV). https://www.tdi.texas.gov/commercial/documents/lcamqtrinjury.csv (page: https://www.tdi.texas.gov/commercial/lcamqtrinjury.html)
- S21 Cal/OSHA DOSH Portable Amusement Ride Activity/Inspection Reports 2022–2024. https://www.dir.ca.gov/DOSH/DoshLegReports.html
- S22 FDACS MOU Exempt Facilities Report (rolling PDF). https://ccmedia.fdacs.gov/content/download/81386/file/exempt-facilities-report.pdf
- S23 Saferparks 2017 dataset v4 (8,351 records, 2010–2017). https://ridesdatabase.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Saferparks-dataset-2017-v4.csv
- S24 Saferparks legacy dataset v3 (14,937 records, 1986–2009). https://ridesdatabase.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Saferparks-dataset-legacy-v3.csv
- S25 Saferparks Accident Data description. https://ridesdatabase.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Saferparks-data-description.pdf (data page: https://ridesdatabase.org/saferparks/data/)
- S26 CPSC Directory of State Amusement Ride Safety Officials, May 2015 (still current). https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/DirectoryofStateAmusementRideSafetyOfficials.pdf (via Wayback 2026-05-17 mirror)
- S27 Same directory, July 2010 edition. https://web.archive.org/web/20101216065515/http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/amuse.pdf
- S28 Thompson MC, Chounthirath T, Xiang H, Smith GA. "US Pediatric Injuries Involving Amusement Rides, 1990-2010." Clin Pediatr 2013;52(5):433-440. PMID 23637117 (+ Nationwide Children's press release)
- S29 Woodcock K. "Amusement ride injury data in the United States." Safety Science 2014 (PII S0925753513002282)
- S30 Woodcock K. "Rider errors and amusement ride safety." Accid Anal Prev 2007;39(2):390-397. PMID 17054895
- S31 Woodcock K. "Global incidence of theme park and amusement ride accidents." Safety Science 2019;113:171-179
- S32 Loder RT, Feinberg JR. J Pediatr Orthop 2008;28(4):423-426. PMID 18520277
- S33 Thompson MC et al. "Pediatric Inflatable Bouncer-Related Injuries in the United States, 1990-2010." Pediatrics 2012;130(6):1076-1083. PMID 23184115
- S34 Vukcevich O et al. J Pediatr Surg 2022;57(5):908-914. PMID 35101261 (NEISS 2000–2019 inflatables)
- S35 Patel J et al. Am J Emerg Med 2025;98:309-314. PMID 40997712 (NEISS 2004–2023 pediatric coasters)
- S36 Braksiek RJ, Roberts DJ. "Amusement park injuries and deaths." Ann Emerg Med 2002;39(1):65-72. PMID 11782733
- S37 NBC News, "On thrill rides, safety is optional" (CPSC series end confirmation). https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22088012
- S38 CPSC statement via NBC/AP, Aug 2017 ("aware of 22 deaths… since 2010"). https://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/number-accidents-due-amusement-park-rides-might-be-higher-you-n787286
- S39 Emerson & Associates ride-safety analysis (industry-side, CPSC data 1987–2000). http://www.emerson-associates.com/ParkSafetySite3.pdf
- S40 NJ DCA Carnival-Amusement Ride Safety Unit. https://www.nj.gov/dca/codes/offices/rides.shtml (+ N.J.A.C. 5:14A PDF, CARSAB minutes)
- S41 PA Dept. of Agriculture ride program + 7 Pa. Code §139.11. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/consumer-protection/amusement-rides-and-attractions
- S42 FDACS Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection. https://www.fdacs.gov/Business-Services/Fairs/Fair-Rides-Inspection
- S43 Ohio Dept. of Agriculture Amusement Ride Safety. https://agri.ohio.gov/divisions/amusement-ride-safety-and-fairs/amusement-ride-safety
- S44 CA DIR/DOSH Amusement Ride & Tramway Unit. https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/PublicSafety.html
- S45 TX TDI amusement ride program. https://tdi.texas.gov/commercial/indexamusement.html
- S46 NY DOL Ride Safe NY. https://dol.ny.gov/ride-safe-ny (search: https://dol.ny.gov/ride-safety-search)
- S47 WA L&I amusement ride program. https://www.lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/other-licenses-permits/amusement-ride-safety-permits-and-inspections/
- S48 Minn. Stat. 184B.03. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/184B.03
- S49 Indiana DHS Elevators & Amusement Rides. https://www.in.gov/dhs/fire-and-building-safety/elevators-and-amusement-rides/
- S50 CO CDLE Division of Oil & Public Safety (+ Glenwood Caverns report). https://cdle.colorado.gov/sites/cdle/files/glenwood_caverns_accident_report.pdf
- S51 SaferProducts.gov RestWebServices Recall API, queried 2026-08-20. https://www.saferproducts.gov/RestWebServices/
- S52 OSHA IMIS Accident Search, queried 2026-08-20. https://www.osha.gov/ords/imis/AccidentSearch.html
- S53 CPSC Open Data API guide (host unreachable 2026-08-20; reconstructed from search cache). https://opendata.cpsc.gov/opendataApi/apidocs/api-guide
- S57 IAAPA ride safety boilerplate. https://iaapa.org/safety-security/ride-safety-report
- S58 IAAPA Global Theme and Amusement Park Outlook 2023–2027 (Wilkofsky Gruen). https://broker-vault.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Global-Theme-and-Amusement-Park-Outlook-2023-2027-Final.pdf
- S59 TEA/AECOM Theme Index annual reports 2006–2023. Index: https://aecom.com/wp-content/uploads/documents/reports/AECOM-Theme-Index-2023.pdf (per-year URLs in table2 notes/agent log)
- S60 IAFE fair boilerplate. https://fairsandexpos.com/History-of-Fairs/
- S61 IAFE/Johnson Consulting 2024 economic impact study. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-report-highlights-major-economic-impact-of-fairs-and-fairgrounds-on-local-economies-across-us-302547977.html
- S62 OABA carnival safety page. https://oaba.org/pageserver/carnival-safety
- S63 Carnival Warehouse Top 50 Fairs lists 2006–2025. https://carnivalwarehouse.com/top-50-fairs
- S64 Blue Ribbon Group top-30 state fairs. https://www.blueribbongroup.net/blue-ribbon-foodies/2025-top-30-state-fairs-list/
- S70–S82 Notable-incident source bundles (per row in table9B): S70 1999 Drop Zone (CPSC Table 3 + press); S71 Big Thunder 2003 (Cal/OSHA via themeparkinsider.com/news/response.cfm?ID=1389); S72 SFNE Superman 2004 (Mass. investigation via press); S73 Darien Lake 2011 (NY DOL citations via foxnews/abcnews); S74 Texas Giant 2013 (park/Gerstlauer investigation via Time/NBC); S75 El Paso Sizzler 2016 (NBC/KFOX/CBS4); S76 Schlitterbahn Verrückt (KS AG grand jury indictment via KCUR/ABC); S77 Greene Co. TN Ferris wheel (state/insurer inspection via Fox/WBIR); S78 Ohio Fire Ball 2017 (KMG metallurgical finding via WOSU/NBC); S79 Adventureland Raging River (Iowa Div. of Labor citations via WeAreIowa/WHO13); S80 Cedar Point TTD (Ohio Dept. of Agriculture report via WTOL/WKYC); S81 Glenwood Caverns (CDLE OPS report, S50); S82 Orlando FreeFall (Quest Engineering forensic report for FDACS via CNN/CBS/Fox35)

## DATA GAPS

- CPSC 1996 (Cassidy) and Oct 1997 (Morris) report editions: no copies online; their per-year numbers NA.
- Mobile vs fixed-site NEISS split: does not exist for any year after 2004 — CPSC stopped the hand-coding when the 2005 Update author resigned; the query tool has no site variable (locale code 9 covers all recreation places).
- 2005 site-split: NA (query tool starts 2006; only the Highlights grouping figure 22,468 exists for 2005).
- NSC/IAAPA standalone editions for data years 2003–2011, 2014, 2016–2020: not publicly findable; their numbers survive only in later editions' trend tables (invited counts and %-of-attendance statements for those years mostly NA).
- NSC 2023 attendance/ridership totals: NA (public edition abridged; full report member-gated).
- Fatality census 2005–present: none exists; CPSC has no fixed-site jurisdiction (since 1981) and publishes no fatality table after the 2005 Update. Only aggregate: "22 deaths since 2010" (Aug 2017 statement).
- Mobile-ride exposure denominator: no government or academic count has ever existed; the only figure is OABA's own undated "~300 million riders."
- State injury data: NJ, OH, PA, WA, MN, IN, NY publish no recurring incident data (records-request only); PA's statutorily required annual accident compilation is not posted. FL produces no records at all for exempt mega-parks (Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Legoland) beyond the voluntary MOU PDF.
- Saferparks: no data before 1986, thin before 1999, gap 2008–2010, collection stopped mid-2017 (now held by AIMS, not updated). Only about half of US states ever responded.
- TEA/AECOM top-20 North America total for 2024: NA (report format changed to TEA Global Experience Index behind a form).
- Carnival Warehouse 2014 total: NA (posted file is a mislabeled duplicate of 2015).
- CPSC Open Data API: host unresolvable as of 2026-08-20 (NXDOMAIN); SaferProducts incident-report OData endpoint requires an app key not obtainable in-session (401 confirmed).
- Saferparks bonus NEISS extract CSV: 404 on live server.

## METHOD BREAKS (vertical-rule timeline)

- 1981: CPSC loses fixed-site jurisdiction (CPSA amendment) — everything after this is asymmetric by design.
- 1997: NEISS sample redesign; pre-1997 estimates multiplied by 1.0264–1.0293.
- 1999→2000 reports: complete CPSC re-coding + new unknown-site allocation method (all 1994–1998 values change).
- 2000→2001 reports: independent-coder review (all values change again).
- End of 2000: "Hospital X" (~20% of ride cases, mostly fixed-site) leaves NEISS — fixed-site estimates 2001+ structurally lower regardless of true trend.
- 2003 Update: 1997–2000 recalculated with Hospital X removed; fixed-site 1997–2000 cut 29–49%; pre-1997 years dropped from the series.
- 2003: NSC takes over the industry survey from Heiden (2001-02 not comparable).
- Sep 2005: CPSC publishes final mobile/fixed split (2004 data); series ends.
- 2006: NEISS query tool era begins (code 1293, no site split; Highlights grouping adds waterslide codes).
- 2013: NSC survey sample grows 16%; new parks had higher injury rates.
- 2016: NSC survey scope US → North America.
- Mid-2017: Saferparks data collection stops.
- 2019: NEISS allows 3 product codes per record (records can double-count).
- 2020: COVID collapse in every series (NSC: do not compare).
- 2021: NSC facility-universe estimation method changes (Euromonitor basis).
- 2022: NSC adds cause-attribution module; renames survey to Safety Report.
- 2023: Florida Tyre Sampson Act tightens oversight (post-FreeFall).

## CONFLICTS (side-by-side, no winner picked)

1. CPSC fixed-site 1997–2000, original vs Hospital-X-adjusted: 5,353 vs 2,700 (1997); 6,523 vs 4,400 (1998); 7,629 vs 4,800 (1999); 6,595 vs 3,800 (2000). Both are CPSC.
2. CPSC totals for the same years: 7,915/9,274/10,417/10,580 vs 5,700/7,500/7,900/8,100.
3. NEISS "amusement" 2010: query tool 22,520 (code 1293) vs Data Highlights 36,749 (grouping incl. waterslides) vs Woodcock's record-level corrected 8,011 actual rides. Three defensible numbers, one year.
4. Fixed-site 2004: CPSC ER-treated 3,400 vs NSC park-reported 1,648 — ER visits vs park reports, never the same universe.
5. NSC 2020 serious injuries: 55 (2021 edition) vs 54 (2022/2023 editions).
6. 2022 NA attendance: NSC survey 371.2M vs IAAPA Outlook 300.4M (US-only 283.8M) — both IAAPA-funded.
7. Fair guests per year: IAFE ~98–100M vs OABA 500M (carnivals/fairs/festivals) — 5x spread between the two trade bodies.
8. IAFE 2024 study methodology: geofencing (Business View) vs self-reported forms (PR Newswire) — same study, two descriptions.
9. 1996 CPSC total: 8,600 (table) vs 8,500 (text of same 1998 memo).
10. TEA/AECOM restatements: 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022 top-20 totals each differ slightly between the original and next-year editions.

## HEADLINE FINDINGS

1. No US agency has published a mobile vs fixed-site injury split since September 2005; the 2004 data year (mobile 2,500; fixed 3,400) is the last officially split national estimate that will ever exist under current law (table1 S8 rows).
2. The famous late-1990s "fixed-site injuries are soaring" trend was largely an artifact of one hospital: removing Hospital X cut the 1999 fixed-site estimate from 7,629 to 4,800 and flattened the trend CPSC had earlier called statistically significant (table1 S4 vs S8 rows; METHOD BREAKS).
3. In CPSC's final adjusted series, mobile and fixed-site injuries are the same order of magnitude (1997–2004 mobile 2,500–4,300 vs fixed 2,700–5,800), despite fixed-site parks hosting roughly 6x the attendance OABA claims for carnivals — but every denominator involved is a trade estimate (tables 1–3).
4. Post-2005 federal data can say only that "amusement attraction" ER visits run ~18,000–31,000/yr (code 1293) with no site breakdown, and Woodcock's record-level review suggests the true ride share of that code was ~36% in 2010 (8,011 of 22,520) once inflatables and non-rides are removed (table1 S10; table7 S29).
5. Inflatables became the largest single category inside the federal numbers: CPSC's own final series shows inflatable injuries nearly doubling mobile-ride injuries by 2004 (4,900 vs 2,500), and pediatric inflatable injuries rose 15-fold 1995–2010 (table1; table7 S33).
6. The industry's own survey shows fixed-site injury rates roughly halving over two decades (7.01 → 2.86 per million attendees, 2003–2024), but the survey is voluntary, self-reported, trade-funded, covers ~60% of attendance, and its 2013/2016/2021 method changes each moved the numbers (tables 3–4).
7. ER-treated counts run about double park-reported counts for the same year (2004: 3,400 vs 1,648), which is why the two series must never share an axis unflagged (table3 derived rows).
8. Serious injuries at fixed-site parks are ~5–10% of reported injuries in most years (~0.05–0.14 per million rides); the 2022 spike to 19% (259 serious) is flagged by NSC itself as small-base volatility (table4).
9. Documented ride deaths averaged ~4.4/yr in 1987–2002 (capture-recapture estimate 71 vs 57 documented), skewing fixed-site (46 of 67 documented 1987–2004); after 2005 the only federal figure is "22 deaths since 2010" — there is no fatality census (table6).
10. Where causes are officially investigated, mobile-ride disasters skew mechanical (Fire Ball corrosion; Greene County rivets — and Saferparks mobile records carry mechanical flags at 5x the fixed-site rate: ~20% vs 4–7%), while recent fixed-site deaths skew operational (Glenwood belt reset; FreeFall sensor tampering; Adventureland maintenance) (tables 5, 9A, 9B).
11. The industry attributes 66–75% of injuries to guest behavior/medical factors, but that figure comes from an optional operator-answered module with multi-counting, and Woodcock notes the older OABA "80% horseplay" claim has no stated evidentiary source (table5).
12. Regulation is a patchwork moving slowly toward coverage: between the 2010 and 2015 CPSC directories, Kansas and Tennessee gained state programs while DC dropped inspections; today 8 states + DC still have no state fixed-site inspection program, Florida exempts its five biggest operators entirely, and only Texas publishes machine-readable injury data (tables 8, 8b).

## Saferparks dataset documentation (mandatory context for 9A/9C)

- 2017 set: 8,351 records, 2010–2017 (bulk 2011–2016). Legacy set: 14,937 records, 1986–2009 (bulk 1999–2007). Identical 23-field schema: acc_id, acc_date, acc_state, acc_city, fix_port (F/P/U), source, bus_type, industry_sector, device_category, device_type, tradename_or_generic, manufacturer, num_injured, age_youngest, gender, acc_desc, injury_desc, report, category (accident type), mechanical, op_error, employee, notes.
- MANDATORY FLAG (Saferparks' own words): the data "does not represent a complete record of ride-related accidents and cannot ethically be used to compare or contrast the safety of different rides, parks, carnivals, or states" and "cannot be used to estimate injury rates or compare states, parks, rides, or years." Use only for cause, mechanism, device-type, and body-part patterns. Reporting laws differ per state (FL requires go-kart reports but not thrill-ride reports at exempt parks; CA the reverse), so category shares are artifacts of coverage.
- Collection stopped mid-2017; data now held by AIMS International; not updated.
- body_part is NOT a coded field — free-text injury_desc is carried verbatim in table9A for downstream coding.
- severity is NOT a coded Saferparks field either. The `severity` column in table9A is **DERIVED** by keyword classification of the free text (injury_desc + acc_desc + notes), first match wins in this precedence order:
  1. `fatality` — died/death/killed/fatal*/deceased/pronounced dead/drowned (negation-guarded against "non-fatal"/"near-drowning") — 104 records (fixed 60, mobile 33, water 8, unknown 3). Includes natural-cause/medical deaths on rides and some employee deaths; do NOT read as a patron-fatality census.
  2. `hospitalized` — hospitalized/admitted/airlift/life-flight/flown/medevac/helicopter/ICU/trauma center — 220
  3. `transported_er` — transported/ambulance/taken to hospital/paramedic/EMS/911 (guarded against "refused transport") — 1,584
  4. `severe_injury_reported` — fracture/broken bone/amputation/dislocation/LOC/concussion/cardiac arrest/paralysis/skull/internal injury — 1,761
  5. `treated_released` — treated and released/first aid/on-site treatment — 529
  6. `injury_reported_unspecified` — injury text exists but carries no severity signal — 16,342
  7. `unknown` — no injury description at all — 2,748
  Tiers reflect what the narrative MENTIONS, not clinical outcome: a fracture whose record never mentions transport lands in severe_injury_reported; most records simply never state disposition, hence the large unspecified tier. Same Saferparks no-rates/no-comparisons flag applies.
- site_type mapping in 9A: industry_sector "water park" → water; else fix_port F → fixed, P → mobile, else unknown.
- Top jurisdictions: legacy — NJ 5,648, CA 3,430, TX 3,320, FL 1,074; 2017 — CA 2,996, PA 1,879, FL 970, TX 547. 30-31 jurisdictions per set; full state × year counts in table9C.

## Occupational data (never merge with patron counts)

OSHA IMIS keyword "Amusement Ride": 127 investigations; "carnival": 184; NAICS 713110: 11 records 2021–2024, 8 fatal (includes non-ride deaths — filter by narrative). Worker deaths include ride mechanics crushed during maintenance (Silver Dollar City 2022, Oceaneering 2019) and teardown falls (City of Fun 2024). CPSC's series explicitly excluded occupational cases; its 1998 memo estimated occupational ride deaths (~4.3–5.2/yr 1987–1997) were about as common as patron deaths.
