Six Flags Great Adventure faces fine over Kingda Ka restraint incident

I totally agree, but the argument "TTD doesn't need them" isn't valid because the lap bar on TTD is completely different from the main restraining piece on KK.

Which begs the question, why in the world did they put those restraints on KK in the first place?

The correct argument is to say that KK doesn't need all that extra junk.

Andy, I think you are confusing form with function. Clearly the TTD restraints are shaped differently. But the notion that they do something different than the bar that goes across your thighs on Kingda Ka is absurd. They do the same thing, which is pin your butt to the seat. Everything else above that bar is immaterial to your butt being held in.

No, I totally understand that it's completely cosmetic. However, guests, news media, and insurance companies do not.

The issue has nothing to do with the restraint.

In the State of NJ, amusement rides are overseen by the NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA). In NJ, anytime that a ride has a mechanical breakdown, causing it to go out of service, it requires a report to be submitted to the State of NJ (DCA). That is what this is all about, not that a strap broke but rather that it wasn't reported to the State; thats all. It's an administrative issue and penalty at best.

By that very definition, this would not have needed to be reported because the ride didn't go out of service.

Fair enough. So if they had just taken that train off the ride, there wouldn't have been a fine? How ridiculous.