About the 1/2 inch tightening rule changed?

In the news section there is a Register story with a picture of seats being changed (or so the caption says) on MF's yellow train. The only official word from the park is that the seat belt length hasn't changed, so maybe that's the same, but the seats are going to be the new deeper ones found on Dragster? Just a thought.

They are the exact same seats as before, just look nicer.

So did they just replace them because of normal wear and tear?

*** Edited 5/2/2006 2:17:49 AM UTC by DBCP***

Yes, they have and do tear.

If you look at the seats from the load station as the train comes in, you will noticed wear marks on the seats especially where the bar crosses. New seats look nice and don't have those wear marks.

These seats were new for 2001. The test seat is a somewhat different design that was used only on the 2000 trains. The seats have been replaced when worn since 2004.

I have realized the great amount of wear they show over time. I just thought that there might be some other reason for replacing them all. Thanks for the info ForgottenEE!

I just checked out the 32 page pdf that is the 2006 Safety Guide and they have safety requirements listed for every ride in the park. In the paragraph for MF and TTD it says "one half inch of slack" same as last year. Hopefully they did make the belts longer. I don't see why they can't make the belts like 6 inches longer so you can at least get it fastened and then pull it tight. I don't see what the big damn deal is. Everybody would still be tightly secured in their seat and there would be more happy guests and less time spent loading the trains in the station because the guests would be able to fasten it quicker and the ride op wouldn't have to spend as much time messing with getting the belt fastened. That is definately one of the anal things that annoys me about CP.

The can't make them longer because the Standard Operating Procedures from Intamin dictate how the ride must function, including belt length and any other restraint requirements.

And, if Cedar Point were to violate those standards set by Intamin and something were to happen, CP would be 100% responsible. And that could cost them a lot of money, not to mention the stigma associated with such a situation.

Headline: Cedar Point Ignores Safety Regulations - Guest Dies at Park

On top of that, because of Ohio codes, I believe they could also be held criminally liable. Which is good. The bigger the cost for ignoring manufacturer specifications, the less likely a park will be willing to violate them.

Right, but the point made by CoasterCouple does merit repeating. A slightly longer belt would speed loading time and eliminate a lot of frustration. If Intamin could run the stats (i.e. would two inches really allow 300 lbers to ride, or would the metal framing prevent them from fitting in the seats), it seems like that would be acceptable.

The thing that gets me about the seats is that heavier men can ride more easily than women. I've seen guys with good sized guts get the belt fastened under them, while a woman who carries her weight proportionately can't get it fastened over her tummy, even though the guy may weigh more. Engineering-wise, the heavier weight would create more strain on the restraint, wouldn't it?

Go figure. (pun intended)

Very good point peacetrain. I am a man. I weigh about 245 with about a 42" waist. I have never had a problem riding. I do lift weights and alot of my weight is in my chest, arms and upper body. Another thing that probably isn't fair is the fact that someone like me, with a lot of arm strength may barely get the belt fastened and then have the power to pull the required slack whereas someone who weighs less but doesn't posess alot of upper body strength might not be able to pull any slack. Does that mean that they're any less safe? No, it doesn't. I don't blame CP though. This is a lot of BS from Intamin because of some idiots at Six Flags that don't know what they're doing.

I heard that the new seats are deeper. Can anyone confirm this?
*** Edited 5/6/2006 5:38:11 PM UTC by MF_Man***

New seats???

I know for a fact that they put new seats on MF. I saw an article with a picture of a maintenence man bolting one on. I don't know if they're any deeper. I heard that they're the exact same seats as before.

They take the seats off every year. Maybe if you read the article, you would have found that they take the entire train apart each and every winter. Every single bolt and screw is undone, redone, and replaced if necessary.

I don't know whether they did or didn't put on new seats, but the caption under the picture in question stated the worker was attaching "NEW" seats. Maybe its a typo, who knows. I asked a question about it and someone responded that they completely take off and then re-attach the seats in the offseason. Perhaps that was all that was happening in the picture, but I just found it odd that they would say NEW seats.

Hey shalyman, I did read the article and they are new seats. There was also another thread about this a couple weeks ago. Maybe you should make sure you know what you're talking about before you start posting.

Coasters should be designed so that a person with a 40 inch waist can fit. I can fit in the Magnum and I have a 42 inch waist. I have never fallen out lol. We should support other companies besides Intiman. Arrow Dynamics Inc. made the the Magnum almost everyone can fit in that ride. I wished the Intiman company would just go out of business so an American Company could take over. The Intiman company proabably thinks the average male wieghs 120 lbs. and they probably do in France. But I guess thier purses they wear does add some weight lol.

That was a brilliant first post. Number one, it's spelled Intamin. Number two, it's in Switzerland, not France. Number three, Intamin makes some of the best roller coasters on the planet. They're not "going out of business" so either deal with the fact that you can't ride all of their rides or do something about it.

That was rude.