Seven roller coasters labeled dangerous in Japan

Wow.

I noticed that the story states that they failed to carry out annual flaw inpsections. I would have thought they would have required them more frequently than that. I'm really suprised to seen worn wheels as one of the missed items. I would think those could be visually checked rather easily.

*** This post was edited by Frantic Ferret 5/23/2007 11:19:06 AM ***

Ummmmm that sounds kinda scary. How many coasters in the U.S. would get a similar rating? I'm not sure I wanna know.

Very alarming news. Makes me think about how much I take for granted rides being safe. And I never really thought about rides outside the US possibly not following the same regulations that I take for granted here.

I once heard an alarming statistic about bridges in the US...something like 1 in 10 bridges were estimated to be "in need of repair".
*** This post was edited by Acoustic Viscosity 5/23/2007 11:21:33 AM ***

Perhaps they don't have the sue-happy culture we have here, so it's not as big a priority. Let's face it, between people who want to sue and ultra-paranoid insurance companies, not doing everything you can to ensure safety here in the states is outright bad for business.

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I once heard an alarming statistic about bridges in the US...something like 1 in 10 bridges were estimated to be "in need of repair".

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In my area of Western New York, it's actually the other way around... 1 in 10 bridges "are not in need of repair". Kind of sad, but nobody will fork over the money to fix 'em... and since none have actually collapsed, nobody has a valid lawsuit against those responsible for the upkeep of the bridges.

How did it go from rollercoatsers to bridges? ;-)

^I believe it was on the basis of 'assumed to be safe'...such as airplanes, elevators, buses...etc....

Oh did I hijack the thread? My bad. :)

All this in the year when I decide to go to Japan in 3 more months. Either I should be really alarmed or else feel extra safe with the findings of these inspections, but I'm not sure which.

That's nice hearing that inspections on the 7 japanese coasters were very poorly made, So they can replace axles and wheels with new ones and the accident that happened to Fujin Raijin II wouldn't have happened.

*** This post was edited by Twistercoasterman 5/23/2007 7:29:30 PM ***

I wonder if Japan's safety record is worse than the USA's? I honestly don't know. Rideman...? Is there any data to demonstrate with any reasonable accuracy a comparison safety rating?

Makes me glad i'm in the UK - it can be fun to watch the engineers checking the lift hill of the Pepsi Max Big One daily - you can always tell the trainees from their vertigo!

Seriously though, if i had any doubts as to the safety checks in place, i wouldn't go on a coaster or any other ride where a breakdown could cause injury or worse.

The only Roller Coaster I ever had Safety Concerns for was the SOUL TRAIN that resided at Edgewater Park in Michigan until 1981. I was one of the last persons to ride that coaster and when they Auctioned off the Rides two weeks later some of us walked the track of the old woodie and were appalled at what we saw. There were parts of thyat structure that hadn't seen a maintainence person in at least a decade!

Answer my Prayers: Overbook my next Flight!

I dont think this article meant that the rides were not inspected in a year. I'm guessing "annual flaw inspection" is a term used in Japan to mean a MAJOR inspection and Non-Destructive Testing session. I'm sure if an inspection as thourough as Japan's were conducted nationwide in the US, the results would be just as bad if not worse.