Roller coasters are meant to make riders’ hearts beat faster, to give them a thrill, and to make them feel like they are truly living life. However, while they are designed to go fast, drop from great heights, and leave passengers breathless, they must also be designed to keep everyone as safe as possible. Design is only part of the equation though. These thrill rides must be properly maintained and repaired. If a ride is not kept working properly, the safety features designed into the ride simply do not matter.
To get you started, we have provided the information in this article about safety features on roller coasters. What safety features do most roller coasters have to protect riders against accidents and injuries?
• The block system. Many automated coasters run multiple trains and are divided into zones known as blocks. Only one roller coaster train is allowed on a block at any given time. Sensors detect when a train has left a block and another can be allowed on. Sensors can prevent the dispatch of a train, apply braking actions, or prevent lift to keep a train from moving into an occupied block if necessary. By preventing two trains from occupying the same block, the block system often prevents unintended train collisions.
• Brake runs. Many roller coasters employ brake runs to slow a train down at the end of a ride or at certain points during the ride. The trains themselves might not have any brakes of their own, but rely on these specially designed sections of track to run out their kinetic energy and come to a halt or slow down to safe speeds so that excessive g-forces don’t harm passengers’ bodies.
• Sensors. Automated roller coaster train systems employ computerized sensing systems to detect mechanical failures, to control the speeds and positions of trains, and to activate block and braking systems as needed to separate or slow down trains. These computerized systems prevent a number of common train accidents. For example, they can detect signs of mechanical failure and send signals to bring trains to a stop before a mechanical failure results in injury or death.
• Lap bars. Very few roller coasters still use the seat belt system and instead employ the safer padded metal lap bar. The lap bar comes down across seated passengers and locks to prevent dangerous impacts on sudden turns and inversions as well as to prevent the ejection of the rider from the coaster.
• Shoulder Harnesses. More and more coasters are employing the padded, U-shaped shoulder harness that locks down over the rider’s upper body, especially roller coasters that boast high speeds and inversions. Shoulder harnesses are more effective for keeping riders safely in place during inverted loops and particularly treacherous drops.
• Side friction wheels and up stop wheels. Advanced wheel systems employing side guide wheels and wheels beneath the track in addition to the wheels riding the rails help prevent the train from flying off the track on extreme twists, turns, inversions, and speeds. If a roller coaster derails, the consequences can be extremely serious and fatal.
Ironically, new rollercoaster safety systems allow rides to become faster, more sophisticated, and more extreme. Advances in technology, design, and safety has led to the recent development of rides with more exhilarating corkscrew turns, inversions, giga coasters, “4th dimension” coasters, catapult launching mechanisms, and hanging trains. While the rate of rollercoaster accidents has remained low over the years despite this progression, accidents and injuries do still happen – and when they do, they can result in extremely severe injuries and fatalities.
Nationwide roller coaster accident attorneys
Roller coaster accidents and injuries are rare, but they do happen. In some cases, injuries can be serious enough to leave the victim with significant hospital bills, ongoing health issues, lost wages, and other damages. In other cases, a family might lose a loved one in a fatal rollercoaster accident. If you have suffered harm due to a roller coaster accident – and you feel that the amusement park or another person was at fault for that accident – you may wish to speak with an experienced rollercoaster accident attorney. Tony Denena and Chad Points can help you identify the precise causes of your accident and determine who’s liable for your injuries. Tony and Chad are among the very few lawyers in the United States who have actual experience helping roller coaster accident victims obtain compensation for their harm. Contact the law firm of Denena & Points for a free and confidential consultation regarding your amusement park injury or loss. Take action and let us help today.
The insurance companies for carnivals hire lawyers specializing in this area of the law to defend cases brought against them by injured people. These cases are complex. For these two reasons you CANNOT handle a claim arising from an injury at a carnival on your own. At a bare minimum, download your FREE copy of our book, Danger in the Park: Your Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe on a Roller Coaster. I know we explicitly state in other areas on our website that you may not need a lawyer for your injury claim. That principle does not apply to a carnival or amusement park case. Download the book and read it. Read all the information on this website. Then call us at 713-807-9500.