MG Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Until we know more, I think we have to try and avoid too much speculation. From an engineering point of view though, the chances of a modern hydraulic restraint failing are nill. As long as the correct type of restraint for this ride type was used, which I'm sure it was, then it should not be a problem. As others have said, a simple seat belt in the thigh region is probably the simplest way to avoid a similar incident. What is the shape of the Giant's seats like? Any dividers or seat horns? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbydinn Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubysparkles Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 This is why overweight people need to be checked at the entrance or just not be able to ride. Just recently, we had two people who I would NOT consider "large" at all, not fit into Hollywood Dream in Japan, purely because of "shape". So you could potentially have a weight restriction on a ride, and that still wouldn't matter as you could have someone top-heavy enough to fall out. I'm not sure what the answer is, in this case, but I'd have to think there must be some way to measure if a rider isn't the right "shape" to fit a restraint, right? The way we realised we wouldn't be able to get on was by using the test seat. Which is how you're supposed to see if you have the wrong dimensions to fit on a coaster. But I have seen so many test seats either in places where if you stop to use it you're in the way or it's somewhere that isn't really visible (like the Hollywood Dream: The Ride one wasn't). I don't usually use test seats though because I had never been turned away from a ride. A weight check wouldn't solve the problem and would probably discourage people from the parks causing a loss of revenue. I know people have said ride ops should look at the person before putting them in the seat but it's just not as simple as that. You can't have safety checks based on a ride ops opinion! Surely the main solution is to use a different type of lapbar restraint that makes it impossible for this to happen. Adapt something like the B&M clamshells, where you're not just pinning the front part of the body. Those have the bits at the side also pinning you in (this is probably a bad explanation). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfgam#1 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) My mother herd about this situation somehow, and now she's going on and on about how she's never riding any big coaster again. Mostly because this year she was able to fit on raging bull for the first time in about 3 years. The last time she tried to ride it the lap bars wouldn't lock. I told her it was her thighs but my mother is very self conscious. So she didn't ride anything for a long time. Till this year she started some diet and lost a couple of sizes so I made her ride it. This time the lap bars locked but when she looked at the deference between her seat and mine she got nervous saying she didn't feel safe. I told her nothing can open the restraint once it started to calm her down. So now she herd this story and jumped to conclusion that the woman's weight made it open. She won't even listen when I say it was a different type of ride, and how they don't know what happen, and how rare this is. Now she's going on about how that could be her the next time she rides something and do I want her to die it's extremely dramatic, and highly annoying. Edited July 21, 2013 by sfgam#1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Maybe restraints like on X-Cars or Timberliners are the future Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyRush Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Oh yeah slap a seat belt on it and open it back up. I know it takes a bit longer to load and check but i think adding seatbelts to nearly every coaster that would need one or a connector to the harness/bar would be a fine modification to help this NEVER happen again And still i cant see how this would have happened, still. I cant see how it would open, or slip but... Investigators will investigate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Besen Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Well, when I look at the seats and the restraints and put it next to the picture of the woman, I'm pretty sure, the station workers had to press pretty hard to get the restraint to "clack" just once (Actually, in an interview with a witness, they said it in deed locked just once and that the woman didn't feel safe about that). And that's, what shouldn't have been ... When it's that hard to lock the restraint, that person shouldn't be on the coaster. I was on a Top Spin once and I kinda like pressed the restraint down a too much and during the ride it released itself a little bit. Shock of my life, but nothing happened. I think, that's what happened to the woman due to her size and the negative G-forces. And because it was only locked once ... well, that happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Well, when I look at the seats and the restraints and put it next to the picture of the woman, I'm pretty sure, the station workers had to press pretty hard to get the restraint to "clack" just once (Actually, in an interview with a witness, they said it in deed locked just once and that the woman didn't feel safe about that). And that's, what shouldn't have been ... When it's that hard to lock the restraint, that person shouldn't be on the coaster. I was on a Top Spin once and I kinda like pressed the restraint down a too much and during the ride it released itself a little bit. Shock of my life, but nothing happened. I think, that's what happened to the woman due to her size and the negative G-forces. And because it was only locked once ... well, that happened. Did you read the previous pages, the seats don't click or clack or cluck or even quack, they are hydraulic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Besen Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Did you read the previous pages, the seats don't click or clack or cluck or even quack, they are hydraulic. Really? Oh, my bad. Well I kinda read the pages, but not word for word and most information about that accident I got from other sources. And in one of them I read about that and I instantly thought of what I wrote. The amount of posts here right now is pretty huge and reading everything would just ... take too long compared to the time I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wesley815 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 My mother herd about this situation somehow, and now she's going on and on about how she's never riding any big coaster again. Wow, don't tell her about the thousands of people who are going to die today in car crashes. Or does she never leave the house? Gotta stay safe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyRush Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 the seats don't click or clack or cluck or even quack, they are hydraulic. I give you a 10/10 for the best quote about the entire dilemma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxChoice Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 ^^ Yes, that's the thing. People die in amusement parks every once in a blue moon. Lots of people die in car accidents Daily and no one says they are "never going to drive a car again." As they say, you're more likely to die on your way to the amusement park than you are while at the amusement park. NTAG's seats/restraints really are well designed. The lap bar is large yet comfortable and has a place to hold if you'd like. The seats are divided and also comfortable as well as roomy enough for a larger person, but Not a very large person. Which is what this lady appears to have been, a too large person and/or oddly shaped. Just look at the picture if you've never seen them. The one fault of the NTAG lap bars imo is that they can require a little strength to push down, but they pull smoothly. I really don't hope for seatbelts to be added, but I think they probably will for redundancy. Going back to my waterpark background and saying there may need to be put weight limits in place on some rides in the near future. But I know shape can be a factor as well though... So it's a bit tricky there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xSmKxGamegod Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 It's okay Besen, here's a quick review. It's hydraulic restraints, no clicking or anything like that. Honestly they are pretty tough to pull down, so literally when they're down...they are down. I visit the park weekly and this year the roller coaster crews have been very good about actually checking the safety restraint systems and they've been pinning just about everyone to their seat that they could, so I was surprised by this news as I ride the NTAG multiple times a month as it's a FUN ride! The ride does posses the on track sensors that will stop it at a brake run if something malfunctioned, the ride did not stop at it's mid course brake run (She was ejected right after the first drop) and the coaster train did return to the station with the restraint in the locked position. It can't come loose and be forced back down by positive G-Forces on this ride as it's all about bucking you like a bull. If you've never gotten to experience it, it's A LOT of airtime hills and the sensation you're on a mechanical bull. So the restraint would have stayed up if it had truly malfunctioned. This will likely come down to the investigators saying ''It's determined that the woman's large stature is the reason for this occurrence, the ride did not actually fail and she should not have been allowed to ride'' so to appease lawyers they'll likely add a seat belt to the waist, unfortunate as the ride will be less fun now. And if it doesn't fit...you aren't going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Besen Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 the seats don't click or clack or cluck or even quack, they are hydraulic. I give you a 10/10 for the best quote about the entire dilemma I'd LOVE to see a coaster, where the restraints are actually going "quack". And to xSmKxGamegod: Thanks for the clarification. I don't think I'll ever get to ride it ... pretty far away from Central Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopThrill182 Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Would seat belts really be that big of a deal? If ride ops already staple you with the restraint, I can't imagine you'd even notice the seat belt. The only thing I can envision is dispatch times increasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtroverto Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Here's the reality of the situation - it has much less to do with weight or volume, and a LOT more to do with shape and size. I would go as far as saying it has nothing to do with weight or volume. In the extremely rare cases of mechanical failure, whether the person weight X punds or kilos the failure will happen regardless, 50 or 500 will not matter. In any system that can fail where humans are involved, redundancy is massive. Case example is an elevator, if it has a maximum weight of X then it will break at maximum weight times 8 or more. The same thing applies to a roller coaster, it simply will not break even if you found a way to stuff a 1000 pound human into the seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted July 21, 2013 Author Share Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) Did you read the previous pages, the seats don't click or clack or cluck or even quack, they are hydraulic. This gives me an idea for a new word filter! EDIT: DONE! Edited July 21, 2013 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Khan Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Did you read the previous pages, the seats don't click or clack or cluck or even quack, they are hydraulic. This gives me an idea for a new word filter! ^I was wondering what "C L I C K" would be replaced by on the boards lol. I think I have the answer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyRush Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Robb its beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garet Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) Did you read the previous pages, the seats don't clickity clack clucky ducky QUACK or clack or cluck or even quack, they are hydraulic. This gives me an idea for a new word filter! EDIT: DONE! Awesome, I love what it's done to my original post too, although after I wrote it I realized that doesn't NTAG actually cluck? I thought there was a chicken exit for people too scared to ride, perhaps in the interviews the reporters misheard and people really did hear a cluck. I can't wait to browse the games section help topics, i'm sure this word filter is going to make talk about left clicking and right clicking hilarious. Edited July 21, 2013 by Garet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 ^I was actually going to post something similar! The ride does Cluck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 It's okay Besen, here's a quick review. It's hydraulic restraints, no clicking or anything like that. Honestly they are pretty tough to pull down, so literally when they're down...they are down. I visit the park weekly and this year the roller coaster crews have been very good about actually checking the safety restraint systems and they've been pinning just about everyone to their seat that they could, so I was surprised by this news as I ride the NTAG multiple times a month as it's a FUN ride! The ride does posses the on track sensors that will stop it at a brake run if something malfunctioned, the ride did not stop at it's mid course brake run (She was ejected right after the first drop) and the coaster train did return to the station with the restraint in the locked position. It can't come loose and be forced back down by positive G-Forces on this ride as it's all about bucking you like a bull. If you've never gotten to experience it, it's A LOT of airtime hills and the sensation you're on a mechanical bull. So the restraint would have stayed up if it had truly malfunctioned. This will likely come down to the investigators saying ''It's determined that the woman's large stature is the reason for this occurrence, the ride did not actually fail and she should not have been allowed to ride'' so to appease lawyers they'll likely add a seat belt to the waist, unfortunate as the ride will be less fun now. And if it doesn't fit...you aren't going. If nothing else this makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 ^I was actually going to post something similar! The ride does Cluck! Yep! Cluck, cluck, cluck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorkscrewFoley Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Looks like Robb flew the coop... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I'm sure this has been mentioned before in the thread but if you start telling people of a certain "size" that they can't ride, even though they technically fit in the restraints the parks are opening themselves for lawsuits due to idiots in the US. My guess is this is why we keep seeing similar incidents although nobody is going to come out and say so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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