1 killed in Roller Coaster accident in Osaka, Japan

[Beldin]

Clicky (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/05/ap/world/main2763739.shtml) for the new story.

[kc_rc_fan]

I saw that on the news. It's very sad and I'll be praying for their families.

[Cedar Point]

kc_rc_fan, your sig almost made me jump. You might want to size that down to 5 standard lines.
Back to business, what exactly happened?

[infiniteblue]

Well, it seems that an axle broke on the coaster and derailed into a guardrail.

[Garfield 06]

Man, thats a TOGO standup. Ouch. Thats why I don't ride em'. Boy, that puts a damper on a day. And during children's week...

G-06

[-NGS-]

Figures, it's a freaking Togo.

[umpalumpa101909]

damn too bad i feel sorry for his family and friends having a good time then all of a sudden BAM!!! poor fella

[thort park man]

i was the guy who died on the coaster!

[sr3d]

i was the guy who died on the coaster!

That's not even funny... :mad: :down:

--

Wow this really sucks, would have hurt more with it being standup as well gotta feel sad for the family, still nothing stops me at least from riding any coaster even when stuff like this happens.

[Harpo]

No, it isn't funny. It also ignores the facts. "thort park man" would have had to have gone through some rather extensive surgery to be the 19 year old woman who was killed.

It is always sad when someone is killed by an amusement park ride failure. In this case, an article in The Japan Times (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20070507a2.html) gives the appearance that delayed maintenance was a cause in the axle breaking.

Something I'm wondering about. Cedar Fair tends to be very thorough with their maintenance. With the purchase of Paramount Parks, they currently own two Togo stand up coasters -- SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland, and Shockwave at Kings Dominion. I wonder if those coasters will be shut down for additional inspection, or possibly closed completely. I remember when the now-gone King Cobra was installed at Kings Island. Cedar Fair's safety department did not trust the design, hence Cedar Point was not going to get one of those Togo stand up coasters. Instead, they chose to wait for a later generation of stand up coaster, resulting in their eventually getting Mantis, made by B&M. Another Togo coaster, Windjammer Surf Racers at Knott's Berry Farm, was torn down by Cedar Fair in 2001. I wonder if the days are numbered for SkyRider and Shockwave.

[-NGS-]

Hopefully Cedar Fair will realize that a Vekoma corkscrew-looper isn't "in" anymore and will trash it from Carowinds. I rode it 3 times in a row yesterday before anyone else was in line. :bored:

[Hemmy]

Guys need to lighten up a little

Unless you were saying that his joke wasn't funny just because it was a dumb joke then I agree, but saying it isn't funny because it is supposed to make fun of a sad event is bs.

Nothing wrong with a little comedy.

BTW, it is ironic the ride was a Togo DEATH Machine...

[TheSkipper]

It is always sad when someone is killed by an amusement park ride failure. In this case, an article in The Japan Times (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nn20070507a2.html) gives the appearance that delayed maintenance was a cause in the axle breaking.

Something I'm wondering about. Cedar Fair tends to be very thorough with their maintenance. With the purchase of Paramount Parks, they currently own two Togo stand up coasters -- SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland, and Shockwave at Kings Dominion. I wonder if those coasters will be shut down for additional inspection, or possibly closed completely. I remember when the now-gone King Cobra was installed at Kings Island. Cedar Fair's safety department did not trust the design, hence Cedar Point was not going to get one of those Togo stand up coasters. Instead, they chose to wait for a later generation of stand up coaster, resulting in their eventually getting Mantis, made by B&M. Another Togo coaster, Windjammer Surf Racers at Knott's Berry Farm, was torn down by Cedar Fair in 2001. I wonder if the days are numbered for SkyRider and Shockwave.

Delayed Maintenance in a park in Japan has nothing to do with Cedar Fair. The reason is number of coasters/ riders owned by Cedar Fair compared to how many coasters in one park in Japan, an old park at that.

Cedar Fair ca't afford to "delay" maintenance, AND regulations here are a LOT stiffer than other countries.

[Harpo]

Skipper, you're right that the delayed maintenance isn't an issue for Cedar Fair, but a ride failure is. From my 4 summers working at Cedar Point, I know that their safety department tends to act on failures for any ride, anywhere, in an effort to ensure that a similar incident doesn't happen at Cedar Point. I also know that Cedar Fair's safety department has not been satisfied with Togo designs in the past, so a failure on a Togo ride, even if it was due to poor maintenance, is likely to raise some eyebrows at Cedar Fair.

As for Expoland being an old park... it's 100 years newer than Cedar Point. The coaster that failed is 6 years newer than Shockwave, and 7 years newer than SkyRider.

Including Cedar Point, four of Cedar Fair's parks are older than Expoland (1970): Cedar Point (1870), Knott's Berry Farm (1920), Dorney Park (1884), and Geauga Lake (1888).

[Maverick2007]

Maybe this will have an effect on the amount of Japanese coasters that have those odd guardrail things on them.

[I. M. Agoner]

grusome, man >_< :(
stupid togo :down:

[FlyingPenguins]

Maybe this will have an effect on the amount of Japanese coasters that have those odd guardrail things on them.
Agreed. Those things were supposed to protect people in case of emergency too.

[smjm1982]

Sad, sad story, my heart & prayers go out to her and her family.. question though, if I am correct, I think I rode a Shockwave standup coaster at SF Great Adventure years ago; is that the same one that is now at Kings Dominion and if so, I think it was very early generation for stand up.

Rather than trash the coasters, why not make sure the axles are to be reinforced on all similar branded coaster designs. I think the real shame would come from not considering this a lesson to improve structural safety design on similar coasters.

I wish someone from Arrow Dynamics who built very similar designs to the coaster, if not the coaster itself, in the movie "Final Destination 3" could pop up here and post why we don't have to fear a series of events like in that movie ever happening or if it could, are there safety steps in the works to prevent it?

I think the rollercoaster construction race is at an all time high, every year a few parks around the globe add one on, one cooler than the next, not that it takes any fun away from their oldies. It is important anywhere in the world to consider safety the number one priority when building up. Its the fun as well as safety that will keep people running back for more