Posted on 06/25/2007 12:06:35 PM PDT by John Cena
I was at Six Flags in Maryland a few years ago as I had a one day temp assignment there. At the end of the day they let me ride a few rides for free. And I'll tell you, I sure wouldn't pay park admission to go there and wait in line all day.
Isn’t danger the whole point of a thrill ride?
Man, it could have just as easily have happened to you or me if we’d gone on that ride.
Treva Smith was the best witness they could find?
I’m assuming the maintenance guys are in a peck of trouble.
That’s why I don’t ride them. Granted, it is probably safer than riding in a car but you are paying to take a risk. That’s why you can’t ride the “safe” mechanical bull without signing a waiver.
You're paying to the appearance of danger. Nobody gets on a ride believing there's a significant risk of injury.
I doubt this one was the girl's fault, but I suspect a lot of others are the rider being a dumb ass. I once saw a guy TRY to get on a roller coaster with an infant. The fact that the attendant had to AGRUE with him make me want to smack him, but not before he would have handed the infant to someone...
Dan Snyder had to cut the expenses somewhere to free up enough money to make such amazing players like adam Archuleta the highest paid players at their positions in the entire NFL(yes, I know that was last year).
No, thrills are the point of a thrill ride. Thrills from doing something that seems dangerious but that shouldn’t involve any real danger, as long as you follow the rules. But, accidents will happen, of course. Sounds like someone probably screwed up on the maintenance and inspection regimen.
Most peoples can’t speak good English no more.
I don’t know. If they haul you up to 150 feet and drop you, you assume a certain amount of risk if the brakes don’t work. It’s simple physics.
We used to have a metal ferris wheel where I worked. When it got stormy looking, you kept the wheel going until you heard thunder. Then you closed it. You just took the risk that the wheel wasn’t one of the first things hit. It took a while to unload everyone.
It's hard to see how a multi-thread wire cable would snap. I know that elevators are built with the highest factor of safety (16:1), whereas planes are built with the lowest factor of safety (1.5:1). I'm assuming the FOS for thrill rides is up there with elevators. (The "factor of safety" means that the structure is built assuming a load of X times the failure load.)
My guess would be that a connector failed, or that there was some failure in maintenance. It's hard to imagine that the design was flawed, but it is possible.
I've ridden a similar ride at Six Flags in Massachusetts. Don't know if I will again. Just tragic.
As an insider he knew just enough about what the idiots would do to make sure they kept the ticket money coming in, and just how dangerous most of the older rides are.
He was fine with the bigger park rides though, Cedar Point and Kings Island was fine, he knew the maintenance was top notch there.
Six Flags does list the Tower of Power as a Roller Coaster on their coaster list. I think you’re splitting hairs.
Are you sure the feet can’t be reattached?
Oops! The factor of safety is defined as, “The ratio between the breaking load on a member, appliance, or hoisting rope and the safe permissible load on it.”
I don't feel that way when you ride an elevator. I kind of trust the cables won't snap, don't you?
This is a ride that is in many amusement parks across the country, with a history of MILLIONS of riders riding safely.
This is a tragedy no doubt, but to bash amusement rides is ignorant.
Statistically you are far far more likely to wind up injured any other number of ways than on a ride, particuarly at a permanent park like this.
There will be an investigation, and the cause will be found. Now whether its a design flaw, or a maintenance issue, or just the fact some insanely freaky situation happened, we won’t know for a while.
Imagine folks reacted like you every time a plane crashes? Time to stop knee jerking and be responsible.
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