Oklahoma Department of Labor shares how rides are inspected ahead of Tulsa State Fair

TULSA, Okla. — With so many things to see at the Tulsa State Fair, ride safety might not be on the top of your mind like it is for ride inspectors with the Oklahoma Department of Labor.

“We’re checking lap bars, safety restraints, safety switches, emergency stops, momentary switches and we check the blocking. We start at the bottom and work their way to the top,” said Allen McElyea with the Oklahoma Department of Labor.

McElyea said they’ve been at the fair every day since Monday making sure every ride is safe. He says if they don’t pass, the ride doesn’t open.

“I have four grandkids. Every ride I look at like my grandkids might get on this, so we take our job real serious,” said McElyea.

Every ride that gets inspected gets a sticker placed on the license plate and each ride has emergency stops in case something goes wrong.

“One of our biggest problems is people need to know their limitations before they get on a ride,” said McElyea.

Parents need to make sure kids are tall enough to ride the rides. Don’t spike their hair up or make them stand on their tip-toes.

Scooter Korek with Northway Midway Entertainment says they train each employee on ride safety.

“Safety is paramount to everything that we do,” said Korek.

Korek says they inspect each of their 60 rides daily and take ride safety very seriously.

“I’ve always said any one of my family members can go on any one of our rides everyday, that’s how good I feel about our program and the guys operating this stuff,” said Korek.

If you see something about a ride that makes you nervous or question its safety, you can call the inspectors at the Oklahoma Department of Labor at 405-521-6100.

You can also learn more information about the Oklahoma Department of Labor by clicking here .