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Rollercoaster Kills Tot

The toddler left a bouncy castle, went round to the back of it and managed to climb under the fence of the neighbouring attraction, the Go Gator, next to the lowest point of the track.

The op hit the Estop as soon as she could, but because of the nature of the ride it continued on its momentum and hit the child. The ride behaved correctly, the op did everything she could have done in that situation. The fault is definitely with the victim, or in this case, his guardian. Why wasn't he watching the young lad?

Of course, my thoughts are with them, it's a horrible thing to happen and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but the parents were quoted in the paper as saying 'we want to find out who was supposed to be watching the barrier' - Er, the op who Estopped the ride? It seems they're just looking for someone to blame, when there is no one to blame but themself.

And my thoughts are with the showmen on this fair, particularly the owners of this ride. Must be awful for them too.
 
So, does this end the "are go-gators coasters?" discussions if The Sun labels it as such?

Sorry, but the death of a young child pales in significance in comparison to the much wider issue.
 
If this had happened on the road no one would be saying anything. The parents would be at fault for not watching the kid, I dont see what the difference is really.

The kid went in front of a coaster due to the fact their parents did not watch them, they are the ones at fault. I am sure if they were at a train station they would have kept a better eye on the kid to make sure they did not full on the track.

Every family I have seen at a CF event always keeps their young kids within arms reach when near a ride. I can not imagine Karren, Furie or Sharon not noticing their child running off a bouncy castle.

And before people start with the "fairs are not safe thing" this can happen at a theme park as well. If someone want to go over or under a fence they will always find a way.
 
Well, in my opinion, it IS the Father's fault, and not the fairs. You're supposed to watch your children constantly, not give up and bugger off. And, obviously, the fair will be blamed for putting up barriers to create restricted areas?! The ride operator was partially to blame, by not seeing the child, but then again, he shouldn't have been in there, so there shouldn't have been anything to worry about!

You've got to sympathise with the family though, and it was a great shame, but barriers and fences are there for a reason, and it is another reminder that parents should ALWAYS be watching their children. I just feel bad for the fair, who will blatantly be blamed for this accident.
 
If the kid went under the fence, that's certainly different than if he'd been able to knock it over. For a 2-year -old to knock over a fence, it wouldn't have been an adequate safety measure.

I still feel that there's blame to be shared, and the parents are certainly partially responsible. I just don't believe that they are 100% at fault.

And as far as the ride operator's responsibility goes, it's 100% his job to be watching the ride and the ride area before he sets the ride in motion, while it's operating and until the ride has stopped.
 
rollermonkey said:
If the kid went under the fence, that's certainly different than if he'd been able to knock it over. For a 2-year -old to knock over a fence, it wouldn't have been an adequate safety measure.

I still feel that there's blame to be shared, and the parents are certainly partially responsible. I just don't believe that they are 100% at fault.

And as far as the ride operator's responsibility goes, it's 100% his job to be watching the ride and the ride area before he sets the ride in motion, while it's operating and until the ride has stopped.
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Okay, that's a fair point
 
You'd think the child would know that a gate is there to stop people (even at his age). Even if he got through (which he did) he would of seen the train coming as he stepped onto the track as it's a small layout. The fair did everything they could to keep people away from the track.
It's clearly the parents fault but they're trying to fix the blame on someone else.
 
dj-fireball999 said:
rollermonkey said:
If the kid went under the fence, that's certainly different than if he'd been able to knock it over. For a 2-year -old to knock over a fence, it wouldn't have been an adequate safety measure.

I still feel that there's blame to be shared, and the parents are certainly partially responsible. I just don't believe that they are 100% at fault.

And as far as the ride operator's responsibility goes, it's 100% his job to be watching the ride and the ride area before he sets the ride in motion, while it's operating and until the ride has stopped.
Click to expand...

Okay, that's a fair point
Click to expand...

NO IT ISN'T!

For a start we don't really know the full facts. We're assuming that the bouncy castle was run on a time basis with a person next to it, for all we know it could be a "bounce as long as you like" setup. But honestly, giving up your parental responsibilities to a bouncy castle and the person taking the money might as well be pissing into the wind.

If you are naive enough to take your eyes off an unrestrained toddler for even a second then there's half a chance they will go explore. This ended up in tragic circumstances, but if you think you can put blame on a fairground operator for any part of this accident then you shouldn't be having kids.
 
^Do you actually work for this particular fair operator?

Have you ever actually worked a ride?

If you are running a ride, of any type, you are required to watch that ride and it's ride area while it is in operation.

On a LARGE coaster where it is impossible to see the entire layout, I can see the ride-op not being responsible if the train hits someone out on the course.

In this case, we're talking about a go-gator. That's a non-gravity-powered ride less than 20 feet across. These things valley out all the time, so if the op was paying attention, and had hit the e-stop as soon as the kid 'knocked down the fence' (as the article states) or 'went under the fence' The ride would have come to a complete stop within just a few seconds.

I do agree that we don't have all the facts.

And honestly, until we do, noone should be laying 100% of the blame on ANYONE.

Not the parents, not the ride op, and not the people who set up the fencing.
 
The operator Estopped the ride, an Estop cuts the power, the train would have had some momentum left and continued to roll. It won't stop where it is, particularly if there was a good number of riders at the time. Heavier train, more momentum.

I don't think we're ever going to get 'all the facts' but from what's been reported by various reputable news sources, you can piece it together.

I really feel for the operator. She is going to have all sorts of 'what ifs' running through her head.
 
Okay I'm totally with rollermonkey on this one. I know the parents are to blame, and I feel hypocritical in this post because usually I'm totally against OTT safety measures. I'd like to make it clear though, that there are two meanings to the word 'foolproof' in my mind.

The first is 'Chav/idiot proof' i.e. completely OTT safety features, just in case anyone DELIBERATELY ACTS STUPID and almost tires to get themselves hurt, or just want to sue people for anything.

Then there is the proper meaning of foolproof. This kid wasn't trying to get himself killed, he's a tiny toddler. If a fully grown, able to think adult can get themselves into a ride area, that's one thing, but this kid was small, and he wouldn't have made any bing plan to get in. The ride should've been made adequately safe enough so that the child couldn't get in.

I appreciate that if the parents had kept an eye on their child, none of this would have happened in this particular case, so I would see it as a bit wrong actually to sue the funfair, but the ride should have been designed for all but the most extreme circumstances.
 
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