The closure of X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain following a series of lawsuits and the death of a rider on Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia over the past few weeks raises the question: Are roller coasters safe?
“When people ask me about safety, I tell them that, statistically, roller coasters are extraordinarily safe,” International Theme Park Services CEO Dennis Speigel wrote on MS Now. “Accidents are incredibly rare.”
ALSO SEE: Six Flags Magic Mountain closes coaster after Georgia fatality
An October 2025 study by the amusement park industry’s largest trade association found roller coaster-related injuries are on the rise.
The annual study of 227 theme parks, amusement parks and family entertainment centers in the United States and Canada was conducted for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions by the National Safety Council.
Roller coaster injuries have occurred in less than one in a million rides over the past two decades, according to IAAPA’s 2024 North American safety report.
The IAAPA report found there were 1.27 injuries per million roller coaster rides in 2024, a 44% increase compared to the 0.88 injuries per million rides in 2023. The average rate was 0.89 injuries per million rides over the past two decades.
Those figures include all injuries requiring more than basic first aid. Serious injuries requiring hospitalization were more rare.
ALSO SEE: Six Flags Magic Mountain retires X2 coaster amid mounting lawsuits
The IAAPA report found 652 roller coaster riders were injured in 2024 in the U.S. and Canada. Of those, 49 riders were seriously injured and transported to the hospital.
Six Flags
The Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. (Courtesy of Six Flags)
Most injuries were related to preexisting medical conditions or riders disobeying rules, according to the IAAPA report. Fewer than a quarter of the injuries were related to technical issues with the ride or unsafe operational practices by employees.
Speigel says there is an important distinction between engineering a safe ride and operating a ride safely.
“I have always maintained that the most important safety component of any amusement park attraction is the human being responsible for its operation, inspection and maintenance,” Speigel wrote on MS Now.
Roller coaster safety has been in the national spotlight over the past few weeks after incidents on a pair of Six Flags rides.
Six Flags Magic Mountain permanently retired X2 in September amid mounting lawsuits alleging deaths and serious brain injuries involving the fourth-dimension wing roller coaster at the Valencia amusement park.
ALSO SEE: The groundbreaking and troubling history of Six Flags’ X2 coaster
A rider was killed on Oct. 12 when he was thrown from his seat and struck other riders on the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia.
Six Flags closed the ride and nine other similar coasters “out of an abundance of caution” in the wake of the deadly incident, including the Goliath coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
A CNN investigation found Six Flags parks in California have reported nearly 300 accidents to state regulators since 2021.
Every Six Flags ride undergoes extensive inspections by state, insurance, engineering, safety and third-party inspectors designed to meet or exceed manufacturer requirements and industry standards, according to the company website.