Six Flags Adding Seat Belts to ALL 'Lap Bar Only' Coasters

 More News from Six Flags- This one involving all of the chains amusement parks.

 It seems that Six Flags will be adding in seat belts to all their roller coasters, franchise wide, that currently run only with a lap bar system. This news isn't really surprising after the deadly accident at Six Flags over Texas involving the New Texas Giant roller coaster.

 There doesn't appear to be a time-line for when this improvements must be completed and in place but is seems to be happening very quickly. However, the folks over at Great American Thrills reports that "Superman- Ultimate Flight" at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has already added them.

 More information when we hear it!

Six Flags Over Texas to Reopen 'New Texas Giant' this Weekend

 Six Flags Over Texas as released a statement which says that they will be re-opening the roller coaster 'New Texas Giant' this weekend.  The ride has been down since the accident which killed 52 year old Rosa Esparza on July 19th, 2013.

 The park states they've finished their investigation of the ride with assistance from the train manufacturer, as well as internal and external engineering experts and have deemed the ride free of any mechanical failure. It has also passed with the Texas Board of Insurance (who seems to handle these kinds of problems) and is clear to re-open to the public. They have re-designed the padded lap restraints and have added in a seat belt for safety measures, the park is also providing a new 'test seat' for the roller coaster so riders can have a better idea of restraint fit. The company also states that riders with "unique body shapes and sizes" may not fit into the restraint and will be unable to ride.

 The family of Rosa Esparza has filed suit against Six Flags Over Texas to the tune of at least $1,000,000 in damages. Six Flags has no further comment about the attraction or the suit against them. 

 Now, one a personal level I feel very sorry for Ms. Esparza's family and extend them my sympathies but I fully believe this is a two way street with blame going to both parties involved. Ms. Esparza should have gotten off that ride the moment she felt uncomfortable and Six Flags Over Texas should not have allowed her on the ride.

 Before you chew my head off you have to remember something important, amusement parks and theme parks aren't out to kill people. They want their rides to be as safe as possible not only as a legal matter but as a business matter. These parks are, in the end, a big and expensive business to run. People won't buy tickets to a park with a bad safety record in this modern day and no ticket sales means no park. The bottom line is that these parks have to be safe to survive.

 The odds of any random person being injured by a ride are slim to none, accidents are very rare and that's a good thing.  Most of you won't ever even experience a breakdown where your evacuated from a ride much less an accident. Your safer on these roller coasters then you are in your car traveling to the park. 

Ride Accidents- A Sad Day in the Amusement Park World

Ride Accidents: Sad News

 Yesterday was a very sad day in the amusement park industry. Not one but two bad accidents occurred at amusement parks on opposite sides of the US within hours of each other.

Cedar Point

 Yesterday during the early evening hours 'Shoot the Rapids' a boat style plunge ride at Cedar Point rolled back during the first lift hill and then capsized onto it's side. The ride was emergency stopped and park employees and guests rushed to aid the riders. Cedar Point isn't stating how the boat rolled over nor even how it rolled back past the safety measures. 

 All seven people on the ride were quickly transported to Cedar Point's First Aid station and treated, one person was taken to the hospital for treatment. The extent of any injuries is unknown but the Lansing State Journal states that all seven people have been released.

 Cedar Point has closed 'Shoot the Rapids' until it can be inspected by Ohio state officials and park investigators. The ride opened in 2010 and has no major reported malfunctions like this in it's past that I've been able to find. 

Six Flags over Texas

 Around 6:30pm a woman on 'New Texas Giant' was somehow ejected from the ride during the second drop when her ride harness malfunctioned.  She landed on a 'platform' which looks suspiciously like one of the rides three tunnels and was killed. It's unknown at this time if the harness was improperly secured at the station or if it malfunctioned during the ride.

 That section of the park as well as the ride at Six Flags over Texas was immediately shut down and people evacuated. Park officials and authorities don't know yet how the ride's restraint system malfunctioned and are working to find an answer.  

 However, I find it odd that only a single harness released and not the harness directly beside it. Nor did this ride emergency stop from sensors most modern coaster trains have included. This makes me believe this could either be a rider error or a ride malfunction. Reports are sketchy, one states that the woman's restraint didn't click 'multiple times' while another states 'it was loose', either way our deepest condolences go out to the family of this victim. 

 Texas Giant opened originally in 1990 as an all wooden coaster, it was closed in 2009 and was re-fitted as a wood/steal hybrid coaster which reopened in 2011. It's name was changed to "New Texas Giant" at that point. It was just featured on "Travel Channel's Insane Coaster Wars: World Domination" episode titled "0-100 in under 2 Seconds" of which it was the 'winning' coaster.

It truly is a sad day in the amusement world, two parks suffered accidents over a thousand miles apart from each other. We will update on these stories as more information is released during the investigations. I also ask you to remember that accidents like these are anomalies and don't happen every day. As sad as they really are, please don't let them sway your judgement on riding amusement attractions or let them reflect upon the parks involved.