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Rides and amusements at Florida fairs and festivals are in the spotlight again with fall underway.  Nearly one in four ride failures are mechanical in nature, but the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says the majority of accidents happen because riders don’t follow the rules.

“Follow the rules.  They’re posted in front of all of the rides,” said Liz Compton with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.  “You’ve got height restrictions, too short and too tall for kiddie rides.  You also have rules that say keep your arms in.  Don’t stand up when you’re not supposed to.  Rules like that, that are very obvious.”

Each ride is inspected before it is set up and opened to the public.  The state has 15 ride inspectors.