Restraints and Common Sense
Iain Hendry
> Hey All.
Hey Cork-Ass. :^)
> I just wanted to make a quick comment. To be perfectly honestly,
> I don't feel at risk at all if a ride Op happens to miss checking
> my restraint -- I am old enough and mature enough to realize I'm in
<snip the rest>
You make a lot of very valid points. Your main one, that you're a
mature and competent person, is of particular interest. From what we've
been told, the rider on "Drop Zone" at PGA *wasn't* competent, and
probably didn't understand the restraining device or it's specific
function.
He may not have realized it was too loose.
Restraints do not magically open and close on their own.
Iain
--
tokama http://www.oxford.net/~hendryjr
ICQ UIN 5362826
AIM Cesium235
h e n d r y j r AT o x f o r d DOT n e t
Dave Althoff
: Restraints do not magically open and close on their own.
Ever ride a Huss Top Spin, Huss 1,001 Nacht, Huss Pirat, Chance Wipeout,
Chance Inverter.......
Okay, so it isn't magical. But what's that they say...any technology when
suitably advanced is indistinguishable from magic?
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
(who ALWAYS checks his own lap bar...)
--
/^\ _ _ *** Now open EVERY DAY!!! ***
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_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
Iain Hendry
> : Restraints do not magically open and close on their own.
> Ever ride a Huss Top Spin, Huss 1,001 Nacht, Huss Pirat, Chance Wipeout,
> Chance Inverter.......
I JUST LAUGHED MY ASS OFF OUT LOUD, like the first time ever. OMG...
you're so right. Giggle :^)
> Okay, so it isn't magical. But what's that they say...any technology when
> suitably advanced is indistinguishable from magic?
Scary... [Footnote 1]
Iain
Footnote 1: One r, Chris [Footnote 2].
Footnote 2: Kearsing.
K. Wynn
on the cliffhanger (or what ever it may be called now). Just before being
sent up, my lap bar released. I yelled at the ride op to stop, and they
came over and pushed it back down (actually, at this point I wanted to get
off), then sent us up. On the way up, it released again, but this time, it
only came up a few inches. Just before dropping, it tightened up again.
Not really sure what happened, but when it was time for me to get off, they
had a heck of a time getting the bar to release again. Nobody else in the
car with me had this problem. Has anyone else had this type of experience?
Because of this, it really wouldn't surprise me if the bar released on the
drop zone, or maybe at least enough to cause the boy to fall out, and then
close again. Restraints can open and close on their own, though I doubt
magic has anything to do with it. Probably more due to a mechanical failure
of some sort.
Iain Hendry <hend...@oxford.net> wrote in message
news:37C33E...@oxford.net...
Korkas
I just wanted to make a quick comment. To be perfectly honestly,
I don't feel at risk at all if a ride Op happens to miss checking
my restraint -- I am old enough and mature enough to realize I'm in
danger if my restraint doesn't work/latch, etc. Therefore, if a
RideOp does pass my by, I don't have anxiety attacks -- I just check
my lap bar/harness on my own, no problem. I probably check them
better than they do anyway [sometimes they just TAP the ratching lap
bars on wood coasters].
But, if someone has a disability [re: Drop Zone accident @ PGA], then
I think the OP should make it aware that this person is secure in the
ride, since the disabled/children/elderly have to be dependant on
others, sometimes.
Just wanted to point out that I feel fine if a ride OP doesn't check
*my* lapbar, but I do if they neglect to check those who need to be
checked [if that was the case in any recent accident].
Just my two cents [Canadian].. (1.53 cents American)
-- Paul Lancaric
[kor...@idirect.ca]
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Bret Clancy
At the Riverside ERT I was riding on the Cyclone with Ed Nelson and little
did we know that the lap bar was not clicked in. That drop is wicked with
the bar in, let alone open! The second drop's airtime was absolutely
incredible and the second half of the ride (big headchopper, lots of
airtime) and then the twists and turns were just scary. Best ride I've ever
taken on the thing!
- Bret
Thomas P. Kelley
> Restraints do not magically open and close on their own.
>
> Iain
> --
When I was at Dorney Park last fall, I was on Steel Force, and as the
train was about to crest the lift hill, my lapbar released itself; so did
the one on the girl who was sitting in the row directly in front of me (I
heard her scream when my bar came up, and I asked her about it when we got
off the ride). Neither lap bar of either of our riding partners released.
We were able to re-secure the bars before plunging down the hill. And even
if we weren't able to do that, the ride has seatbelts that would have kept
us in.
At Kentucky Kingdom this spring, Robert Ulrich was sitting directly in
front of me on Thunder Run, and his lapbar released as the train hit the
bottom of the first hill. He also calmly put it back in place and enjoyed
the rest of the ride.
Has anyone else ever been on a roller coaster or other ride and had a
restraint device open up all by itself, ''Magically''? I sure hope this
isn't what happened on Drop Zone or Shockwave, but I can say that it
certainly could be possible for it to have happened.
-- Tom
Tom Kelley
tpke...@mindspring.com
Dave Sandborg
tpke...@mindspring.com (Thomas P. Kelley) wrote:
> Has anyone else ever been on a roller coaster or other ride and had a
> restraint device open up all by itself, ''Magically''?
I can only remember seeing it happen once. I was on Shockwave at SFoT, and
the lap bar of the person next to me sprang up engaging the lift hill. He
pulled it down and it relocked and stayed so until the end of the ride. He
was kind of nervous for that ride, though.
> I sure hope this
> isn't what happened on Drop Zone or Shockwave, but I can say that it
> certainly could be possible for it to have happened.
I hope it's not what happened either. Even if it is, though, I think even
nominal restraints would be sufficient for such a ride if the rider just
hangs on. I don't know what the nature of the handicap was that he had,
but perhaps he was incapable of doing so.
--
Dave Sandborg
Remove Spam-away to respond via e-mail.
Steve Urbanowicz
>isn't what happened on Drop Zone or Shockwave, but I can say that it
>certainly could be possible for it to have happened.
I've seen it happen, and it's happened to me. These bars are just on springs,
remember, and can "magically" open up. However, in each case I've witnessed,
they also didn't magically close. Myself, or the person involved, had to pull
it back down, as was the case in the examples you sited.
Steve
The Cycloneman
"HOLD ON TO YOUR WIGS AND CAR KEYS"
http://members.aol.com/CYCLONENY/COASTERSindex.html
lee
were at SFKK, my homepark and favorite park coincidentally. My friend Robyn
was riding the enterprise and when it was coming back down, her cage door
flew open. That was pretty scary. The other happened on my 2nd time on
Hellevator, I had just rode it and decided I wanted to ride again. I'm just
glad I had a tight grip when riding it, because when we hit the brake run,
I loosened my grip and the OTSR came loose and I quickly pulled it close to
my body. That was scary, but I got right back in line and shrugged it off
as an accident, because none of my friends restraints did it. Since then
I've never had a problem with the ride.
--
*********************************
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
Kentucky's only Thrill Park
*********************************
Thomas P. Kelley <tpke...@mindspring.com> wrote in article
<tpkelley-250...@user-38lcasq.dialup.mindspring.com>...
In article <37C33E...@oxford.net>, hend...@oxford.net wrote:
> Restraints do not magically open and close on their own.
>
> Iain
> --
When I was at Dorney Park last fall, I was on Steel Force, and as the
train was about to crest the lift hill, my lapbar released itself; so did
the one on the girl who was sitting in the row directly in front of me (I
heard her scream when my bar came up, and I asked her about it when we got
off the ride). Neither lap bar of either of our riding partners released.
We were able to re-secure the bars before plunging down the hill. And even
if we weren't able to do that, the ride has seatbelts that would have kept
us in.
At Kentucky Kingdom this spring, Robert Ulrich was sitting directly in
front of me on Thunder Run, and his lapbar released as the train hit the
bottom of the first hill. He also calmly put it back in place and enjoyed
the rest of the ride.
Has anyone else ever been on a roller coaster or other ride and had a
restraint device open up all by itself, ''Magically''? I sure hope this
isn't what happened on Drop Zone or Shockwave, but I can say that it
certainly could be possible for it to have happened.
-- Tom
Tom Kelley
tpke...@mindspring.com
Icono Clast
> I think even nominal restraints would be sufficient for such a ride if
> the rider just hangs on.
Exactly what I was thinking. All the movement is vertical and our
movement is so slightly different from that of the ride as to be
insignificant from a physics point of view although that slight
difference is what gives us the thrill the designers intended we
have.
Even rides that go upside down don't need Over The Shoulder
Restraints. As long as the ride is operating properly, gravity and
centrifugal force will keep you on the ride. Of course, should
anything be amiss, the OTSRs could be life-savers and must,
therefore, be used.
> I don't know what the nature of the handicap was that he had,
> but perhaps he was incapable of doing so.
The evidence is that the mental disability was not so great as to
prevent him from figuring out how to squirm out from the OTSR and the
physical disability not so great as to prevent him from doing so. The
picture I've seen of him is of a quite normal-looking, although
frightfully-fat (that could be the result of parental feeding abuse)
boy. Considering the grotesquely fat woman claiming to be the boy's
mother, perhaps his frightful flab is the result of a genetic
pre-disposition.
--
ICONO CLAST: A San Franciscan in (where else?) San Francisco.
J Amrhein
Icono Clast wrote in message <37C4758D...@JPS.net>...
>
>Even rides that go upside down don't need Over The Shoulder
>Restraints.
Hersheypark's Sooperdooperlooper is one of my favorite
looping coasters because of the lap bars :)
J
Enrlrcst46
>At the Riverside ERT I was riding on the Cyclone with Ed Nelson and little
>did we know that the lap bar was not clicked in. That drop is wicked with
>the bar in, let alone open! The second drop's airtime was absolutely
>incredible and the second half of the ride (big headchopper, lots of
>airtime) and then the twists and turns were just scary. Best ride I've ever
>taken on the thing!
>
Bret, I thought I clocked you one when that lap bar let go on us.
The old Morgan, one size fits all, lap bar,
is without a doubt, an accident waiting to happen. I'm just glad I didn't
knock you out.
It would have made for a very difficult ride for the both of us.
Ed Nelson
Jeff Tolotti
>No, I can honestly say that in my lifetime of riding all kinds of
>different rides, I have never had any restraints pop open on me.
Swamp Fox, last ride of the day, November 21, 1998. The PTC standard
double-bar popped up and, of course, stayed up. Made for a funny ride!
*******************************************************
Jeff Tolotti, The Moist One -- Remove "NOSPAM" to reply
Locoboy
>
> In article <37C33E...@oxford.net>, hend...@oxford.net wrote:
>
>
> > Restraints do not magically open and close on their own.
> >
> > Iain
> > --
>
> When I was at Dorney Park last fall, I was on Steel Force, and as the
> train was about to crest the lift hill, my lapbar released itself; so did
> the one on the girl who was sitting in the row directly in front of me (I
> heard her scream when my bar came up, and I asked her about it when we got
> off the ride). Neither lap bar of either of our riding partners released.
> We were able to re-secure the bars before plunging down the hill. And even
> if we weren't able to do that, the ride has seatbelts that would have kept
> us in.
>
> At Kentucky Kingdom this spring, Robert Ulrich was sitting directly in
> front of me on Thunder Run, and his lapbar released as the train hit the
> bottom of the first hill. He also calmly put it back in place and enjoyed
> the rest of the ride.
>
> Has anyone else ever been on a roller coaster or other ride and had a
> restraint device open up all by itself, ''Magically''? I sure hope this
> isn't what happened on Drop Zone or Shockwave, but I can say that it
> certainly could be possible for it to have happened.
>
> -- Tom
>
> Tom Kelley
> tpke...@mindspring.com
No, I can honestly say that in my lifetime of riding all kinds of
EdBot
(magically)pop loose on the Star Tours ride at disneyland i rebuckled it and it
popped loose twice more before the ride was over. now what gets me is that to
my best understanding motion simulator rides are supposed to automatically stop
if a restraint comes loose. which did not happen.
but what really pisses me off is when i mentioned this to a ride opperator he
told me that they had been having problems with that seat all day
I know disneyland is the most MAGICAL place on earth but this kind of magic i
could do without
Pete Babic
> > Has anyone else ever been on a roller coaster or other ride and had a
> > restraint device open up all by itself, ''Magically''? I sure hope this
> > isn't what happened on Drop Zone or Shockwave, but I can say that it
> > certainly could be possible for it to have happened.
I've had that happen on a PTC train with the old style, single position,
restraint bar.
--
Pete Babic
Skip Smith
>
> The evidence is that the mental disability was not so great as to
> prevent him from figuring out how to squirm out from the OTSR and the
> physical disability not so great as to prevent him from doing so. The
> picture I've seen of him is of a quite normal-looking, although
> frightfully-fat (that could be the result of parental feeding abuse)
> boy. Considering the grotesquely fat woman claiming to be the boy's
> mother, perhaps his frightful flab is the result of a genetic
> pre-disposition.
> --
> ICONO CLAST: A San Franciscan in (where else?) San Francisco.
Totally off topic...
Funny.... Fat bashing is still socially acceptable. Make fun of a
handicapper, and your crucified, make fun of a black, or asian?
Crucified. Fat person? People agree with you... just an aside.
Geez.. I really AM grumpy today :~)
skip
--
If you think you're gonna NEED your reserve, change your main.
But having one is mandatory.
If you think you're gonna NEED your AAD, change your sport.
But having one doesn't hurt.
Peeter P. "wolli" Mõtsküla
Locoboy
Actually my brother has experienced the exact opposite of that
situation on Star Tours at Disneyland. When I got up to leave after
taking the Endor Express, for some reason my brother wasn't right behind
me. He was still sitting there in his seat. I couldn't figure out
why. It turns out that his seat belt would not release! Despite
pressing the button numerous times, that thing just wouldn't let him
go. The Cast Member came over and she tried pressing the button and
that still didn't work. My brother said, "Oh cool, does this mean I get
to ride again?!" :-D She had a good chuckle. She reached somewhere
under the seat (I couldn't see clearly what she was doing) and manually
released the seat belt's spring loaded "spool" that keeps the belt snug
against the rider's lap. Though the buckle was still stuck in the
console, the seat belt could easily be extended to its full length. My
brother is on the skinny side, so he easily slid out from underneath the
now loose belt.
Icono Clast
> > The picture I've seen of him is of a quite normal-looking, although
> > frightfully-fat (that could be the result of parental feeding abuse)
> > boy.
Skip Smith alleged:
> Funny.... Fat bashing is still socially acceptable.
An observation and a bash are not the same thing.
> Make fun of a . . . Fat person? People agree with you...
I did not make fun of the boy. In fact, by calling him "frightfully
fat" I was sympathizing with him and the probable feeding abuse by
his mother.
> > Considering the grotesquely fat woman claiming to be the boy's
> > mother, perhaps his frightful flab is the result of a genetic
> > pre-disposition.
Once again I was neither bashing nor making fun of them. I observed
the woman to be grotesquely fat. Perhaps your observation differs
from mine. Perhaps your opinion of her appearance differs from mine.
I even gave her a way out of my food abuse charge by speculating that
"perhaps [the boy's] frightful flab is the result of a genetic
pre-disposition".
> Totally off topic...
Yes, if all you want to talk about is fat but that wasn't the subject
of the original post. It is you who has created the off-topic Thread.