They aren't victims of centripetal force. They're victims of insufficient centripetal force, which results in them traveling in a straight line (except in the y-direction, where they accelerate downward at 9.81 m/s². I did no such thing as describe a centrifugal force. When you're going around a bend or spinning in a circle, do YOU push against the car door, or side of the merry go round? Answer is "YES!" This isn't fictitious. The centripetal force is the force acting on you. There is no force acting on you toward the outside of a circle - you're pushing the car door, etc., in that direction. But again, that's not a force acting on you - that's a force of you acting on something else. The mythical centrifugal force is a force acting on you toward the outside.