Can shoulder harnesses and lap bars on roller coasters come lose during a ride?

Question

I'm a big fan of thrill rides at amusement parks. I live near Six Flags Great Adventure and had a blast there recently. Even though I like super coasters, I've been thinking...When your on a ride that has a restraint that is locked in place by compressed air(when the ride operator hits that button which locks them in), such as a shoulder harness or lap restraint, is there any way that this can come unlocked during the ride? I don't mean the harnesses that are held together by clipping in the additional seat belt, I'm talking specificially about the ones that are used with compressed air when the operator hits the bottom which locks them from being opened. Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

Coaster restraints don't have their own air-compressed locks. Instead, there's actually a bar that's operated by the compressed air that, under normal operating conditions, default position is low air. This means more air must be pumped to push the bar, which then pushes against a spring-loaded lock to unlock restraints. When the operator pushes the button to lock them, that extra air is dispelled and the bars fall back into default position on low air. FYI--brakes work the same way, except default position is closed (or "up" in the case of spring brakes.) That extra air is used to open them (or lower them.)

As for restraints coming up during your ride, it's not unheard of but nothing to lose your shorts over. Primarily it's caused by worn ratchets on the locking mechanisms. These are basically small metal wheels with "teeth", resembling a spur on the back of someone's cowboy boots. The restraint has one, and there's also one inside the train itself. The correspond each other, and the teeth on the restraint lock into the one inside the train. This is why you can push most restraints down after they've locked but you can't push up, because those teeth have engaged each other. If any of those teeth are worn, they'll lock but might shimmy around, coming loose and therefore, not locking where it originally was. But it will just lock on the next one, or the next one after that, or the one below it, etc..

If you're ever faced with a restraint that pops up mid-ride, just push it back down. If it doesn't stay down to where you're comfortable, just hang on to your grab bar and plant your feet on the bottom of the train, if possible. You're not going anywhere unless you decide to not remain in the regular seating position.

Answer 2

It's never happened to me or any of my friends. I always recheck my own safety bars to be sure for myself. I prefer rides that have at least 2 dif safety restraints in case one fails. I checked web & found this under
Saferparks:
Equipment failure accounts for only 4% of all ride-related accidents reported to state regulatory agencies, but the consequences of mechanical failure on a spinning, speeding amusement ride can be disastrous. The amusement ride industry takes mechanical safety very seriously. Some states add a second level safety by conducting independent inspections of the machinery.

Although mechanical failures are rare, they can cause serious injuries.

If you see or hear something that causes you to worry about the mechanical safety of an amusement ride, report it immediately to the ride operator or customer service. Never board an amusement ride that looks poorly maintained.


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Answer 3

After riding 73 roller coasters tons and tons of times, this hasn't happened to me. So, these other people might have just had a unlucky experience. Just make sure the lap bar is fastened securely down to begin with.

If you are one of those people that feels like you are going to play with chance, it's your fault. Some enthusiasts like to keep the restraint as high as possible so they can get "air-time" on rides. So, don't do that, and you will be fine.

Answer 4

This did happen to me once. It was on batman the ride at six flags over Georgia. I had the harness in the station where it was far above me but couldn't go down anymore, but the ride operator pushed it very hard and it clicked again. I couldn't move at all; the harness was very tight. Going up the lift I sat up straight and heard a pop, and my harness had gone up 2 clicks. I was unable to push it back down, so I started to panic. In the end I was fine but I was flying out of my seat throughout the ride. I did report it to the operator and they checked the restraint and closed the ride for a short amount of time.

Answer 5

this could help, yet I artwork at an entertainment park and that i'm able to permit you already know that those harness are examine each and every night and each morning withouth people interior the experience. If one grew to become into no longer guard adequate they could use yet another prepare for the day or till they fix the harness. additionally many curler coaster have a belt that ought to save the harness locked if the mecanism grew to become into to fail during the experience. additionally, earlier each and every experience, the employes examine in case your harness is locked right, it ought to no longer look like it, yet we are able to tell via pushing/pulling it, no count if it particularly is locked in right and no employes could permit a focused visitor bypass on the experience if the harness grew to become into no longer right locked. i think of you are able to bypass on a curler coaster with out any worry that it's going to unencumber.

Answer 6

It mostly happens when the ride attendant does not fasten it correctly. However, if the bars are connected to the ones in the seats next to you, and you are much smaller than the person next to you, the bar will be very loose for you, and can have the same effect. (Happened to my mom on Tower of Terror. Really fat lady sat next to her, and the bar wouldn't go all the way down to my mom's chest because the fat lady's lapbar was connected to my mom's; my mom levitated because of the negative gs. It was funny.)

Answer 7

Yes the bars can come up if the air pipe that operates the locking system snaps or gets a kink but don't worry that dose not happen a lot anymore.

Answer 8

It happens in movies like Final Destination 3,

BUT THOSE MOVIES ARE FAKE

When your seat belt comes loose or anything, that happens rarely. You are like 1 in a million for it to happen.

Answer 9

They are safe. You are much more likely to get hurt on the way to the amusement park.

I hate those bars, they put them down and I can't breathe!

Answer 10

Rarely and if they do it will most likely be someone's mistake and could have been preventable, not because the bar refused to close but because someone forgot to do something or did someting wrong,