Jump to content

Seat Belts


Recommended Posts

So, seat belts are pretty much required on almost every ride at Kings Island (and Cedar Fair all over). My question is, why are seatbelts needed? I know it's for safety reasons, and most rides do need them per manufacturers' recommendations, but do the manufacturers have such little faith in their products that they feel seat belts are absolutely necessary?

Rides like Vortex and Flight Deck don't even need seat belts. Look at Tennessee Tornado (Dollywood) and Vortex (Canada's Wonderland). Both belt-less. Also, The Beast plays by its own rules. The ride was built and designed in house, so why the seatbelts? Unless it's the fact they run on PTC trains, therefore making the trains abide by PTC's rules.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, are seatbelts really necessary for each and every ride?

EDIT: I guess this could have gone in the Kings Island forum, but I can't change that now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even if the manufacturer doesn't view them as absolutely necessary, the park can of course choose to add them. I'm not sure about you, but I feel more secure with a simple, rider-controlled backup restraint on certain rides. Even if the primary restraint is sufficiently redundant, the average rider might not know this.

As long as a seatbelt doesn't kill the ride capacity, the park gets even more redundancy and riders get to feel more secure at a low cost.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hate em, hate em!! I think they are restricting and actually prevent natural movement with the forces of the ride. I bet it's an insurance requirement. On Vortex, yeah, that's ok as a backup, but Troika? Complete overkill. I miss the days on Beast and Racer before belts, seat dividers and headrests. I don't even like having them in the car, but I wear it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

At Disney World, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Rock n' Roller Coaster, and Expedition Everest all have no seatbelts. Expedition Everest really surprises me because it's just a lap bar that comes down on both riders (what are those called)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember reading that on rides such as Drop Tower, the seatbelt is mainly there to gauge if a person is too big to ride. If the seatbelt can't close, then the restraint is not far enough down for the ride to operate. This helps the ride ops know whether someone can ride, without the head op saying, "Seat 32 is not locked."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At Disney World, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Rock n' Roller Coaster, and Expedition Everest all have no seatbelts. Expedition Everest really surprises me because it's just a lap bar that comes down on both riders (what are those called)?

I think those are called racheting lap bars

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't mind seat belts. They don't really get in the way, all they do is make starting up take more time.

What I don't appreciate are the "head rests" on the wooden coaster, it's not necessary, and it dampens your view. On a launched coaster, it's more understandable IMHO

But they ran fine before the head rests.. and many wooden coasters today run fine without them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember back in the day my beloved Eli Bridge Scrambler had no seat belts. Now they all have them, even at the State Fair on the junk carnival versions. My guess is we live in a world today where people are morons. I can't tell you how many times on a ride I have heard the ride operator say "put your cell phones, camera's, ect away for the ride", only to see a bunch of folks pull out those things while riding. I have even seen someone try to carry on a phone call while on the lift hill on Millennium Force. I think the seat belt is just another way the amusement park has for controling these animals. These animals also have a habit of suing.

Remember we live in a world where if you look at your owners manual for your TV it will show you how to plug it in. One thing that amazes me is how in a world where we think we are so smart we ended up so stupid.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't even like having them in the car...

It only took one major accident, to make me like them.

Well, guess it depends on the situation. Years ago one of the drivers at my company wasn't wearing his belt, got in an accident, and was ejected from the cab. Yes, he did go to the hospital for a day, but turns out a tree stump went through the cab and if he had been wearing it, he would have been impaled. That stays with me for some reason.

Yes, he was fired, but he's alive. Good trade.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...