Whenever someone says something is done "because it's the law" your reaction ought to be to ask the person to quote 'chapter and verse.' Remember, until just recently the State of California had NO laws applying to the safety of amusement park rides. This has been the subject of much debate in the past couple of years; I've been following the process with some interest even though I'm a couple of thousand miles away.
Shoulder bars were a bad idea to start with. Now a third manufacturer and two major parks are demonstrating how rides can safely run without them, and I personally hope the rest of the industry takes notice.
PKI MAN, bear in mind that there are many ways to skin this cat. Kings Island has two methods with their two Premier-built trains, but there are other ways to accomplish the same end. B&M's Speedcoaster train, for instance, appears to be a design ideally suited to looping coasters. Likewise the Intamin train design used on Millennium Force (heck, that one DOES handle three inversions.....). Schwarzkopf pretty near had it right with the Looping Speedracer and Doppel Looping, and now PTC (!) has a looping coaster train out with lap bars (and really cushy seats). There are lots of ways to go about designing the car and securing the riders.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Who has been preaching against shoulder bars for a decade or more...
