Glidein said:
Well, it might keep their insurance costs down, but IMO it does little else. If a properly fastened restraint doesn't keep you in the car, your arms probably won't. Plus, in many cases, the handholds are on the restraints, so then they really wouldn't help.
The reason parks ask you to hold on isn't because the restraints may fall off mid ride, and if you weren't you'd be tossed out with them. It is because there are all sorts of things that potentially can go wrong. If there's a headchopper of any sort, or something that the rider can reach if they aren't holding on, then it ain't good.
If they say that you are not permitted to put your arms in the air, and you do, and come back with a nice red stump, then they just point to the sign on the wall, which tells you not to, and laugh (figuratively), because they are covered legally. Mind you it'd still go to court, and the park would end up sued for something in the end.
Think about it, do you think parks are going to say "Ok, everyone arms in the air, feet over the front and if you don't like lap bars, you don't have to click it in!" Certainly a park which says "Keep arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times" won't have to pay as much insurance because they are more likely to win a case, over a park which says the above.
Same thing as the Council goes and sticks a sign on the jetty at the beach saying "No Jumping" - because if someone does it, and finds that there is a nice patch of oysters a foot below the surface, the first thing they'll sue is the Council claiming that there was no warning of the threat of jumping.
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So what if the best coaster in Australia is a second hand Arrow?
http://www.totalthrills.com
auscoasterman said:
"Think about it, do you think parks are going to say "Ok, everyone arms in the air, feet over the front and if you don't like lap bars, you don't have to click it in!" Certainly a park which says "Keep arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times" won't have to pay as much insurance because they are more likely to win a case, over a park which says the above."
I dont know about your country, but in the USA, such a statement isn't going to amount to much in the courts.
And FYI there is at least *one* park that in its 'Coaster 101' commercials actually encourages riders to "throw their hands in the air" (a wave 'em like you just dont care...)
lata,
jeremy
--The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire! We dont need no water let the m.... f.... burn! (note in this case MF does *not* stand for Millennium Force ;))
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"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01
That is true, nothing like that ever holds up in court, but they put it there because if they did tell you to do what you want, that they don't care, there is no way on earth they'd have a minute chance of winning. Whereas if they tell you not to, they have a leg to stand on in court, not that they'll win.
Next time you buy tickets, have a look on the back - most parks will say, they are not responsible for any injuries caused on their land, regardless of whether you caused it yourself, or an employee did it to you. What they are saying is an employee can not lock your restraints, and if you fall out, they are not responsible. This would never hold up in court, no way in hell that they'd win any case where an employee of the park caused it.
They merely put it there because it gives them a leg to stand on from a legal perspective.
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So what if the best coaster in Australia is a second hand Arrow?
http://www.totalthrills.com
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rcthemepark36 said:
I don't put my hands up. In Steven J. Urbanowicz book he says that holding up you hands will increase the air resistance and it definitely does, resulting in a tamer ride.
lol, yeah, i'm sure that makes a ton of difference.
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If the shoe fits, find another one.
And FYI there is at least *one* park that in its 'Coaster 101' commercials actually encourages riders to "throw their hands in the air" (a wave 'em like you just dont care...)
X-Flight, Batwing, and Stealth, to name a few. But in those cases, you'd hold your hands down or out.
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Off with the trims!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
Woodencoaster.com
I don't put my hands up. In Steven J. Urbanowicz book he says that holding up you hands will increase the air resistance and it definitely does, resulting in a tamer ride.
So you holding your hands up will slow down the entire train? I hate to see what happens when everyone on the train holds their hands straight up. I guess that's what always causes Deja Vu to valley ;)
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|| Jonathan Hawkins ||
http://www.starcoasters.com
http://www.thrillspot.com
I used to put my hands up so much that when I'd come home from a park, I'd have marks on my upper arms where the restraints started...well restraining me. now I'm a little more picky. if I know its going to be really intense and push the restraint down farther into my body, then I'll push out against the restraint to keep it at a nice distance from my body. or if I need to hold on to stabalize myself due to roughness, then I will also hold on.
if the coaster was designed properly and you are restrained properly, there's no need to fear choppers. the designers know how far you'll be able to reach out and they keep everything out of that zone. Paula from Holiday World recently stated the clerance for Legend diving beneath Zoombawabe(sp?) and they they tacked on an extra three inches just to be sure.
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-Bob (formerly Coaster Jedi)
Knott's Berry Farm Cuba ~South Park
"Your proctologist called, he found your head!" ~Jerry "The King" Lawler
SFGA Bob said:
"if the coaster was designed properly and you are restrained properly, there's no need to fear choppers."
Tell that to GTTP's "Red Garter Rob" who smacked his hand on a support on the first overbank on Millennium Force.
jeremy
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Besides, if we were really shutting down people we disagreed with, would Jeremy (2Hostyl) still be around? :) I think not. - Jeff 1/24/02
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-Bob (formerly Coaster Jedi)
Knott's Berry Farm Cuba ~South Park
"Your proctologist called, he found your head!" ~Jerry "The King" Lawler
And by the way, Intamin *has* redesigned that particulat portion of the ride. If you look, you can see a wedge shaped "divot" cut out of the offending support!
jeremy
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Besides, if we were really shutting down people we disagreed with, would Jeremy (2Hostyl) still be around? :) I think not. - Jeff 1/24/02
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If the shoe fits, find another one.
I fear choppers too, Jeremy. that's half the fun of riding coasters. you see a support coming and you duck. then you begin to test the waters, so to speak. you raise your hands a little more each time you ride it until you realize that you can put your hands up all the way and not get hurt.
as for MF and Intamin: good for Intamin. they learned from their mistakes. now everyone can sit down with their hands up and not have anything to worry about. so stop complaining that somebody hit his hands in the past and enjoy the ride as it stands today.
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-Bob (formerly Coaster Jedi)
Knott's Berry Farm Cuba ~South Park
"Your proctologist called, he found your head!" ~Jerry "The King" Lawler
BTW: At what point was I complaining?
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Besides, if we were really shutting down people we disagreed with, would Jeremy (2Hostyl) still be around? :) I think not. - Jeff 1/24/02
I used to always put my hands up. Lately, I haven't been. It wasn't something that I ever really thought of, I just stopped putting them up for some reason.
"(Everybody get it up) Throw the hands up. 12 AM on the way to the club..."
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"He's blazin' away like the stars in the universe.." A. Vega + M. Rev "Ghostrider"
ravenguy98 said:
2Hostyl - I've actually done that as well.
As have I. Infact, there are afew other rides at the point with the same "problem". IMO, the divot in Millennium's overbanked turn support does little good. Although it does keep the shorter people away from the support by afew inches, it doesn't do anything for us who are over 6 feet tall, even when we aren't trying for it! It was quite a shock early this year for my first ride of the season, especially after watching the construction crews put up the new support last winter.
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Corey
"Have you ever tried backing out of a drive-through bank?" - George Carlin
New to this site, but thought I would comment. I put my hands up sometimes. On the stand up roller coaster, Chang, at SFKK the G forces make it hard to keep hands up after a while. Looking forward to a trip to PKI this summer! Wanting to try TR:TR and some new coasters. SFKK doesn't have much and even though I do enjoy them it's nice to try new things!
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-Bob (formerly Coaster Jedi)
Knott's Berry Farm Cuba ~South Park
"Your proctologist called, he found your head!" ~Jerry "The King" Lawler
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