Columbia Carousel

[joker]

I'm not sure if someone else found this out, but there are now seatbelts on it. Everyone must wear them if they are riding a horse.

[CoasterDave316]

Yeah I think they put them on this season. I rode it for my first time in a few years in August and noticed it but didn't know how long they had been on thier. Anybody know if Ameri-go-Round got these seatbelts as well?

[T_Biggs]

Please tell me you are joking. A carousel isn't dangerous at all... If Cedar Point is willing to run a high-RPM racing carousel with no restraints, I think SFGAm can do without belts on a standard slow boring carousel... What BS... Carousels don't need restraints. Whats next? Seat belts on the train benches? Shoulder harnesses on Space Shuttle America?

[SFGAm Shock Wave]

They were added during the last week of August. Ameri-Go-Round doesn't have them yet but probably will next year.

[whiteygabe1998]

I can see it now seat belts on the movie theather.

[Chitown]

Coasterdude and my daughter pointed this out to me when we were at the park last month. I was like WTF!!!My thinking is that a child slipped and fell off one of the horses. In this lawsuit happy society, a settlement might have been reached and an agreement to install the belts. I can't see any other reason for the seatbelts to be added. The park itself wouldn't do it just for the heck of it.Its sad an unfortunate but its a a "cover your ass" thing to do.

[Carlo]

I seen Seatbelts on Carousels at many parks. It just a matter of time before everyone installs them. The Reason is because people do stupid thinks like not hang on and they fall off the ride. I would not be surprised if they install seatbelts on the train.Carlo

[Noidea]

:!: Disney has seatbelts on their carousel, so why is it such a big deal that Six Flags put some on theirs? :!:

[whiteygabe1998]

The wuestion is whos going to ride on it. I dont ride on it so it dont bother me.

[T_Biggs]

:!: Disney has seatbelts on their carousel, so why is it such a big deal that Six Flags put some on theirs?

It's as Chitown said, it's a big deal because its a "Cover your ass" thing. In reality, the companies aren't run by COOs, CEOs, or C-whatever-Os. Many people think they are run by lawyers, but again, thats wrong. They are run by insurance companies! Thats what the big deal is! Carousels don't need restraints. A rung for your feet and a pole to hold on is more than enough. Insurance companies say otherwise, though. Next thing you know, lap bars won't be safe enough, and we'll have shoulder harnesses retrofitted on Viper, Eagle, and Bull...

[Carlo]

Insurance Companies do not run them. I am almost positive that Six Flags is Self Insured. Which means that basically they pay out any money for anything that happens to its employees and/or Customers.They installed them because either they have had many minor accidents of people falling of the Carousel or because the Ride Manufacturer told them to.Carlo

[CoasterDave316]

Turns out Columbia Carousel isn't the only thing that has suddenly recieved seatbelts. Today I found out that East River Crawler now has seatbelts as well.

[SFGAMan]

I first noticed that in mid-August.

[greatamerica2003]

While the seatbelts were put on for insurance reasons, thats not the only reason.We have found that the belts help keep kids from changing horses, riding sidesaddle and in a nutshell, there is far less "horsing around" on there.A few of the other parks were doing it, so SFGAm did it too. I doubt we will see seatbelts on AGR.

[coasterswimgurl12]

AGR?

[M-SFGreatAmerica]

Ameri-Go-Round

[coasterswimgurl12]

o, ok, I didn't know that, lol

[usdjock01]

i have to agree with great america here, with the seatbelts I have noticed that less people are just getting up and switching horse during the ride. Great America is self insured but not on injuries because that would just be way to much $$ for them if somebody had an unsudden accident.

[Papas]

Also a few cars on Whizzer has gotten new "staple" seatbelts, and I hear a couple more rides are getting seatbelts for 2004.

[twixmix0303]

Staple seatbelts??? (what's that...like on Roaring Rapids?)

Anyway, I bet Triple Play will be next, I've seen plenty of little kids swing their legs up and onto the seat next to them, then kind of get on their knees and jump out if they can't get the lap bar open. They've also dismantled it the last week of FF last year, they'll probably put them on while it's already taken apart.

Water rides that will get them are probably Loggers Run & Ice Moutain Splash. Splashwater Falls already has a lap bar, but they might add belts to keep people from standing up.

Speaking of standing up, I wouldn't be suprised if River Rocker had seatbelts added, b/c it seems like every time I ride, the op says to sit down over the intercom.

I could also see seatbelts put on Rickochet to prevent people from sliding out from under the bar, like on Triple Play.

I'm not sure what little kids rides have them, but they should be added to those that don't have them. Not necessarily for safety, but b/c kids may not realize that it's not a good idea to stand up on rides, and this would prevent them from doing that.

Of course, the Ameri-go-Round is being torn down. (And we finally have official proof of that, no more rumors)

From the picture, it looks like Revolution has harnesses. I'm not sure about the others. Ragin Cajun will probably have seat belts like the Whizzer.

I wouldn't be suprised if Sky Trek Tower got belts to prevent people from standing while it is in motion and then falling from the floor rotating. And, I also wouldn't be suprised if the Railroad got seatbelts to prevent people from standing.

Actually, I wouldn't be suprised if every moving ride/attraction at SFGAm got equipped with seatbelts, close fitting lap bars (Raging Bull/Viper), or harnesses.

[Timmy179]

nehh capacity is already low enough, all this will do is make lines move slower due to the morons that dont know how to buckle a seatbelt (deja vu)

[SFGAMkid]

I know what you mean with Vu. I can't believe that so many people have the hardest time buckling seatbelts. I mean, it's no different than when you get in your car.

I'm suprised they haven't put seatbelts on condor. To me, that just is the type of ride some dumb butt will try to kill themselves on, and SF will have yet another lawsuit. Think about it, all it is to protect you is a sliding door/gate thing. Then again, it does have the bar that runs on the top of the cages, so it still wouldn't be bad, but I can just see something going wrong.

I'm sure within this coming season, and the few seasons to come, most or even all of the flats will have some type of seatbelt mechanism.

For the Whizzer, don't those seatbelts lock in position or something, or are you actually able to unbuckle it during the ride?

I would hate for them to ad seatbelts to LR and IMS. That takes away from the experience. I mean do you ever cruise along in a boat on a lake or river with a seatbelt? No. But then again, I'm sure some dumb butt has or will try to stand up, kill himself, and the family of the person sue. It's the way the world works. Nobody has decent enough common sense anymore.

[twixmix0303]

For the Whizzer, don't those seatbelts lock in position or something, or are you actually able to unbuckle it during the ride?

The Whizzer seatbelts are like in your car or in a plane. Yes, you can unlock them during the ride. They basically work where you pull it out to buckle it, and it rolls back up by itself to tighten, unlike the lap belt in most cars. To keep it from unrolling during the ride, you can't loosen it at all unless you unbuckle and let it roll up completely, then pull it back out.

Question with seat belts. I heard that coasters (such as the Batman) stop automatically if someone unbuckles the small belt connecting the harness to the seat. I don't see how it would detect this. Does anyone know?

[Aero737]

Batman can't be stopped once it leaves the lift hill until the station brakes. But I'm guessing there are sensors in them. Car seat belts know if the are engaged or not (even very old cars like late 80's), so the technology has been there. I'm sure the inside of the restraints is more than just hard foam, there is probably steel reenforcing and wires going to various sensors.

[InsaneNewman]

Not a chance... if you wanted to unlock those seatbelts, what are they going to do? Give you a harsh scolding? There are no sensors on those belts, it'd be a waste of money... they're just backup anyway, just in case the harnesses unlock (which almost never happens). It would be ridiculous to have a sensor. There's nothing they can do once you're out of the station anyway.