2 Girls Thrown From Sizzler Ride at Texas Church Carnival

[Philrad71]

Link

 

Investigation ongoing into how two teens were thrown from the Sizzler ride at a Church Carnival in Texas.

 

Edit: I snipped most of the article for easier (spam-free) reading.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Philrad71

[coloradocoasterguy]

You gotta watch them all you can eat steak and shrimp joints. No seriously those rides freak me out. It's way too easy to loosen the restraint bar. I'm surprised there aren't more of these accidents, but I'm not going to assume it was the carnival. Some of these kids will do everything they can to heighten their thrill experience. I've seen people blow their gut out and lean forward on Supreme Scream when the ride operator pushed the restraint shut then blow the air out and lean back once they have moved on so they float more.

[canadianparkfan]

Trerrible news. Thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

 

However, with that being said, I agree with the poster above. These rides are sketchy, however, it could have been the riders' fault as well. Another factor to consider is how often the state inspects the rides. Every state and province has different regulations.

[coloradocoasterguy]

Trerrible news. Thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

 

However, with that being said, I agree with the poster above. These rides are sketchy, however, it could have been the riders' fault as well. Another factor to consider is how often the state inspects the rides. Every state and province has different regulations.

 

What's crazy that in most states portable rides have to be inspected more often than fixed ones. I don't know about other states but here in CO there is a park that requires riders to sign a liability waiver that actually says, and I quote,

 

"THE UNDERSIGNED agree and understand that there are risks associated with strenuous physical exertion and with participating in

the ACTIVITY and that falls, INJURIES AND/OR DEATH may result from engaging in the ACTIVITY or any of them."

 

glenwoodcaverns.com/pdfs/Release_Form.pdf

 

Some of these I understand as it is located on a mountain and one of the attractions are limestone caverns. But this waiver actually covers ride failure and operator error. It's crazy. To date there have been no incidents but this still can't be legal.

[I305forever]

Damn. Stories like these are why I also feel nervous at fairs. My thiughts and prayers are with their families. So tragic for someone to die so young.

[cal1br3tto]

Horrific news. Even if it was due to rider irresponsibility (which was not suggested in that article), the tragedy obviously affects many innocent people. I will vouch for carnivals being safer than appearances and stereotypes make them out to be, but that doesn't make news like this less sad or disturbing.

[Jew]

Trerrible news. Thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

 

However, with that being said, I agree with the poster above. These rides are sketchy, however, it could have been the riders' fault as well. Another factor to consider is how often the state inspects the rides. Every state and province has different regulations.

 

What's crazy that in most states portable rides have to be inspected more often than fixed ones. I don't know about other states but here in CO there is a park that requires riders to sign a liability waiver that actually says, and I quote,

 

"THE UNDERSIGNED agree and understand that there are risks associated with strenuous physical exertion and with participating in

the ACTIVITY and that falls, INJURIES AND/OR DEATH may result from engaging in the ACTIVITY or any of them."

 

glenwoodcaverns.com/pdfs/Release_Form.pdf

 

Some of these I understand as it is located on a mountain and one of the attractions are limestone caverns. But this waiver actually covers ride failure and operator error. It's crazy. To date there have been no incidents but this still can't be legal.

 

Signing a waiver doesn't excuse negligence. It, will, however, reduce the amount of damages because you are acknowledging there is some assumed risk in the activity.

[John Peck]

Despite some accidents here and there, carnival rides are pretty safe. And as it was mentioned above, yes, portable rides are inspected more than fixed rides in some states.

 

Some Sizzlers safety bars have an electronic release while others have a manual one, so there is that to think about if the bar failed or was opened, or not properly secured.

 

Look, I'm not taking sides here, and I feel terrible for the loss of the girl, the other girl injured and their families, but I just can't see how you can come out of a Sizzler if you are riding in the proper upright seated position... the force keeps you in like a scrambler. I've ridden a dozen of them and even if the bar were to open, I'm not coming out ... unless ... it was running backwards.

[Philrad71]

^ I haven't been on a Sizzler in years, but you are correct that it seems like it would be very difficult to fall out of a Scrambler unless the restraint bar completely malfunctioned.

 

I will try to monitor this one to see if any recurring articles about the investigation turn up. Knowing today's media though, it will probably be all about creating the shock value that they want and then moving on to the next tragedy - with no real follow-up stories into what really happened and why.

[ImNotOneOfYou]

I wonder if the guy who thinks the no single rider policy is a conspiracy has anything to say about this

[Philrad71]

^ You mean the one guy that was condemning all Chance rides?

 

 

Well, here's your possible lawsuit...although it seems strange that the claim is that the seat belt didn't work, they were told that it was okay by the ride op and then the restraint bar apparently must have failed to lock as well?

 

Funny that there is no mention of the restraint bar. I seem to recall riding Scramblers without seat belts with only the latching door and many Google image searches show the Sizzler with only a pull down restraint bar and no seat belts.

 

As mentioned, I haven't ridden a Sizzler in years, but some of you probably have. What have the restraints been when you have ridden this ride?

 

Has anyone ever ridden one that had only a seat belt and no restraint bar?

 

 

 

The aunt of the third teen girl on the ride who walked away unscathed from the accident told News Channel 9 that the girls complained the seat belts would not buckle before getting on. The ride operator assured the passengers they would be fine without safety mechanisms.

The uninjured teen held on for dear life by grasping the unfastened seat belt, News Channel 9 reported the aunt as saying.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Philrad71

[chadster]

Here in Texas rides only have to be inspected once per year for an insurance certificate that is in turn sent to the state. The states itself doesn't inspect rides. By contrast in Oklahoma any carnival ride must be inspected before it enters service regardless of if it moved from across the street or another state.

 

It would still be pre-mature to speculate, but something tells me the likelihood of rider error is high with this one.

[Philrad71]

^ I agree...this all seems to reek of a combination of poor journalism and possible rider error.

[Jew]

Just throwing this out there....

 

http://www.wisdomrides.com/images/site/pageserver/file/wmi-sizzlers-bulletins.pdf

[Philrad71]

^ Very interesting...this changes the complexity a bit!

[canadianparkfan]

Here in Texas rides only have to be inspected once per year for an insurance certificate that is in turn sent to the state. The states itself doesn't inspect rides. By contrast in Oklahoma any carnival ride must be inspected before it enters service regardless of if it moved from across the street or another state.

 

It would still be pre-mature to speculate, but something tells me the likelihood of rider error is high with this one.

Seems like poor inspection could be an issue as well.

 

Here in Canada (this region anyway), the inspection process is quite similar to what you described for Oklahoma; the rides have to be inspected every time they are set up/moved). Local carnivals in the area have been known to have bought used rides from the states, thinking they're saving some cash, only to find the ride's not up to code, and will cost substantially more to restore.

 

 

Just something else to think about.

[coasterferg]

I too am confused by this. Sizzlers and Scramblers are very popular at fairs in my area and I have probably been on 25+ different ones in my lifetime. Unless the entire outer wall of seat gave way I have no idea how you could fly out. There is no up and down motion, the only force you experience is directed at the outer wall. It's the type of ride where you don't even need to hang on as long as you're sitting normally. Sad that this happened.

[John Peck]

^ Exactly. So, going back to my first post, i wonder if the ride was running backwards and if so, did the restraint open by being opened or failing (if it did open).

 

In this photo i took in 2014 of Poor Jack's Amusements Sizzler, you can see the safety bars are pretty big, and if the ride is moving in the forward position, I don't know how you would come out.

[canadianparkfan]

^Can sizzlers even run backward? I've only seen them run forward.

[John Peck]

I don't know if they can, but a Scrambler can, and Eli Bridge says no—they should not. I just don't know much about the Sizzler in question.

[Wily J]

Sad situation no matter how it happened.

 

I did a little reading and it seems like this the 4th death on a 'Sizzler' since 1991. No solace for the people involved in this incident, but considering how many of the rides are out there (around 200 according to one article) it seems like a pretty small number.

 

Here's a couple links I found. .

 

 

http://www.kvia.com/news/safety-consultant-says-sizzler-has-had-several-incidents/39346150

 

 

http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/10/31/sizzler_ride_tied_to_11_death_injury_cases_officials_say/

[Philrad71]

^ Maybe Jesus & God just don't like Sizzlers at their church fairs because of the hell-like connotations?

[canadianparkfan]

I don't know if they can, but a Scrambler can, and Eli Bridge says no—they should not. I just don't know much about the Sizzler in question.

Interesting that scramblers can run backward even though the manufacturer reccomends against it. Wonder why that is.

Edited May 8, 2016 by canadianparkfan

[coloradocoasterguy]

^ Maybe Jesus & God just don't like Sizzlers at their church fairs because of the hell-like connotations?

They must be made by Chance. God hates single rider discrimination

[SaraAB87]

Here in NY state inspections are very strict on carnival rides, like other states mentioned the ride has to be inspected every time it is set up and there can be other random inspections from what I know. The state also has a public database where you can view the inspection history of any amusement device or company and make your own conclusions. So you can see if a ride has incidents before you go on it, if a ride shows up in the database as having several recent incidents or if a company has lots of incidents you can see that.

 

Also I remember an incident where a carnival that was known for having bad rides entered the state a few years ago, they shut down the whole show and would not let the rides operate. The rides were sitting there with no one on them, the event had to go on without rides. Its good to know that the state I live in has a good ride safety program.

 

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