Trains on New England's Superman collide

Rentzy15, Why would lawsuits prevent a park from getting a new coaster? That's ridiculous! Have you ever heard of insurance? It's what people get so they don't go broke due to an accident involving them or their property.

Optoman, when you say "would of" and "should of", it should be would've or "would have", and so on. I have better things to do with my time, but I thought I would just point this out to you for future resume writings. Sorry, but I had to say it. To help you, not to ridicule your grammar.

Is there a certain situation where a ride can be put into manual mode? Maybe on an off day? Anyways all these unfortunate accidents are just a coincidence and the media has no big stories to cover this summer (we need Clinton back in office). I think the media thing is intense when a coaster accident or hiccup occurs becuase its the least place you'd expect an accident to happen: at a place of enjoyment running on a two minute safety-first joyride.

I hope to become a ride-op at KW next summer and while there today noticed some op behaviors. Normal conversation is allowed esp on PR where you have to wait 2 minutes before another load comes back. At the Racer, two ops were playing around with a bouncy ball. I was just waiting for it go onto the track, but it didn't. But human error can always be a factor, look at the T-Bolt crash of 99.

But think about the situation like this: how many times do rollercoasters run without crashing? The news doesn't report at 11 that "Goliath ran smoothly today with no breakdowns." Yet they will report "Massive wreck on terrifying S:ROS at SFNE. It was a terrible scene."
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Beeman65
Assistant Webmaster
Kennywood Park Unlimited
www.kpunlimited.com

NBC News on Channel 10 out of Providence, RI just ran a story on the accident. Wow, I think they really made more out of it than it really was...

They mentioned that there was "over 20 people injured." They went on to show a clip of an interview with a young man who said he "looked down and was covered in blood."

Finally, among other things, they indicated that some people feel that the coaster trains didn't just "bump" each other, but that they slammed into each other at nearly 60 MPH.

I'm not a physics expert, but it seems to me that a collision at that speed would have been fatal, or at least been a lot more damaging...

SROS only has magnetic brakes? Is this the same kind of brake on MF? What stops the train then? The way I remember it, there are multiple magnetic brakes with multiple brake-things on each train. This would prevent a single brake failure from causing a crash.

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A bad day at Cedar Point is better than a good day at work.

Antaun Said,"Somewon died on Drop Zone at PGA?"

Yes, a mentally challenged boy, who was too small to ride the ride by a couple inches, Tried to slip out of his restraint and unfortinally was succsessful.

Jmstuckman - What I meant is that after the train is stopped, the brakes fall to the sides to let the train proceed to the station. Is it possible that they didn't return to the upright position? Is there a backup in case this happens?

man.the news really screwed this up.I was checking the story over at cnn.com and in thier report they listed the ride as being built by premiere.I've got news for them the coaster was built by Intamin.just goes to show how little the news media really knows about coasters.

Oh, I was thinking about brakes that only slow the train, not the retractable ones. That makes it so a single failure would not cause the train to enter the station at a really high speed, but a slower accident is still possible. What kind of brakes stop the train, anyways? I thought magnetic brakes normally aren't used for a full stop (http://www.guidetothepoint.com/thepoint/cpplace/thread.asp?ForumID=2&TopicID=3490)

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A bad day at Cedar Point is better than a good day at work. *** This post was edited by Jmstuckman on 8/6/2001. ***

Batwing, I think when they said premiere they meant it as an adjective. It wasn't capitalized. They probably just meant premiere, as in top of the line, head of its class, etc... I don't think the media has blown anything out of proportion. They have presented the facts, nothing more. There doesn't seem to be any tabloid treatment of this incident. *** This post was edited by Figaro on 8/7/2001. ***

Batwing, cnn.com says nothing about it being built by Premiere. It just states that S:ROS is "a premier roller coaster that reaches speds of 80 mph", not "a Premier coaster". premier was used as an adjective, buddy, not a company.

Figaro- Thank you for demonstrating a rational line of thought. And how can any of you say that being injured on a ride, isnt horrible? How can you say there wasnt much damage? You are not going to face the nightmares, the flashbacks, and what ever physical pain issues these people will suffer.

It hits extra hard being injured when you are out for a day of fun... Something you trusted, a ride that gave you an euphoric high just became your enemy leaving you with images that will take serious work in therapy to sort out.. trust issues begin... you have NO idea..

It is a horrific experience. Period.

You can have your fun ok, but PLEASE try and be mature enough to have compassion for the innocents who are injured... has anyone even mentioned the poor 13 year old girl who fell from a ride Saturday? Are you going to be there to help her with her broken elbow and nightmares of falling? Will you help her brush her teeth, get dressed, or do her physical therapy with her every day?

Those of you that have shown compassion , THANK YOU! I will honor your quest for the greatest thrill ... and I sincerely thank you for respecting those of us who will forever be marked by surviving an amusement park accident...

I used to be a coaster conissuer... I was even an extra in a movie, riding rides for over 12 hours during filming... so this transition was not easy..from loving rides .. to fearing them.. and even hating one in particular...

September 14th my case gets put on a court docket for trial. No amount of money can compensate me for my losses and pain... so they will have to get into big money to make my life a bit easier and garuntee medical resorces so I will not have to go without medicine or treatment again ever..

You have no idea the medical expenses I have incurred, my pharmacy bill is aproximately $800.00 a MONTH.. and I have to take these medications for LIFE...and I cannot work , but I am not on welfare .. so no complaints there please...I have a generous fiance' that assists me..but this is still no way to live...

You have no idea the damage that is done, and even so, I wish this on NONE of you.. please practice some compassion.

My accident was at SFDL 1992 and the ride is just not operational; its STILL running....

*-BB-*

When I was watching Fox 31 news (Denver), it showed the tunnel of S: RoS. What's up with that? The accident didn't happen in the tunnel.

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Current Favorite Coasters:
1)Raging Bull 2)Millennium Force 3)Medusa (SFMW) 4)Vertical Velocity (SFGAm) 5)Dueling Dragons (Ice)

They can't get a single quote to match. They said the speed was 20-60 mph, there were 16-22 people hart. the ride is inspected daily and their many reasons for what happened. they will most likely lay low for a wile then reopen the coaster.

I'd have to see a report by the local fir department before I will completely say yes to anything that happened.

Absolutely correct, CostaCrazy. Everybody has different stories of the cause, number injured, speed and injury description.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out once the investigations are completed, and we can perhaps get some accurate info.

BB, I have a few comments to make, so please listen.

Let me first say, some states DO require parks to file injury reports. Ohio and Pennsylvania come to mind. You will notice that not all rides in the world are evil. Cedar Point for example, has never had a ride-error, or employee-error death in the HISTORY of the parks 150+ years.

Additionly, if you look at any ticket stub, or any sign before a ride you will ALWAYS find one sentence that states. "Ride at your own risk." This means that the park did not require you to ride it's ride. You CHOSE to ride this ride.

BB, I do feel sorry for you as I have a friend who will never be able to feel what a rollercoaster feels like as he is strained to a wheelchair with no feeling from the neck down. But, he doesn't blame anyone for his accident. He doesn't sit in his chair hating the person that did this to him. He is just happy to be alive and tries to enjoy life to it's fullest. He never pressed charges against anyone. I've never heard him say a bad word against the person who "commited the crime." He simply goes on with life.

I would like to comment on a quote you made:

"No amount of money can compensate me for my losses and pain... so they will have to get into big money to make my life a bit easier and garuntee medical resorces so I will not have to go without medicine or treatment again ever.."

If no amount of money can compensate for losses and pain, why do you want this "big money?"
I understand you have medical bills to pay, and I'm saying that SFDL should pay for your medical bills. But as you stated, You don't want money for Pain and Suffering. Everyone will hold you to this.

We're all dealt with cards we don't want to play in this world. Sometimes they're small, sometimes they're huge. But please, don't live in the past. Live towards the future. Live towards what you still have. This isn't meant as an attack, I'm just saying, quit feeling sorry for yourself.

Yo "the thrill" Sorry about the insurance thing, I guess I never thought about that. Instead of correcting other people's grammar, why don't you stick to the topic and add usefull information to the forum. No one cares if you're a spelling wiz.

It's true. I've heard so many reports tonight with different speeds the train was traveling and each segment had a different amount of people injured. Whatever the case is, be happy. I've seen the trains come to a stop on Superman. They've got to be going at least 30. I still can't believe no one was killed or seriously injured! At least be thankfull for that! I agree with Figaro. Don't wine about Superman being closed. Would you really want to go on a ride that recentley had a potentially fatal accident? I'm sure the mechanics will fix the problem and Spuperman will open when it's READY to open.

DDOG-

First, your reply is an attack...
Second, you avoided real concerns and never commented on the young 13 year old who fell from a ride..
Third, I never said anything about giving up pain and suffering damages.. I stated that my injuries were so serious, they cannot be fixed... you cannot blame a woman being upset becasue her right to be a mother was taken from her? And what price do you put on a woman who lost the ability to have a child at the age of 22, through no fault of her own? CAN you put a price on that? Cause I am unable to price the value of children and the rewards or being a mother..

Once again, I was speaking from the POV of an injured person, asking for compassion to these recently injured peoples... i was speaking from credible experience... your affront to that must trigger some issue other then my point...

so once again, those of you who have understanding for these people, THANK YOU, those of you who do not, like Ddog... well... I hope you can reach a maturity level and not judge one's injuries, the monetary value of such ,and the individual's own personal reality after living through such a terrible event...

*-BB-*

I also wanted to tell BB that I read his statement. I just wanted to tell him that, even though I can never comprehend such a life changing event, I am so sorry about your accident and too feel that accidents such as these are a serious matter.

ddog, I agree with you, and BB I am sorry that you have to deal with what has happened. I think that because the ride was not maintained properly that sfdl should pay all your bills, but I dont think you should morn on your incedent, but be thankfull that your life is still with you and that you do have a loving fiance that loves you and helps you. You cant change what happened but you can make the most of it.

I know how hard it is because I have had many accidents happen to my friends, Family, and myself. Some of my friends' injuries have been fatal, so all i am trying to say is take ddog's advice and live the future and not the past because the future is such a wonderfull thing if you take advantage of it.

Why must we suffer from the press... There's gotta be a way to fight back. Now, S:ROS will be shutdown for a while because the 204 people who were on one train all broke at least 14 bones from bumping the other train at about 15 MPH. Ya know that Geico commercial where they're at the local reservoir... Imagine this being at the Springfeild Hospital and that scientist guy is a doctor, instead... The reporter asks seriously about the inguries, as the doctor replies, "There didn't seem to be any serious inguries... well we did treat an infected sliver a rider received a week ago..." The reporter then asks, "Do you know where this person was sitting..."