TOGO Standing Coaster Restraints - Sabotage Proof?

http://rcdb.com/91.htm?p=33421

Last time I was at KD I noticed that the restraint release pedals on TOGO Stand-ups can easily be pressed by the people riding in seats behind you. In the picture you can also see some large red cables coming out the back of the restraints that could easily be yanked out by riders behind you, they even have a flat part near the end where it looks like they could be pinched to remove them.

Is anyone aware if these pedals and cables could cause a potential safety issue? It seems very vulnerable to some nutjob that might jokingly try to hit the pedal or yank the bright red cables with pull tabs. Hopefully those are disabled during the ride?

The locking cylinders on those are, I believe, electrically controlled. Which means pressing the pedal anywhere but the station will have no effect.

That said, the design of the restraint is such that if all of the latches fail, you're still not coming out of the thing unless you want out. And as at least three riders have demonstrated over the years, if you want out, there's no keeping you in.

(actually I've yanked my shoulder out of that bar more than once while waiting on the brake run. I am not especially tall, but I am also not Japanese, and back when Kings Island had one of those rides, I endured far too much pain to ride it.)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

There are two things I like better about these than the B&M stand-up restraints: as Dave mentioned, you're not coming out even if the whole restraint system fails, and they're not as restrictive with regards to being able to move or look around.

I find the restraints to be a bit aquard to get in and out of, especially to someone who has never ridden them before. Overall thoug, I much prefer the togo's to the b&m's for seat/ride comfort.

I definitely prefer Shockwave to any of the B&M stand-ups I've ever ridden, mostly because the restraints seem minimalistic and the airtime hill following the loop is excellent.

Yeah, I'm not sure what B&M's aversion to airtime on most of their inverting coasters is all about. Togo stand-ups are much more fun to me. Shockwave's finale is pretty brutal, but I still like it for some reason.

Jason--I was actually going to mention that the only downside to their restraints is that they take some coordination to get into. Small price to pay, though.

Are the B&M ones much different to the Intamin ones?

If I recall correctly, the Intamin stand-up restraint (at least the old ones like on Shockwave/Batman The Escape) is kind of a hybrid of the B&M and togo shoulder harness. One side of the harness stays fixed and the other side swings up/down, so you slide one arm into the fixed side of the restraint and then pull the other side down over your other shoulder.

I don't think it is easy or even possible to hit that peddle in front of you while restrained. And I too prefer Shockwave to B&M standups.

True, but from what I hear B & M offers more G-spots than any other manufacturer.

I can definitely touch the pedal in front of me on Shockwave with little to no effort... let's just hope they are disabled.

I suspect RideMan's evaluation of it is dead on. Considering that these rides are more than 20 years old, if it was a safety issue something would have happened or an insurance inspector would have identified it as an issue.

The pedals only work in the station, there are other ways to manually release the restraints in other sections of the ride, with that being said and knowing where they are, I don't think its possible to unlock the restraint in front of you, but possibly your own if you try hard enough.

I only wish King Kobra was still standing at KI. How many of these are there left on the planet? If I remember correctly, one of these was involved in a fatal accident in Japan quite recently.

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http://www.rcdb.com/r.htm?nm=na&co=6849&st=93&de=7&ot=2

I'm surprised to hear so many prefer Togo's restraints to B&M's. I have yet to ride any standup coaster (that will change hopefully this week or next week when I get to try Green Lantern) but I always figured that B&M's restraints were better.

It's like voting for president. You look at which one you hate the least and then vote for that one. :)

^ YoshiFan I think it's because the TOGO's allow you to stand up straight with almost nothing pressed up against you, but you're still restrained. The B&M's encourage a bicycle seat pressed into your crotch region and have shoulder restraints that cover your entire frontal body area. Ultimately the TOGO's allow for some fun airtime and an actual standing sensation that the completely-negative-G-lacking B&M's lack.

And togo has airtime.

I can comfortably stand on the B&M's without the bicycle seat pressing into my parts. I guess I'm the right combination of torso height vs. leg length. Never been an issue for me. I find the B&M restraints vastly better to Togo's which I almost have to dislocate my shoulder to get the second arm though. So the silver lining of not fitting comfortably into Intamin's lap bars is that I can ride B&M's stand-ups without issue. Yay?