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Woman dies while riding roller coaster

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RiccochetJ

Gold Member
Well if anything the ride is going to be like the West Edmonton Mall coaster where now you have the seat belt, the bar, and the shoulder thing. You seriously can't move once you're strapped into that thing.

Edit: For those that don't know, there was a very serious accident back in 1986 at west ed and it made world news and initially the coaster only had the lap bar.
 

Izayoi

Banned
But if you're not strapped in correctly your chances of an incident go way up. The risk isn't evenly distributed.
That's true, but almost every ride that I've gone on lets the rider self-tighten past the point that an attendant would. I've never felt unsafe because of the way I was strapped in, and I've been on dozens unique coasters across the states. Even with multi-click systems, one click is supposed to be enough. It seems that is actually a rare case of a mechanical failure that results in death, as opposed to the far more common rider/operator error.
 

Sorian

Banned
HOLY FUCKING SHIT

Look at the 3:47-3:48 Timestamp, ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!

Both of them almost fly the fuck out of their restraints, WHAT THE FUCK!

That shit is UNFUCKINGSAFE!

My heart stopped right at the moment

The guy on the right almost flew out, the restraint held them down, but I think I know how the mother died now =/

Thank fuck they have they have those window barriers to the side, you know there would be assholes/idiots trying to spread their arm and try to get that flying motion
The structure being close, gave me chills, so of those tunnels/banks the coaster just looks so freaky

You're kidding, right? I saw nothing wrong with that video or the ride. And how did the mother die now? She didn't just fly through her restaint off the ride, if the restraint unlocked then I see the issue but she didn't just slip through the restraint if thats what you are getting it.
 

Goldrusher

Member
HOLY FUCKING SHIT
Your post is eerily similar to how the average soccer mom reacts to violent video games which she too knows nothing about.

What you see in that video is called airtime. It's normal. It's how the ride is designed.
Every single big coaster that doesn't invert is designed to have as much of it as possible. On every drop. On every hill.
It's when you have a short burst of zero G which lifts you out of your seat.

Hundreds of rides like this exist all over the planet. All have been incident free for decades.
Most roller coaster enthusiasts even give themselves a little extra push during these pops of airtime.
 

Raiden

Banned
Over the years i've heard of lots of bad things happening at Six Flags , I remember one time a guy getting decapitated on the Batman ride.

That was a kid who dropped his hat on the ride. After the ride was done he climbed 2 six feet fences with "restricted area" signs all over it. The ride came and it decapitated him.
 

Mother_Sanchez

Neo Member
Jesus. Just caught up with what was going on and all I can say is wow. Just.. It's sad. It's REALLY sad when safety and other such things aren't thought about until something like this happens.

Onto something a bit more personal. I've been on roller coasters that have only had the lap belt and the lap restraint bar thingy. Both have always felt extremely unsafe to me and are a factor as to why I don't ride coasters, beyond thinking that they're terrifying as hell. On one of the rides I went on that had a lap bar, I swear to God it moved when we were being flung around on some coaster, I think up in PA? Was a wooden one, if I remember.. Well my bar actually lifted beyond a few inches, to the point I thought it was going to pop free. I thought I was going to die. Thankfully it clicked back down into place and the ride finished without a hitch. .. I think that's the reason I hate roller coasters.
 
Son of Beast beat the shit out of me back in the day, not surprised one bit that they closed it. Only time I've ever felt like the ride itself is unsafe.

I posted a POV of it earlier: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AU1TdhP6e0

SOB was a true wooden coaster apart from the loop. I could see bones breaking on it even without the supports buckling (which IIRC is what happened in 2006). Watching the POV of Texas Giant, it seems like a pretty smooth ride after they rebuilt it as a hybrid.
 
Over the years i've heard of lots of bad things happening at Six Flags , I remember one time a guy getting decapitated on the Batman ride.

A girl had her feet sliced off when a cable broke loose on the Superman ride (an Intamin Giant Drop) at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. I think they were able to reattach one foot.
 

Zoso

It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time.
They've confirmed the identity of the victim as Rosy Esparza. RIP.

 
I wonder if the restraints are designed to work with such a large person. Are there weight limits on rides like the old "you have to be _this_ tall to ride"?

edit:

What is considered exceptional size where rides are concerned?
Safety is our number one priority. Guests with certain body proportions, height and/or weight may not be able to participate on certain rides if the safety restraints will not operate as designed. Specific ride information is available at the ride and at Guest Relations.
https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/info/faq.aspx

Starts making more sense now, but still comes down to the attendant not making sure she was secure (if that story was true).
 
I wonder if the restraints are designed to work with such a large person. Are there weight limits on rides like the old "you have to be _this_ tall to ride"?

edit:


https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/info/faq.aspx

Starts making more sense now, but still comes down to the attendant not making sure she was secure (if that story was true).

I was at six flags nj a few weeks ago and saw a fat guy get kicked off the ride before we could begin
 

Alchemy

Member
Yeah, she shouldn't have been allowed on that ride. Bad idea on her part, complete negligence on the part if the Six Flags staff.
 
I wonder if the restraints are designed to work with such a large person.

Presumably not since they couldn't even fit it over her ("one click versus three.") Attendant should have made a judgment call and not let her ride, even if it meant getting into an argument and being made a fool of/fired by the skittish management. Beats getting someone killed.
 

Quote

Member
I went to The Wizard World of Harry Potter when it first opened and they were very strict on weight limits for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and only had 1 style of seat. At the time I was 300~lbs and they needed to get "3 clicks" on the restraint system, but they couldn't, so I wasn't allowed to ride. I tried again the next day and the attendant was a little more forceful with the restraint and got the system to give the 3 clicks. I was pretty fucking pissed at everything in the world that day, especially the attendants, but in the end it was the right thing. It was especially frustrating there because you only have a small time frame to jump into the seats before the ride takes off because its in constant motion so you can't even argue for them to try harder.

So speaking of the safety check, that lady, would not have gotten the "3 clicks". I do wonder if this lady was told "eh no" but had a shit fit about it, but that complete speculation and still doesn't make it right that she got the okay she didn't pass the safety check.

Luckily now they have different style seating for bigger people, but at the same time I've lost enough weight to ride in whatever seat I want.

Other rides, like The Hulk have a small number of special seats that have a bigger restraint for larger people. Disney thrill rides are very lax, but the systems were built that way. I don't think I've ever seen someone kicked off Tower of Terror, Rock'n Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest or even Space Mountain, but they're not exactly in the same genre of thrill rides. Most rides that have a safety concern have mock seats before the queue that you can be fitted to make sure its even worth waiting in line before being kicked off for your body fit.

I used to be terrified of roller coasters, but not nearly as bad these days. To this day I would never ride a roller coaster at Six Flags or the sort though because I've always worried about their quality control despite their clean track record.
 
I really feel for larger people but this is something they have to be stricter about. Of course i should refrain from assuming too much until the investigation is complete
 

Qazaq

Banned
It really sucks that there are now going to be people who twist this into weight-shaming, as if this woman is remotely responsible for ONE IOTA of what happened because of her weight. It's disgraceful.



But I would like to add, she doesn't look all that obese to me. She's just a typical big woman with very big breasts, which can add a lot to a person looking fatter than they otherwise might be.
 
Coasters safety restraints aren't designed for certain body dimensions be it height or weight but I think its better to wait and see if it mattered in this case.

This isn't going to keep my from riding coasters. I love them too damn much. Never felt unsafe.
 
Sad and still the parks fault but this changes it a little.
at that size over the shoulder restraints would be the only safe restraint and they don't fit large people well.

I expect theme parks to start taking weight very seriously.
 

params7

Banned
No need to blame the woman. If she was too big they shouldn't have let her on it. Not her responsibility to know whats safe or not.

Yeah these parks have to enforce such policies strictly without record for political correctness. Unless they start making rides specifically for obese people.
 

NeoUltima

Member
I almost fell out of one of those upside down pirate ship rides. I was like 7 years old at the time I think. They didn't secure my harness all the way. I told my sister who was with me, but she thought I was just chickening out.
Once the ship went completely upside down, my harness clicked out some. Enough that if I didn't hold on I could have slipped out.

That was pretty scary.
 

Davey Cakes

Member
The woman had 1 click, and the attendant said that 1 click is fine. If that's how they were trained then it's not their fault and it's certainly not the woman's fault.

Now they know it should probably be 3 clicks or bust, strictly enforced. Sorry to those who are a bit too rotund but being ashamed is better than being dead.
 

Oersted

Member
Originally an all wooden roller coaster introduced to the park in 1990, the ride was redesigned with a steel track and re-opened in April of 2011 during the theme park's 50th anniversary. The ride's tallest height is 153 feet and has a drop of 147 feet.
Six Flags says the ride has "a record-breaking bank" of 95 degrees, "steeper than any wooden coaster on the planet."

Someone just died on that thing and they advertise it? Tasteless much
 

D_N_G

Member
We have season passes and go all the time to the Arlington location.
I stopped riding the Texas Giant about 5-6 years ago (before the hybrid rebuild). It had become way too shaky due to age and years of weather beating down the wood.
Each time I felt like my heart was going to explode after getting off the ride, and figured it probably would if I got back in line. Since then stuck I've to steel rides like the Titan.

Sad situation here with the loss, it's all over the news too since it was local.
The parks will probably start validating selected ride requirements based on weight/mass, similar to what they already do for height.
Unfortunately, these things just aren't built for everyone to be able to experience.
 

Izayoi

Banned
It had become way too shaky due to age and years of weather beating down the wood.
Each time I felt like my heart was going to explode after getting off the ride, and figured it probably would if I got back in line.
Mmm, love me those shaky wooden coasters. The more you feel like the shit has been kicked out of you afterward, the better. It's too bad that they're all going the way of the dinosaur. ;_;
 
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