Alton Towers?

[cee-dee]

Ever been there and ridden any rides? Been to any other "theme parks" where they have similar rides?

What strikes me (no, no, not literally) is that compared to cars on the roads, roller coaster rides don't seem to be constructed in such a way as to protect the occupants in the event of a crash?

With road cars, they do tests with crash test dummies and observe how the car crumples in a crash but with those roller coaster cars, there's no crumple zone, no airbag, very little.

Yes, I know they're not supposed to crash in to anything but one did last week. Road cars are not supposed to crash in to anything either but many do every day.

Anyone know if there's been any crash tests done with roller coaster cars?

[tommy.irene]

[******lynda******]

Never been. Took my kids to the Carnival in Glasgow, because it was beside the dinosaur exhibition we had actually gone to see, 20 odd years ago, even forced myself onto the big wheel once because my then 4 year old wanted to go on it. I spent my time looking at the bolts wondering if they would fail and threatened the guy in charge with death and destruction if he dared to spin the seat. The carousel was my usual limit. a roller coaster would be a definite no no, and I don't care what the statistics say.

[******lynda******]

has always been an issue with coasters. High speeds and great heights have always made parents apprehensive about allowing their children to go on the rides. Computer design systems have made roller coasters safer by making the designs much more predictable and reliable. After the roller coasters are tested and simulated on the computer, they are built and extensively tested again before they are put into use. Even after they have been made available for the public, theme parks perform routine check-ups on the rides to ensure their safety and they have no qualms about shutting down a ride for repair. Many of us know the disappointment of going to an amusement park and discovering that one of our favorite rides is out of commission for repair. The check-ups ensure not only a secure ride but also one that will last for a long time. In fact most of the roller coasters put into use in the fifties are still in use today, including Matterhorn Mountain [1], [3].
One of the comforting things about the roller coaster experience is that a coaster ride is safer than a normal car trip. The biggest of all safety features in roller coasters is the removal of the possibility of human error. Unlike cars, a roller coaster is controlled by a computer; hence, it is impossible for it to make a bad decision. Also, there is only one cart so there is no chance of miscommunication and dangerous interaction between two vehicles, the leading cause for car accidents. The track that the carts glide on provides a clearly defined path for the ride to follow, so even if the riders don't know what's coming next the designers do. The ability for the cart to be attached to the track, as well as the harnesses that keep the riders in, has provided the designers the ability to design amazing rides that feature corkscrews and loop-the-loops [3]. Loop-the-loops and other features rely in part on centrifugal force
https://illumin.usc.edu/54/roller-coasters/
More than you ever wanted to know about roller coasters


Then I saw this
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/582756/alton-towers-roller-coaster-failed-safety-tests-three-times

[cee-dee]

All that sounded like a PR man trotting out the usual "how wonderful it all is" stuff.

If it's all controlled by computer, what happened at Alton towers?

No mention was made about the survivability of a "car" if it hit something?

[upthecreekyetagain]

Personally I love roller coasters - my favourite is the Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.  Been to Alton Towers many times, last time was about 18 months ago - not been on the ride which had the accident.

I take your point about the 'cars' not having air bags and I don't know if they are crash tested in the same way as cars are.  One thing they do have in their favour though is that they can't come off the tracks - if that crash had been between two trains then almost certainly it would have derailed and the passengers not being restrained would have suffered far worse injuries.

The psychology behind roller coasters is interesting - everything possible is done to increase the perceived level of risk whilst at the same time far more safety mechanisms are put in place than other apparently less dangerous rides such as gallopers and other milder rides.

[******lynda******]

I don't know if the human body would survive impacts even if the car did. The relative g forces of an abrupt stop would have the human organs still trying to move forward and thereby causing injury. It was the sudden stop that is supposed to have caused an artery to pull out of Princess Diana's heart, not a crush caused by a crumpled car.

[cee-dee]

That's the idea behind crumple zones and airbags? The deceleration is slower?

[fallen-archie]

I think it wrong to compare a thrill ride to a car, a car can go more or less where it likes and is subject to the ability of it's driver and others using the road. The better analogy would be a modern underground train system which like the thrill ride works within carefully defined areas going in the same direction and crucially are controlled by state of the art software which can move each rail set at intervals a human could not. Examine modern undergound sets and they offer little in the way of protection in the event of a collision and the reason for that is they rarely collide.

All modern thrill rides undergo thorough computer modelling before they ever get constructed, once the engineers are satisfied build commences and then the ride will be tested in a range of conditions and must pass rigorous checks by independent specialists. 

Because of the complexity modern thrill rides require the correct software to operate just as the Typhoon jet does for it cannot be flown without it. Alton Towers and its sister parks have an excellent record, throughput is huge and very very occasionally something goes wrong but thankfully nothing of this gravity.

Should the cars be stronger or fitted with a crumple zone at the front, that may well be a recommendation of the HSE especially as ride speeds increase but they are thrill rides and the more exposed you are the greater the thrill. My guess here is that a software failure occured meaning the emergency brakes were not applied in time to prevent a collision, the reason for it taking time to reveal an initial report will be because all parties will be keen to ensure that blame is focussed on the guilty party which may not be Alton Towers.

[suzieseaside]

It should never have happened.  I cannot see how there could be any excuse for sending a carriage round with people on when there was a test carriage still on the track in front.

It seems an onlooker even warned them about it but was told to mind their own business.

http://www.itv.com/news/2015-06-04/alton-towers-visitor-who-warned-staff-about-carriage-on-rollercoa...

So sad for young Leah who has lost a leg thanks to their negligence.  They have owned up to full responsibility and will pay compensation, but that's little consolation for that poor girl and others badly injured when the accident could have and should have been avoided.

[malacandran]

Perhaps all these sites, like Alton Towers, should be shut down?

[cee-dee]

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/11/alton-towers-ride-evacuated-a-week-after-rollercoaste...

[malacandran]

Thanks cee-dee, I read the link with interest.

[tommy.irene]

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/03/human-error-likely-in-alton-towers-smiler-crash-forme...

.Former employees say Smiler carriage should have been held back until empty car returned,