Industry safety under fire
Posted
In the latest hype over ride safety, USA Today has printed a series of articles about amusement safety.
You bet I'll editorialize on this one. The accidents that occurred last year were freakish in nature and timing. What you haven't heard is that you're a thousand times more likely to be hurt in a car accident on your way to the park.
And somewhere along the line, the idiots who continue to report that coaster riding can cause subudral hematoma seem to leave out the fact that most victims of this phenomenon had a pre-existing condition. Heck, a hard sneeze can cause the same problems. Someone who rides a huge roller coaster 50 times in a day might need their head checked, but not because of physical injury.
Hmm, couldn't find the articles in USA Today, clicked the "series of articles" link above and it takes me to a Jack Nicklaus golf story.
Regardless, as we all know, the cheesey mass media today thrives on putting fear into people over nothing.
If we all watched our local TV newscasts (I cannot)we would think the internet is nothing more than a playground for perverts and child molestors. That Rollercoasters, although they've been around for almost a 100 years, and are safer than ever, are now death-traps and that park owners almost take pride in their "death machines" by cranking out more "dangerous and deadly" rides every year!
We would also be led to believe the world is in complete chaos, that everyone's a racist, that everyone is out to scam you, and that most toy companies are out to harm your children. On and on...
Unfortunately the mainstream American public that views this nightly trash buys into it. The type of person who is extremely overweight, has back and neck problems, but still rides the roughest rollercoaster in the park and then goes to complain to management about how they were inured as a result of riding it - could be one of those people.
It's a known fact to coaster enthusiasts and Amusement Park revelers that almost all park accidents are a result of guest stupidity and carelessness. It is just like America to try and regulate not only our behavior and limit our choices, but to tell us what we can and cannot enjoy as the result of the ignorance of literally a few dozen people, penalizing millions.
I would like to find those articles in USA Today, and refute their supposed "findings" in detail with a letter to the editor.
I've been riding all kinds of rollercoasters for almost 30 years now, not one injury or accident - NOT ONE!! Tell me how these rides aren't safe? Try and convince me that 30 years of enjoying rollercoasters and parks is dangerous and life threatening? Someone please try and convince me.
But I do recommend avoiding poorly run parks such as Kentucky Kingdom if you are even a little bit concerned about your safety, or just plain being stuck on a ride in an awkward position.
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Brad's Coaster Page
http://www.mindspring.com/~bsrubin/amusement.html
Regardless, as we all know, the cheesey mass media today thrives on putting fear into people over nothing.
If we all watched our local TV newscasts (I cannot)we would think the internet is nothing more than a playground for perverts and child molestors. That Rollercoasters, although they've been around for almost a 100 years, and are safer than ever, are now death-traps and that park owners almost take pride in their "death machines" by cranking out more "dangerous and deadly" rides every year!
We would also be led to believe the world is in complete chaos, that everyone's a racist, that everyone is out to scam you, and that most toy companies are out to harm your children. On and on...
Unfortunately the mainstream American public that views this nightly trash buys into it. The type of person who is extremely overweight, has back and neck problems, but still rides the roughest rollercoaster in the park and then goes to complain to management about how they were inured as a result of riding it - could be one of those people.
It's a known fact to coaster enthusiasts and Amusement Park revelers that almost all park accidents are a result of guest stupidity and carelessness. It is just like America to try and regulate not only our behavior and limit our choices, but to tell us what we can and cannot enjoy as the result of the ignorance of literally a few dozen people, penalizing millions.
I would like to find those articles in USA Today, and refute their supposed "findings" in detail with a letter to the editor.
I've been riding all kinds of rollercoasters for almost 30 years now, not one injury or accident - NOT ONE!! Tell me how these rides aren't safe? Try and convince me that 30 years of enjoying rollercoasters and parks is dangerous and life threatening? Someone please try and convince me.
But I do recommend avoiding poorly run parks such as Kentucky Kingdom if you are even a little bit concerned about your safety, or just plain being stuck on a ride in an awkward position.
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Brad's Coaster Page
http://www.mindspring.com/~bsrubin/amusement.html
Well said Brad. I can not agree more with your comments on the news and there fear they put into people. BTW I love foxnews new slogan 'We report you decide' Yeah right. And we can't forget CNN aka 'Clinton News Network'. But anyway, all those people do in washington is regulate anything they can, what has happened to our freedom sometimes. I think the best medicine for those aspholes up there is for them to ride these so called deadly accident prone rollercoasters. Maybe they would remember what FUN was. Maybe they would remember what it was like to take a day off (oh wait they take everyday off) and spend it with your kids at an amusement park having FUN. Not worrying about work or the government or anything just enjoying yourself and your friends. But that is not right now is it??? What the worst thing is most americans stand by and actually believe their crap thinking that is good. Stand up people!!!!!
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Closing Time: 5:30
CP Arrival Time: 5:50
Whose Line is it Anyway?
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Closing Time: 5:30
CP Arrival Time: 5:50
Whose Line is it Anyway?
You are absolutly right about the media. They are just a bunch of vultures on te lookout for any kind of weakness htat anyone has, so they can use it for their own gain. Just see the Eleian Gonzales saga. Though, if it will shut up all of the stupis people out there, maybe we should just accept Consumer and Product Safety Board supervision, since it doesn't seem to have afected travling fair rides at all, those are still as insane as they come.
Here are the address' for the two articles.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/acovfri.htm
and
http://www.usatoday.com/news/ndsthu05.htm
I will let the articles idiocy, and complete lack of decent research, speak for it's self.
Here is another article in USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/travel/leisure/1999/lt210.htm
This article at least has some reason to it.
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Monster Ride Op
Cedar Point *** This post was edited by Monster Ride Op on 4/7/2000. ***
http://www.usatoday.com/news/acovfri.htm
and
http://www.usatoday.com/news/ndsthu05.htm
I will let the articles idiocy, and complete lack of decent research, speak for it's self.
Here is another article in USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/travel/leisure/1999/lt210.htm
This article at least has some reason to it.
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Monster Ride Op
Cedar Point *** This post was edited by Monster Ride Op on 4/7/2000. ***
Hold on now, don't blame the media entirely. There is a lot of good journalism out there, this just isn't an example of it. It's also hard to find it. The bigger problem is the politicians. Far too many of them don't bother to get extensive facts and (gasp!) the other side of things. Fuel that with ignorance on behalf of the general public and you've got a recipe for disaster.
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
This boils down to danger with life in general. I do agree with safety checks on rides but when you involve the government than it becomes a media circus. Nothing is 100 percent as far as being free of injury or even death. The basic thinking in life is I am glad it wasnt me or a loved one so you continue to experience it and then "BOOM" it happened to a friend or loved one and now it is an issue!. Gee, how the human brain changes in thinking something is fine until it hits home. Accidents are a reality and that is life. If everybody had the same thinking as the government than we would have no fun at all no matter what it is. I am willing to bet when 1 coaster accident happens at the same time within 10 miles of the coaster you already had 3 auto accidents at the same time. This is to the media that is story hungry, """LEARN HOW TO DO YOUR JOB IN A POSITIVE WAY"""" (Gee, what a concept!!)
A lot of this stems from the rantings of that parasite Kathy Flackler, who brought her hyperactive five year old on Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland. As the train was entering the station to unload, the kid thought it was stopped. It was, but it hadn't reached the unload part yet. The stupid kid stuck out his leg onto the station platform, the train crept forward, and he banged up his leg. Although the pearl of wisdom Kathy Flackler ADMITS it was her fault for not watching her insipid offspring, she still needs her 5 minutes to protect the rest of the world from stupid actions that could occur from an irresponsible parent. The same thing occured at Epcot's Spaceship Earth, something I don't think if you ATTEMPTED to hurt yourself in you could. A parent was not properly watching their Damian offspring, the mutant was jumping around in the ride vehicle WHILE IN MOTION, and hurt himself. So this is Disney's fault of course. If Kathy showed as much concern with her own mutant as she does with the rest of normal, functioning society, this "accident" could have completely been prevented.
The media blows every amusement park accident way out of proportion. Riding a roller coaster is statistically safer than watching television. Besides, everytime there is an accident on roller coasters, it is either due to the stupidity of the rider or a previous medical condition that they had(which they are warned about before the ride). I think that these riders should be punished for not obeying ride safety restrictions, instead they sue the parks for an unimaginable amount of money. The media needs to get it's priorities straight, and start worrying about more serious issues.
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