Roller Coasters under attack again in the media

An article in The Baltimore Sun really got me angry today 3/3, page 8A. The title was "New spin on roller coaster danger" written by Andy Netzel of the New York Times New Service. The good news: "David Meaney, a scientist who worked on the brain injury group's study, said legislators should focus on reducing violent head movements rather than trying to regulate g-force pressures." The bad news: Michael Freeman, a researcher who helped the brain injury group with its study said "If a roller coaster proved no more accelerative thrill than rolling over in bed, plopping down in a chair, or stepping off a curb, it is hard to imagine that amusement parks would be the multibilliion-dollar business that they are today," he said. Freeman said no credible studies exist that prove roller coasters are safe.

I've sent my comments into the editorial section before about roller coaster safety, and I do intend to do so again. How convenient that the season kicks off at PKD and BGW March 22nd.
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If you have a problem with clones, the solution is real simple—Stop traveling.

...no credible studies exist that prove that roller coasters are unsafe.

Usually, it's *much* easier to prove something false than it is to prove it true. The burden is on them.

...but, this did give me an idea. Since it's the offseason, I'm going to go sit down and then stand up real quick-like. Then I'll sit again.

Weeeee.

First of all violent head movement and high gs arent the same thing. While Arrow loopers (example any corkscrew) most certainly cause me to have violent head movements they dont have much gs when compared to X-Flight which does not for me at least contain any violent head movements. Media, sigh ;)

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I don't care what anyone says, Magnum is better then Millenium Force.

That just means that they are one step closer to a ban on Vekomas and Togos in the United States. ;)

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Xcelerator- Put the Pedal to the Metal!

I wrote the editorial and made sure to hype-up Premier Rides conversion of almost all of their trains to lapbars, and I mentioned my two local examples—Flight of Fear and Joker's Jinx. I'm hoping that if the editorial gets printed, that enough people will give these rides a second chance (that is, if anyone reads the editorial section). I'm sorry though if the lines get longer:)
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If you have a problem with clones, the solution is real simple—Stop traveling.
*** This post was edited by Intamin Fan 3/4/2003 1:10:33 AM ***

Now, CoasterFanMat,..... some of us enjoy Togos. (Won't comment on Vekoma though). I'm starting to think that coaster enthusiasts need spread the word on how safe they are. :(

FYI- its not a happy day when you're favorite coaster gets torn down for a flat. Ohwell, life goes on.

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You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself.
-Galileo

If that article does scare away some of the gp, that means shorter lines for us. :)

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If dogs could talk, it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one.

Shorter lines mean less profit which means fewer new rides or closing parks. Don't be short-sighted about this stuff.

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SRM 2003-Look for the guy with my name on his chest

Hey, the media's not all bad! Check out today's Columbus Dispatch. There is an editorial emphasizing the safety of roller coasters, citing four different studies. It even says Markey is wasting national resources.

This is not a syndicated editorial - this is an unbylined piece, meaning it is the official opinion of the paper. So it's a big thing.
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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

Somebody needs to drop this guy a line and let him know that 'violent head movements' are already being reduced by the industry. The new coasters created are designed without any of that...

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Jonathan Hawkins
Starcoasters.com
"There is a cluster of bees at the top of the lift. Sorry for the inconvenience."

I hope this media coaster slammer knows that there have been many studies done on coaster safety. I have heard many statistics but the most recent one I have heard was that a person is more likely to be seriously injured or kill by a champaigne cork than be injured on a roller coaster!!

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Riding on top of the world with Cedar Point