Perilous Plunge Restraint update?

So, the lapbar is still there along WITH the racing belts?

Oh, and I've looked around to find a pic of the modified boats, but I can't find any. Anybody have any?

*** This post was edited by Michael Darling on 12/12/2002. ***

I think ACN has pics.

Yes, on top of the four point harnesses, there is still a lapbar.

Back when the 4-points were first installed, I heard that they were just temporary, and the park wanted to find a better way to keep people safe, as well as keep capacity respectable.

I haven't heard anything on that subject for a long while, so I'm not sure what they are up to in that regard. Just be thankful that Xcelerator only has a lapbar and seatbelt, because for a while (as Plunge re-opened) I remember there being quite a bit of concern that that would not be the case!

Here is the link to ACN. Its not the clearest shot in regards to the restraints, but it does show riders with them on.

http://americacoasters.com/Photos/KBF/47.php

*** This post was edited by CoasterFanMatt on 12/12/2002. ***

Rob said he shipped the videos on westcoaster tuesday. The thing that makes the restraints so hard to wear is the belt that goes around your waist, tightening it the right amount on the left and right side so that the shoulder straps don't look like "//". The shoulder straps are easy to put on. And once the ride op, because the restraints were unlocked, just told us to hold down our lapbar until they locked them, and he never came to check on them. etreme air, and the guy didn't care about the straps as much as most of them do.

They don't need hula hoops at the entrance, they already have a test seat.

Beyond the press that the accident caused the overkill is probably also caused by liability issues. The California courts do not often see a tort claim they don't like and Cedar Fair probably would rather spend $10+ M on capital improvements instead of paying of a judgment. Hopefully this type of restraint is just a temporary gapfiller.

So whats been going on with the lawsuit? So is she suing Intamin, Knotts, or both? Her lawyer claimed that 2 other intamins had similar incidents.

Perhaps one Intamin ride had a similar incident: Superman: Ride of Steel tossed a rider at Six Flags Darien Lake. Personally, I think the Plunge and the Superman incident may be similar, though it is worth noting that Superman was not equipped with safety belts at the time of the incident. The only other Intamin rider ejection I know of is the Drop Zone incident where I personally believe the shoulder bar is at least partially the cause of the incident because it's an inappropriate restraint for that ride. In any case, Drop Zone and Plunge have almost nothing in common as regards the incidents...the incidents represent two completely different and totally unrelated ways to toss and kill riders. :(

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The lawyer doesn't think so. The drop zone was one of Intamin's other rides he named.

Kinda offtopic, but does anybody have a good pic of a 4-point restraint?

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LeWiS

E-Mail the webmaster of Ghostrider.org. He used to have a picture, but the site was updated, and the picture got lost. He may still have it though.

Playerpunk- there is a link to a shot of a four point restraint in my above post. Its not the most detailed, but it does show the straps over the rider's shoulders.

RideMan said:
two completely different and totally unrelated ways to toss and kill riders.

Wow, Dave, that's the most harsh thing I've ever heard you say. Do you feel that Intiman restraints are inadequate on most of their rides?

It's not that the Intamin restraints are inadequate. But there's no sugar-coating this: on three different Intamin rides, riders have been thrown from their seats to an unpleasant, violent death on the ground. Harsh? Of course it's harsh: People are dead because something somewhere went wrong. Fatal accidents are, in this business, unacceptable.

My point, though, is that the two incidents prior to Plunge had totally different causes, involving totally different ride, seating, and restraint systems. And in the case of Drop Zone I am of the opinion that the shoulder bar is not inadequate, but that it is not the most optimum design for that ride...it does not prevent the rider from sliding forward in (and thus out of) the seat. Intamin's lap bar system is generally adequate, but has managed to allow two overweight people to come out; my own experience with the system suggests that there are certain conditions under which a rider can, intentionally or otherwise, end up in a near-standing position which can allow him to slide past the lap bar, particularly if he is a large rider. That doesn't necessarily mean that the lap bar is inadequate, but it does mean it's not necessarily optimal. My complaint, then, is that instead of thoughtfully addressing the special-case inadequacies of the restraint, the "solution" has been this ham-handed approach of hog-tying the riders in their seats when it might have been sufficient to just make the seat mold a little deeper or make the floor a little higher.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Intamin did not advise the changes to Perilous Plunge. they were 100% against it.

I think the lapbars, current four-point system, and seatbelts should all be removed in favor of a more advanced four-point harness, similar to those found on Vekoma flying coasters. Those are the most comfortable of all roller coaster harnesses and probably the safest too.

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http://community.webshots.com/user/cpbubba