What's new
By:
FORUMS - COASTERFORCE

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Oblivion seat belt fail

FaceYourNemesis said:
^Same here! They affect throughput and serve no useful purpose aside from boosting the confidence of the rider.
Click to expand...
Which I would believe is their entire purpose. B&M wouldn't be a company if they made restraints that could accidentally unhatch in the middle of a ride.
 
On the tour at Busch Gardens the guy said the seat belts could be used to tell if the restraint was down or not, I don't really know what to think of that.
 
Yeah, that is true. It allows staff to have a marker for a too fat cut off point.

But, as I understand it, all modern coasters inform the operator if bars are not on the minimum required click? Some rides have the little lights visible to guests. You've prob seen them. In Germany, they seemed to go by the lights and never check bars.

So, either its there as an added level of safety just in case the operator overrides it (why is that possible? Maybe something to do with evacuation), or they are there to actually speed up finding the offending fatty.

But, why then, are coasters that have lapbars without seatbelts? Especially given they are most prone to failure?

And, why do coasters like Eurofighters not have them? Especially seen as it's possible to send them with the bars up. I've seen that one at Bonbon Land testing with them up.

They have benefits, but I can never understand why manufacturers don't just make it Impossible to send them unless they are locked sufficiently? And why the lapbars never have them.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Tapatalk 2
 
I used to override Vampire all the time for fat people.. Its the done thing and the seatbelts were an indicator as to weather or not the restraint is down far enough, even though the do lock at a much higher position.
 
Joey said:
But they don't boost rider confidence. No one bats an eyelid at them, until they "fail."
Click to expand...

Surely if that's the case then they do boost confidence? If they didn't cause an increase of confidence through merely being there, then there wouldn't/shouldn't be an issue if they 'fail', if you can see where I'm coming from.

I personally think they do offer a slight increase in confidence for the GP, they see it as part of the 'system' of being secure in the ride, almost a fail-safe without knowing it's mostly unecessary.
 
No, Smithy. It's a solution to a problem that does not exist. No one cares on Saw that there isn't one.

The issue of guests being paranoid only arises because the seatbelts exist.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Tapatalk 2
 
Joey said:
No, Smithy. It's a solution to a problem that does not exist. No one cares on Saw that there isn't one.

The issue of guests being paranoid only arises because the seatbelts exist.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

So why were they introduced in the first place, they must serve some physical purpose?
 
Well, they ARE used a guide for staff to judge fatties.

But why that only applies to OTSRs and some companies, is your guess as good as mine. I want to know too.

Theoretically, if there was a fail, it would in most cases help.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Tapatalk 2
 
I hate rides without seatbelts on OTSR. Even with the knowledge I have of how the systems work, I still take a lot of comfort and security from the seat belt. I like them and hate not having one. they certainly give me a lot of confidence.

I always preferred rides that have extra restraint to ones with less before becoming "an enthusiast" and most of my friends will shove restraints down as tight as possible and get really flustered if the op pulls on the belt and it "pops out" when they're being checked. People like to feel as secure as possible.

I think you may be right though Joey, that most people just ride without a belt and don't panic, but if it's there it "has to be functioning properly". Even as a "normal person", I had still ridden a fair number of rides, and rode them enough to make note of things like restraint systems and the like - so I was probably the worst rider ever :lol:
 
Phil, I'd argue you're far more aware of your surroundings than not just the average person, but the majority of the spectrum. :P

In seriousness, guests are usually concerned by restraints between clicks. You see it a lot watching colossus, because it has a LOT of give between the clicks and with the restraint being so long and bulky, it looks like it can move more than it can.

I've seen a mother panic so much on that Ghoster Coaster thing (or whatever it's now called) at Kings Dominion they she screamed until they stopped her on the lift and an attendant had to physically go and show her that everyones bar is the same distance from them and moves the same amount and that it's perfectly normal. It has old buz bar things with one position they lock into.

I think, as well, a lot of guests kick up a fuss when they aren't actually concerned at all. In the 10 years I've been going to parks regularly (and the 2 years I've worked at one), I have NEVER seen anyone want to get off or refuse to ride or even show panic, except that one woman at Kings Dominion. Plenty of people complain about lapbars being too tight or not being able to breath, too - but when faced with the option of riding as is or not being able to ride, suddenly they can breath. People exaggerate. They know deep down these things are safe, and I'd even argue they think they are safer than they are in the logical portion of their brain, demonstrated by sheer stupidity in their actions in situations where it's actually not safe at all to obvious degrees. Oh, and the amount of people who pull a bar down, realise they need to do something, and try and push it up. And I'm like just like... ? You panic when you first sit down and it wont lock down, and the reason it won't yet is to prevent you from pulling it down before your friend has sat, or before you've put your bag in the correct place or whatever. But you also panic when it won't raise? I don't get it. People can't be so stupid as to not realise theres a window when they need to board and in that window the RESTRAINTS HAVE TO BE UP otherwise THEY CANT GET IN THEM. People think the world revolves around them, and only them.
 
Joey said:
Phil, I'd argue you're far more aware of your surroundings than not just the average person, but the majority of the spectrum. :P
Click to expand...

Thanks

Joey said:
In seriousness
Click to expand...

Wait... you cheeky git! :lol:

You're right in the rest of your post though ;) I think a lot of it is simply the brain trying to deal with too much and a lot of it is unfamiliar too.

The brain for most people is in fight or flight mode as they anticipate the ride and then they're confronted by something which is "uncommon". They know logically how the restraints work and everything, and what they need to do with bags (and how annoying are people who pull down a buzz bar before you've got in the seat next to them?) - but they're psychologically geared in kill the mammoth or run from the smilodon mode; so bags and logic have long gone from their mental horizons.

It doesn't make it any less annoying mind.
 
I've seen this before and it reminds me of the time I unbuckled my seatbelt on Wild Eagle right when we hit the final brakes and the old guy was like AHHH HES SEATBELT WAS OFF and I had to explain to him I know what I was doing and unbuckled it when it rolled into the station.
 
^ Ugh, a member of staff?

TBF, Dollywood has some odd staff... It's like Hershey, they seem to employ a lot of older... weird... people.

Either way, I hope it was indeed just them being ...special, and not something they are trained to freak out about. :/
 
^Yep, staff. They where nice though, and most of them on Wild Eagle weren't old besides him. However, Daredevil Falls, Thunderhead, Blazing Fury, River Rampage, Slideshow Spin, Scrambler, The Waltzing Swinger, & Dizzy Disk all had really odd and old staff.
 
I don't get the seatbelt thing. Are they so leery of their restraint design that they had to add in a seatbelt for a "what-if?" scenario?

Or perhaps it's an unspoken rule of thumb for manufacturers just to annoy the living **** out of us enthusiasts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top