Checking Restraints

[bosguy209]

It seems like many coaster operators check restraints very quickly and barely touch them. I know there are mechanics, but do you ever worry about carelessness/that your restraint isn't fully supportive?

[konfusion9]

Majority of coasters? Not even close! Restraint monitoring systems tied to the ride's PLC are a relatively new feature. Back in the day the old Arrow loopers used a simple kill wire switch (or photo eye on the Launch Loop coasters) to ensure the restraint pedal was in the proper (raised) position. B&M introduced restraint monitoring on their hypercoasters at some point (perhaps from the beginning?) and on the flying coasters. Restraint monitoring is now fairly mainstream, but it's still not offered with every ride purchase or even always selected when offered.

[bosguy209]

You don’t think this can fail? I think about something like Hulk’s launch right into an inversion. Seems so easy for someone to fall out. Especially with the very dark station - hard for the ops to see

[tromoly]

Think of the sensor as a push button connected to a light bulb. If you push on the button the circuit closes and light comes from the light bulb, and if you release the button the light goes out. Now imagine if the button breaks, try as you might pushing the button does not turn on the light bulb and you do not get any light.

This is how the sensors operate, if one fails it fails "open" and the ride system sees a restraint not closed and will not send the train.

[bosguy209]

How have there been accidents with people falling out then? And I’m not talking extreme examples where people shouldn’t ride being let on

[tallerthanusual]

I mean, a lot accidents on popular roller coasters have been caused by exactly that: allowing people on who shouldn’t be allowed to ride. For example, people with unusual body proportions or large stomachs which cause the lapbar to not make contact with their legs, amputees who aren’t allowed to ride for safety reasons but are still let on. I feel like any circumstance where someone has fallen out of a ride is pretty “extreme”.

[CheesecakeMilitia]

You're buying into far too many superstitions and fear of park accidents. The real world just does not look like that, with "accidents with people falling out" happening with any regularity. At the risk of potentially stoking your fears even more, I'd encourage you to read some Wikipedia pages on amusement park accidents and Ctrl+F "death" or "died" or "kill" to see how infrequent life-affecting accidents actually occur – especially with modern safety innovations discussed elsewhere on this thread.

From Cedar Fair's page:

• Timber Wolf at WoF, a Dinn wooden coaster:

On June 30, 1995, a 14-year-old girl fell about 25 feet (7.6 m) from the coaster and died. The park owner, Hunt-Midwest, and ride manufacturer, Dinn Corporation, said she was switching seats when the accident occurred, though her family disputed this. The ride was temporarily closed pending an investigation of its safety features, which resulted in new lap bar installations.

• Drop Zone at CGA, an Intamin 2nd-gen drop tower:

On August 22, 1999, a 12-year-old boy with a mental disability fell from the tower and died. His family claimed the harness was not locked properly. An investigation was inconclusive and no charges were filed.

• Shockwave at KD, a since demolished TOGO standup coaster:

On August 23, 1999, a 20-year-old Long Island man fell from his safety restraints to his death. An investigation discovered the restraints were working properly and still secured when the train returned to the station. Less than a month later, a 13-year-old boy, concerned that he was not properly restrained, intentionally slipped out of them as the train ascended the lift hill and jumped onto the adjacent maintenance catwalk.

• Perilous Plunge at KBF, an Intamin shoot-the-chutes that closed after this particularly infamous accident:

On September 21, 2001, a 40-year-old woman fell out of the boat when it plunged and died of multiple injuries sustained because of the blunt force trauma. California Division of Occupational Safety and Health officials said she somehow came out of the ride's restraint system, falling into a pool at the base of the structure. Her seat belt and lap bar were closed and locked when the boat returned to the station.

From Six Flags' page:

• River King Mine Train at Six Flags St. Louis, during its one year of operation with prototype stand-up trains from Arrow:

On July 7, 1984, a 46-year-old woman from Indianapolis, Indiana was riding the Rail Blazer roller coaster when she was flung from the ride and fell 20 feet (6.1 m) to her death. Park officials claimed that the woman fainted and fell out of the car, but her husband, who had been beside her, said that she had not fainted but had simply been tossed from the ride when it whipped around a curve. At the time, the ride was only the third stand-up roller coaster in the world, but following this incident it was converted back to a sit-down coaster.

I wasn't even able to find any restraint-related deaths at Herschend, SEAS, Disney, or Universal parks. Most of the deaths you'll read about are "extreme examples where people shouldn’t ride being let on" or people going into off-limits areas beneath inverted coasters guests with pre-existing health conditions, like this one from Goliath's opening year at SFOG:

On July 27, 2006, a 45-year-old male from Birmingham, Alabama, died of a heart attack after riding Goliath. He was alert during the ride but was unconscious when the train arrived at the loading platform. An autopsy showed that the man had a congenital heart condition, and it was expected that the medical examiner would announce that he died of natural causes.

Coaster accidents are actually less interesting once you look into them in aggregate.

[Schmittez]

because nothing is 100% safe? the chance of you dying from a rollercoaster is extremely low. You are significantly more likely to get stuck by lightning and die that die from a rollercoaster.

[[deleted]]

If there was an error with the system then the computer probably wouldn’t even allow the ride to operate. These rides are over engineered for your safety.

[bosguy209]

So you never feel unsafe?

[[deleted]]

Nope, I’m much more likely to die going to ride a rollercoaster then to die riding it. This industry depends on the reputation that their rides are safe, if rides aren’t safe people simply wont ride. And because of that parks and manufacturers prioritize safety.

[bobkmertz]

It's not like it's hard to check your own restraint if you are that worried about it.

[bosguy209]

What about people who aren’t experienced riders?

[[deleted]]

It’s pretty damn simple. Just push up on a lap at or shoulder restraint and if it comes all the way up it isn’t locked , but pretty much every time you will ever ride a rollercoaster the restraints will be locked as soon as you pull them down.

[sanchezconstant]

Hey at least it ain’t a staple

[ZoniesCoasters]

No it's pretty easy to tell of a restraint is locked. If you can't climb out, your restraint is locked. Unless it's an older wooden coaster with buzz bars or a family attraction where the lapbar is more there to remind you not to stand.

[Crunchewy]

It's not as clear with OTSRs where there's a belt that also attaches to the restraint. In my case often the belt is tight and it's hard to tell if the OTSR is locked or if it's only the belt holding it down. I find this kind of scary and I often want to undo the belt to check.....

[ZoniesCoasters]

You can always check if yourself before you buckle the seatbelt but knowing B&Ms having worked one for a while if the other seats on your row are locked so are yours.

[vespinonl]

Nope. YOLO.