Woman killed in ride at Six Flags TX

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cityslick said:
I just think things like weight are a very sensitive subject for a lot of people and I don't think the amusement parks (or really any other business) wants to get into the practice of telling someone they can't ride because they are fat. Now, in this particular case I guess we will find out more if the restraint was actually clicked in (probably not). In that case the attendant shouldn't of let this lady ride. But if the restraints click in (despite how smushed in the person is), I don't think you can deny someone riding.
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There are tons of results on Google about people being too fat to ride the coaster, asking if they are too fat, etc. So most amusement parks are already in the practice of telling people they can't ride because of their weight....
 
eileenhawkeye said:
There are tons of results on Google about people being too fat to ride the coaster, asking if they are too fat, etc. So most amusement parks are already in the practice of telling people they can't ride because of their weight....
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Well that hasn't been my experience. I've been to amusement parks all my life and have travelled/stood in line with overweight people that I knew as well as overweight people standing in line that really shouldn't of been riding. In every single instance, the determining factor was if the restraint clicked/came down or didn't come up. Never heard any attendant tell anyone they couldn't ride. The only time I saw that is when there was a kid who was obviously too small for the ride and they told the parent the kid couldn't ride. I've never seen an attendant tell an adult they couldn't ride without even trying the restraint and I can't count how many times I've been to parks.

If you are giving the attendants (who by and large are usually teenagers) the arbitrary decision to decide who is too big to ride without even trying the restraint, at what point does that cross into discrimination?
 
cityslick said:
Yup, then it becomes almost the same situation that airlines are dealing with how overweight people crowd the seats to the point where they infringe on the other passengers. They can put notices up about having to be under a certain weight to ride but I'm not sure you can put that decision in the attendants hands if someone ignores the notice.
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Uh, yeah they can! They can refuse to let them fly. Airlines have the right to refuse service to anyone, especially if weight is a hazard/safety issue.
 
cityslick said:
I just think things like weight are a very sensitive subject for a lot of people and I don't think the amusement parks (or really any other business) wants to get into the practice of telling someone they can't ride because they are fat. Now, in this particular case I guess we will find out more if the restraint was actually clicked in (probably not). In that case the attendant shouldn't of let this lady ride. But if the restraints click in (despite how smushed in the person is), I don't think you can deny someone riding.
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So don't use the word "fat". It's that simple. Many rides have height restrictions. If it's a safety issue, why not weight restrictions? They also do it for pregnant women. Otherwise post that you are riding at your own risk!!!
 
cityslick said:
Well that hasn't been my experience. I've been to amusement parks all my life and have travelled/stood in line with overweight people that I knew as well as overweight people standing in line that really shouldn't of been riding. In every single instance, the determining factor was if the restraint clicked/came down or didn't come up. Never heard any attendant tell anyone they couldn't ride. The only time I saw that is when there was a kid who was obviously too small for the ride and they told the parent the kid couldn't ride. I've never seen an attendant tell an adult they couldn't ride without even trying the restraint and I can't count how many times I've been to parks.

If you are giving the attendants (who by and large are usually teenagers) the arbitrary decision to decide who is too big to ride without even trying the restraint, at what point does that cross into discrimination?
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It wouldn't be arbirtrary. The structural engineers who designed the ride should know what the capacity is and that would be a set number that would be posted on a sign, like height restrictions and pregnancy.i.e., if you are over *advertiser censored* weight do not ride, or you ride at your own risk. Nobobdy said they had to have a scale handy...
 
cityslick said:
Well that hasn't been my experience. I've been to amusement parks all my life and have travelled/stood in line with overweight people that I knew as well as overweight people standing in line that really shouldn't of been riding. In every single instance, the determining factor was if the restraint clicked/came down or didn't come up. Never heard any attendant tell anyone they couldn't ride. The only time I saw that is when there was a kid who was obviously too small for the ride and they told the parent the kid couldn't ride. I've never seen an attendant tell an adult they couldn't ride without even trying the restraint and I can't count how many times I've been to parks.

If you are giving the attendants (who by and large are usually teenagers) the arbitrary decision to decide who is too big to ride without even trying the restraint, at what point does that cross into discrimination?
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But if the restraint works, then why shouldn't the person ride? I could see it being a problem if the overweight person might lean into the person next to them when the ride is going fast crushing them, but there's plenty of coasters where there are separate seats. Or if the weight distribution on the train is messed up. But if the restraint doesn't lock, I'm not sure why they would let them still go on the ride. That is just stupid because I don't see how someone wouldn't fall out of the ride if they aren't secure.
 
eileenhawkeye said:
But if the restraint works, then why shouldn't the person ride? I could see it being a problem if the overweight person might lean into the person next to them when the ride is going fast crushing them, but there's plenty of coasters where there are separate seats. Or if the weight distribution on the train is messed up. But if the restraint doesn't lock, I'm not sure why they would let them still go on the ride. That is just stupid because I don't see how someone wouldn't fall out of the ride if they aren't secure.
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No I agree. It just seems there are some that think the judgement should be made by the attendant before they even get in the coaster. I have seen people have to get off because the restraint didn't come down/lock properly.
 
LinasK said:
It wouldn't be arbirtrary. The structural engineers who designed the ride should know what the capacity is and that would be a set number that would be posted on a sign, like height restrictions and pregnancy.i.e., if you are over *advertiser censored* weight do not ride, or you ride at your own risk. Nobobdy said they had to have a scale handy...
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Well, in this case, assume for a second that the restraint did in fact lock into place as far as the attendant was concerned. Is the park still culpable? Or did the woman who died ride at her own risk?

For the record, I agree with you, people should ride at their own risk.
 
Stories like this scare the crap out of me. I remember a time when I was about 18 yrs old and only weighed maybe 100 lbs I was riding the Scream Machine at Six Flags over Ga and at that time there was no seat belt just a bar that came down on your lap. However, at that time the bar only came down so far and so there was a huge gap between my lap and the bar. So each time I went down one of the hills I had to hold onto the lap bar for dear life since I would come up off the seat and almost out of the ride. It was really scary.
 
georgiagirl said:
Stories like this scare the crap out of me. I remember a time when I was about 18 yrs old and only weighed maybe 100 lbs I was riding the Scream Machine at Six Flags over Ga and at that time there was no seat belt just a bar that came down on your lap. However, at that time the bar only came down so far and so there was a huge gap between my lap and the bar. So each time I went down one of the hills I had to hold onto the lap bar for dear life since I would come up off the seat and almost out of the ride. It was really scary.
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OMG! That was me too! Especially when I sat next to my then boyfriend/husband... I'm 5'3"/100lbs and he was 6'3"/220lbs!

That... bar... barely... held... me... I think what saved me was that arm he threw around me!
 
LinasK said:
It wouldn't be arbirtrary. The structural engineers who designed the ride should know what the capacity is and that would be a set number that would be posted on a sign, like height restrictions and pregnancy.i.e., if you are over *advertiser censored* weight do not ride, or you ride at your own risk. Nobobdy said they had to have a scale handy...
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Wouldn't weight restrictions have to be different for men and women? For example, a man who weighs 225# might not considered overweight depending on his height, bone structure, BMI, etc., but a woman who weighs that much probably would be considered overweight. I suppose that the weight restriction would have to be posted as such-and-such a weight for males and such-and-such a weight for females. :moo:
 
LinasK said:
It wouldn't be arbirtrary. The structural engineers who designed the ride should know what the capacity is and that would be a set number that would be posted on a sign, like height restrictions and pregnancy.i.e., if you are over *advertiser censored* weight do not ride, or you ride at your own risk. Nobobdy said they had to have a scale handy...
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cityslick said:
Well, in this case, assume for a second that the restraint did in fact lock into place as far as the attendant was concerned. Is the park still culpable? Or did the woman who died ride at her own risk?

For the record, I agree with you, people should ride at their own risk.
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I think that people DO ride certain rides at their own risk, even if not pregnant or overweight or underweight, etc. Most sporting places (eg. the rink where I practice) have signs posted saying that there are inherent risks when taking part in the activity and that you do so at your own risk. Not sure how far that would go in a lawsuit, but I wonder if amusement parks have signs like that posted at some rides? (Haven't been in awhile due to the hot waiting in lines. ;))
 
cityslick said:
Well, in this case, assume for a second that the restraint did in fact lock into place as far as the attendant was concerned. Is the park still culpable? Or did the woman who died ride at her own risk?

For the record, I agree with you, people should ride at their own risk.
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I don't have enough facts about this case to say. It might have been a ride malfunction. The woman's weight may also have been a contributing factor. Was a sign posted? Does Texas have an organization that does safety inspections of rides like CalOsha? Did the park give the employees proper training in fastening restraints and determining if it was safe???
 
BetteDavisEyes said:
Wouldn't weight restrictions have to be different for men and women? For example, a man who weighs 225# might not considered overweight depending on his height, bone structure, BMI, etc., but a woman who weighs that much probably would be considered overweight. I suppose that the weight restriction would have to be posted as such-and-such a weight for males and such-and-such a weight for females. :moo:
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Good question- there must be some determining formulas (calculus) to average out different body sizes. I just know from experience with the local water slide breaking from all these teenagers overloading it, because they wanted to ride down together, that was a total weight capacity that broke it...
It's been so long I couldn't think of the term 'derivatives' that determine acceleration, force, etc.
 
LinasK said:
Good question- there must be some determining formulas (calculus) to average out different body sizes. I just know from experience with the local water slide breaking from all these teenagers overloading it, because they wanted to ride down together, that was a total weight capacity that broke it...
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I'd think that not just weight, per se, but the way it's distributed would have some bearing on whether or not the ride was doable for some. A very tall person (male or female) would be 'lankier' and therefore fit under the seat bars better. So a simple weight restriction is probably less effective than having a sample seat for folks to try out before waiting in line.

BTW, in the pictures I've seen on this thread, it appears those were taken with the seat bars in the 'up' position. There'd be a snugger fit once they were latched into place.
 
PoirotryInMotion said:
I'd think that not just weight, per se, but the way it's distributed would have some bearing on whether or not the ride was doable for some. A very tall person (male or female) would be 'lankier' and therefore fit under the seat bars better. So a simple weight restriction is probably less effective than having a sample seat for folks to try out before waiting in line.

BTW, in the pictures I've seen on this thread, it appears those were taken with the seat bars in the 'up' position. There'd be a snugger fit once they were latched into place.
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Ok, this was bound to happen on this ride. I had a very close call with my 7 yr old on this ride and I can tell you that even though the bar went down and the employee checked it and assured me it was fine. i still questioned him and he again said its fine, it was still NOT secure. They were about to yell the all clear and the employee raised her hand as if she was about to say all clear and I had to scream to get their attention to get us off the ride.. They came over and I again voiced my concerns this time way more upset bc I had to scream to get their attention. About three employees came over and agreed that yes, my daughter would have flown right out!!!!!! Those were their exact words! "She would have flown right out".. I will never ride that ride again.. And I don't let my daughter ride the rides now that don't have extra harnesses like a shoulder bar or seat belt along with the lap bar.. This totally changed my view on coasters, these are just kids working the rides and they can make a mistake.. For the rest of the night I kept saying over and over to my husband "but she could have flown out!!" It was soooo scary to think that could have happened to my daughter... My prayers go out to this lady and her family and even the people that were riding and in line. So sad! This could have been prevented!!!!
 
Elissa00 said:
Ok, this was bound to happen on this ride. I had a very close call with my 7 yr old on this ride and I can tell you that even though the bar went down and the employee checked it and assured me it was fine. i still questioned him and he again said its fine, it was still NOT secure. They were about to yell the all clear and the employee raised her hand as if she was about to say all clear and I had to scream to get their attention to get us off the ride.. They came over and I again voiced my concerns this time way more upset bc I had to scream to get their attention. About three employees came over and agreed that yes, my daughter would have flown right out!!!!!! Those were their exact words! "She would have flown right out".. I will never ride that ride again.. And I don't let my daughter ride the rides now that don't have extra harnesses like a shoulder bar or seat belt along with the lap bar.. This totally changed my view on coasters, these are just kids working the rides and they can make a mistake.. For the rest of the night I kept saying over and over to my husband "but she could have flown out!!" It was soooo scary to think that could have happened to my daughter... My prayers go out to this lady and her family and even the people that were riding and in line. So sad! This could have been prevented!!!!
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Thank you for your comment, Elissa00. I agree that a major part of the problem with these rides is the fact that the individuals who are in charge of making sure everyone is secure in their seats are (the majority of the time, I imagine) young and inexperienced. Your comment confirms it. If you hadn't been watchful of how your daughter was secured, then screamed and created a fuss, a tragedy would have occurred. Hugs to you and your daughter.
 
The story about her complaining that her bar was not locked properly might have been not accurate. Her actual relative who was on the ride with her says he didn't hear any complaining. She might have never noticed anything was wrong. Just looking at that design, it doesn't seem secure to me. Only one lap bar? These seats need to be redesigned, IMO, with extra seat belts, etc.
 
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