What you need to know “Before You Ride” at the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival

A recent accident invovling a carnival ride was a deadly mishap at a state fair in Ohio.

In another, a Ferris wheel basket flipped in Tennessee, injuring three children.

Another child was hurt after falling from the “Typhoon” ride at a fair in Montana.

Accidents like these can cause some people to think twice about getting on rides.

Sean Butler’s family business, “Butler Amusements”, owns and operates the rides running at the Indio Fairgrounds.

He says they’ve been coming to Indio for more than 20 years.

“I have a lot of family, they ride these rides, so the first priority for me is making it safe for them, and safe for your family to come out and ride,” said Butler.

Butler says ride safety begins with an annual inspection on every ride, performed by inspectors from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Two inspectors were at the fairgrounds the week before the fair opened, and one was looking over the “Quasar” ride when News Channel 3 was at the fairgrounds.

A representative for Cal OSHA says before issuing an annul permit for each ride, they inspect all phyiscal aspects of a ride, including seats, belts, and electronics.

“They’ll do a thorough inspection over the course of a week, of all the rides that are here,” said Butler.

The state inspectors operate each ride, check replaced components, and review maintenance records and training documents, while also checking that all ride operators are properly trained.

Some of that training, video-based, was happening when we visited the fairgrounds prior to the fair’s opening day.

Also, Butler says the state inspectors can show up anytime, at any fair, unannounced.

“It is never possible to be too safe, for us it is always about safety,” said Butler.

Butler says the ride operators are famililar with the equipment, having an average of 15 years of experience working for the company.

He also says they are drug tested quarterly.

Butler says, as part of the daily insepctions that happen before the fairgounds open, ride operators run each ride, perform an emergency stop, and practice evacuation procedures.

As part of our review of Butler Amusement’s safety record, we checked with Cal OSHA, and asked for every report involving all of Butler’s operations in California, dating back to 2000.

“Butler Amusements has done a great job here at our fair, and we feel very confident they are providing all of our patrons safe rides,” said Indio Fair Grounds.

Cal OSHA cites 22 incidents involving Butler rides including a death in 2006, when a six-year-old boy fell from the “Giant Wheel” at a fair in Stockton.

Two of the 21 other incidents happened at the fair grounds in Indio, resulting in minor injuries.

A man was hurt on the “Big Foot” ride in 2007, when “the vehicle he was riding in derailed from the tracks and stopped abruptly.”.

In 2017, two people were injured on the “Cycle Jump”, when “one of the motorcycles broke from its mount, leaving the ride entirely.”

Despite the mishaps, Butler says he’s proud of his company’s record and is confident fairgoers on rides in indio will be safe.

“When you are driving down the street, you have a higher chance of being in a car accident, when you get in an airplane, you have a higher chance of an airplane accident, we ride tens of millions of people through the year,” said Butler.

Butler says the state of California has the “most stringent” safety and inspection requirements out of any state in the country, and he says that should also help fairgoers feel confident when boarding the rides.

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