Thorpe Accident + My Opinions

[Mark Leggate]

There were brief reports about the X:\No Way Out accident (at Thorpe Park
yesterday), on BBC and ITV local news this lunchtime, where a child (about
12) was quite seriously injured:

The BBC one said that he *might* have been standing, and *might* have been
propelled 20 feet (..maybe on a brake run?).. according the the article he
suffered serious leg injuries, and the report implied that the fact that the
ride is in darkness hindered the rescue effort, although this must be
rubbish, as the emergency lighting would have been switched on by staff
almost immediately.

Thorpe are, in my opinion, quite lucky, as the news agencies haven't got any
footage of the accident, or interviews with staff / ambulance crews / riders
/ the victim, so they have very little material, hence, very short and news
articles, with limited damage to it's reputation..

I can't find any reports on the net for you all to look at, and it
*probably* won't make the London Evening Standard, as, ironically enough,
they are running a promotional article on the park today!

The report on TV said the ride was still closed today for safety checks.

My ill-educated mind tells me, however, that if the boy was standing up, and
within the height restriction, the park will probably be immune to charges,
as they boy was breaking their safety instructions (no standing etc...)

The down side with this current (tragic) spate of accidents is that there
may be public cries for tighter regulations and controls, which will mean
more fiscal expense by the parks *tweaking* already safe rides, with the
expense reflected in higher ticket prices :-(

~ Mark ~
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[Richard Bonner]

Mark Leggate (ma...@leggate.clara.net) wrote:
: There were brief reports about the X:\No Way Out accident (at Thorpe Park

: yesterday), on BBC and ITV local news this lunchtime, where a child (about
: 12) was quite seriously injured:

(Snip)

: The down side with this current (tragic) spate of accidents is that there

: may be public cries for tighter regulations and controls, which will mean
: more fiscal expense by the parks *tweaking* already safe rides, with the
: expense reflected in higher ticket prices :-(

: ~ Mark ~

*** This has already happened in The United States and to a lesser
extent in Canada, with the result that a lot of the fun has been removed
from a lot of rides.

A good report, Mark. I hope that more UK riders and enthusiasts will
post here.

Richard Bonner

Managing Director:
The Coaster Enthusiasts of Canada
www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ak621/CEC/CEC.html