Six Flags Over Texas Incident

[sanddunerider]

Agreed Okie.  Lets not forget the "real" loss here..'

Agreed shave,, I am waiting on details of the "truth", before making judgements...

[KBCraig]

I'm not a coaster geek. I enjoy the rides, but if not for hanging out on this forum, I would have no idea about any of the technical details.

Monday at work, three or four co-workers were talking about the Texas Giant accident, and one said he didn't like wooden coasters because they were so rough. That's right when I walked up, so I said, "This was a topper track, with a wooden structure but all steel rails pumped full of concrete so it's super smooth. Rocky Mountain rebuilt this ride two years ago, but it still had the old Gerstlauer cars with the ratchet-style latches on the lap bars, so that may have...."

...and then I realized they were staring at me like I had three heads.

You guys tend to rub off, I guess.

[sanddunerider]

LOL..  KB, now that's funny.....

That's ok, spread the info around!

[LadyDrifter]

LOL. 

[okiebluegrass]

  You coaster guys are a bad influence 

[Gilligan]

I'm not a coaster geek. I enjoy the rides, but if not for hanging out on this forum, I would have no idea about any of the technical details.

Monday at work, three or four co-workers were talking about the Texas Giant accident, and one said he didn't like wooden coasters because they were so rough. That's right when I walked up, so I said, "This was a topper track, with a wooden structure but all steel rails pumped full of concrete so it's super smooth. Rocky Mountain rebuilt this ride two years ago, but it still had the old Gerstlauer cars with the ratchet-style latches on the lap bars, so that may have...."

...and then I realized they were staring at me like I had three heads.

You guys tend to rub off, I guess.

Hysterical!! 

[KBCraig]

The Texarkana paper carried an AP article on Sunday, talking about how there's no federal oversight and a lot of inconsistency from state to state about inspecting amusement parks. I'd give a link, but this paper is subscription only for online content. Search Yahoo or Google news; you should be able to find it.

There's the usual fear-mongering, but in the end the Texas insurance agency spokesman sums it up best: parks are extremely safe.

My comment to the local paper:

Large fixed parks like the Six Flags and Disney chains, and Herschend Family Entertainment (Silver Dollar City, Dollywood, and others) enjoy a far better safety record than the government highways that lead to the parks.

These are not fly-by-night county fair carnivals who can just change their name as they move on to the next state. They have a far greater stake in safety than any state or federal bureaucratic regulator even possibly could.

Insurance will pay for this tragic death, as it should. But, this is not like Ford Motor Company calculating that the cost of deaths from fiery Pinto rear-end collisions being cheaper than the cost of upgrading the fuel tanks. No amount of low-ball upgrades or insurance can offset the cost to an amusement park that has a reputation of being dangerous. That reputation would be the death knell of a park, and likely the entire chain associated with it.

Being in business to make money, and owing it to their shareholders, they will do everything possible to make sure such accidents don't happen.

[jshhmr]

Article about Texas Giant mentions incident on Outlaw Run http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/07/28/5035788/did-weight-play-role-in-six-flags.html

[Swoosh]

Non story.  Woman wanted her 15 seconds of fame. 

[chittlins]

I'm not a coaster geek. I enjoy the rides, but if not for hanging out on this forum, I would have no idea about any of the technical details.

Monday at work, three or four co-workers were talking about the Texas Giant accident, and one said he didn't like wooden coasters because they were so rough. That's right when I walked up, so I said, "This was a topper track, with a wooden structure but all steel rails pumped full of concrete so it's super smooth. Rocky Mountain rebuilt this ride two years ago, but it still had the old Gerstlauer cars with the ratchet-style latches on the lap bars, so that may have...."

...and then I realized they were staring at me like I had three heads.

You guys tend to rub off, I guess.

But isn't NTAG the I beam construction not the topper track. Still a smooth ride.

[Joy]

Non story.  Woman wanted her 15 seconds of fame. 

Agreed. I'm somewhere around 260-ish, and I rode OR just fine twice on Wednesday. They pushed the bar down as much as possible before the train went out, and then while on the lift hill, my weight re-situated, so I was able to push down the bar even tighter, so I was very snug and quite comfortably sound during my rides.

[Ozark Outlaw]

Non story.  Woman wanted her 15 seconds of fame. 

Exactly - the restraint system on each coaster is completely different. Why people feel they must always run to the news media and interject their non-event into a tragic event?

[shavethewhales]

Article about Texas Giant mentions incident on Outlaw Run http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/07/28/5035788/did-weight-play-role-in-six-flags.html

Ah, so this explains the restraint freak out on OR. God what a moron that woman is. Now everyone is going to equate not being completely stapled into a ride as "nearly falling out". This is a ride that was designed to give the rider as much freedom as possible while also performing some of the most intense elements ever seen on a coaster. I don't know if some of the people around here are sane enough to handle that.

[History Buff]

When I was in high school, my younger brother and I road the Conquistador (swinging ship) ride at SFoT.  I can't remember if the attendant checked the lap bar or not, but suffice it to say the thing did not lock down.  At the apex of the ride, my brother flew a good 12-18 inches off the seat (We sat in the back row.), and I grabbed him by his waistband to pull him back down.  While somehow holding him in place, I tried to keep the bar pushed down across our laps.  It would not latch down.  The attendants never knew there was a problem, and I was too stupid to report it to them when the ride was over.

I am glad the SDC family checks the restraints more closely - usually because there are always adults on duty and not just teenagers with summer jobs and rampant hormones - but I also like Disney's way of just having riders tug on the bar to show it's in place, thus cutting loading time considerably.  It does seem that technology could automatically report a problem electronically to the rider operator.  My car flashes and makes noises every time there is a low tire or an unbuckled seat belt; why can't a roller coaster do something similar?

[Ozark Outlaw]

It does seem that technology could automatically report a problem electronically to the rider operator.  My car flashes and makes noises every time there is a low tire or an unbuckled seat belt; why can't a roller coaster do something similar?

I've actually never seen the console, but I could have sworn that Outlaw Run, and especially PowderKeg did have a sensor to report whether, or not all of the restraints were engaged.