Debate: Cameras and DV on Dragster

Currently on rec.roller-coaster, there is a lively, ummm, "debate" on taking a camera and/or DV on Dragster is right or wrong.

Seems that somebody (who shall remain nameless) has posted onride pics and onride video of Dragster. Some people are raking him/her through the mud while others don't see any problem at all with it.

I'll just open this for discussion here to find out if doing this (clarification: WITHOUT park permission) is a big thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Talk amongst yourselves...

where is the site that it's posted? i think that would be neat to see but i know that it shouldn't be done. if they would drop it then they would be in big trouble.

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It's like a new pair of underwear; at first it's constrictive... but after a while it becomes a part of you. -Garth Algar

It's on Usenet. If you don't know what that is, you probably can't read it.

It's not much of a secret about who did it. My feeling is simple... I don't own the ride and don't designate what safety policies to enforce. After the woman on SFWoA's Villain got nailed in the head with a cell phone and needed reconstructive surgery, I'm OK with the park telling people they can't do it on the ride. No doubt the offender can do it safely, but it's not up to the park to make exceptions or decide who is fit to photograph. It's certainly not up to the enthusiast to decide either.

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Jeff - Webmaster - GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
DELETED! What time does the water show start?

Well, I would personaly love to take my camera on coasters, but it aginst Ohio state law. That law prohibits and object to be taken on any ride. This includes trains, sky rides, flat rides and water rides. So like jeff, I'll leave it up to the park to enforce the rules. (p.s. PKI really inforces this rule, as I got yelled at for taking pictures on the train of the water park while we were stoped.)

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www.rideworld.com

Too bad I can't access the said site as I would let the offender know what an ASSHOLE he is. THIS IS NOT OPEN FOR DEBATE. Just because you can "ride safely" holding a camera doesn't mean it is right. Hell I can drive 100mph safely does that make it OK?

I agree with previous posts here, let the park decide what is safe and then FOLLOW the rules. If you don't like the rules, make arrangements with the park yourself or GO ELSEWHERE.

Yea, I get fired up about this issue. Sorry.

OTT

I don't care who it is, they shouldn't bring it on.

I have to enforce these rules and I expect people to follow them.

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2002/2003
KPTM

where do you find these pictures that the man took on the ride, i suppose its on a website or something. whats the site address? I'd like to see the pics.

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Jeff said:
It's on Usenet. If you don't know what that is, you probably can't read it.

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Tim, I'd have to say that driving 100mph in your car is a little more dangerous than holding a camera on a rollercoaster. I'll agree with you that both are stupid and dangerous (especially with TTD), but the camera can't be compared to the speeding car. There is no safety with a car going that fast, most problems would be out of the drivers hands... unlike holding a camera, only thing that could go wrong is the camera is dropped (and there isn't a strap on it to keep it from flying back). But hell, it didn't stop me from going 100 and doesn't stop people from taking pictures.

At any rate, most rides don't go fast enough to really damage people on, but most coasters can cause some problems with a flying object. Even more so considering the faster rides are more intense making it harder to hold something.

I dont think they should be on in any case, with a ride like TTD. I saw some woman drop her cellphone off the top of hypersonic and saw it go KA-POW right where all the people were standing inline. Mind you parkops saw it and pushed everyone out of the way, so no one was hurt, but nonetheless, that couldve been very, very bad. Now imagine that, only 2.5 times taller........yeesh.....

If the park says "don't do it" just don't do it. It's against Ohio law for any rider to disobey any posted or spoken warnings or instructions.

Do we really need to question Ohio law here?

The guy in question shouldn't have done what he did, as he shouldn't have done a lot of other stuff he has done. Great way to get blacklisted at a park, too.

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- John
I Snap Flyers

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Michael Darling said:

Do we really need to question Ohio law here?

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Just to lighten the mood, maybe we do ;)

http://www.dumblaws.com/states/states.php?State=Ohio

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2003 Stats - Visits: 5
TTD:3 MF:8 Mag:4 WT:4 MS:6 Raptor:3 Mantis:3 Gemini:7 DT:2 CCMR:3 CS:4 ID:4 WC:1 BS:2

Mark Burleson, it is NOT against Ohio law to carry stuff on the ride. It's supposedly against the law to drop stuff from the ride, but it isn't against the law to carry stuff on the ride. It is, however, against the law to ignore the ride operator's safety instructions. Which is a little different.

My thoughts on the matter, are that first of all, the park sets the rules, and if the park says you can't shoot, then sorry, you can't shoot. There really is nothing there to debate.

What is a debatable point, though, is whether it is safe to use your DV or still camera on board a coaster, and this is where I tend to disagree with a lot of the absolutists out there. I believe it is very possible to be perfectly safe with a camera in your hand on a ride; I've done it many times myself (always asked the operator first...) and in fact my experience has been that in some cases the camera is safer with me using it than it is stowed in its bag. It's also worth noting that certain ride operators (not to mention any parks in particular.....) established policies regarding cameras about 20 years ago and have not updated their stances to reflect current technology. Specifically they have a particular problem with video gear, overlooking the fact that my 3-year-old video camera is, in fact, smaller, lighter, and easier to secure (shooting or not) than my 35mm still camera.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Who shoots video on coasters, but not when the park says he can't.
*** This post was edited by RideMan 7/14/2003 8:59:53 AM ***

Dave,

While I agree with you regarding the fact it may be perfectly safe for YOU to ride with a camera in hand., CP in this instance has to establish a policy that will cover over 3 million guests this season.

Maybe there can be "camera time" during ERT at coaster club events?

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bholcomb said:

http://www.dumblaws.com/states/states.php?State=Ohio

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Thanks for the info. I guess I'll just have to stay away from the Ohio waters on my Great Lakes whale trip this sunday. Than again, if I get caught, I wouldn't be arrested anyway.

Some of my favorite pictures I have are from on-ride photos from about 10-12 years ago. I understand why the rules are there, but it dosen't mean I like them. But, as it was stated earlier, the rules have to cover everyone, and quite frankly, there are a ton of idiots out there that I'm glad don't have the opportunity to launch a digital missile at my face.

I was smacked by a hat on Gemini, and that was enough for me.

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'Welcome to Alaska!'

"Alaska?? Nobody said we were going to Alaska!!"

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Voodoo said:
Tim, I'd have to say that driving 100mph in your car is a little more dangerous than holding a camera on a rollercoaster.

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I totally disagree Voodoo. Driving a car at 100mph is much safer than holding a camera on TTD. The U.S. is one of the only industrialized countries with such low speed limits, and it has conditioned people to think the driving at a fast speed is somehow unsafe. All over Europe, speed limits (if they exist) are much higher and driving is safe and efficient.

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I'd rather be in my boat with a drink on the rocks,
than in the drink with a boat on the rocks.

I like to take pictures while driving 100mph. Is that dangerous?

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'Welcome to Alaska!'

"Alaska?? Nobody said we were going to Alaska!!"

I don't know about that, Pete. Maybe it's just like the camera policy. Some people might be able to safely drive at a fast speed, but there are enough out there who can't :)

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Walt Schmidt
Virtual Midway

I don't think it can be said better than Jeff said it. Regardless of how safe it is, the rules exist.

I'm just wondering how long before the backlash from the parks begins. There's no doubt many of them see these shining examples of the rules being broken. Anyone ever heard of how park officials feel about vids like this making their way online? If there is some attention being drawn and the appropriate parties don't like what they see, could this ruin it for the rest of us who enjoy filming and photgraphing rides?

With all of that said, I find POV incredibly boring and have always wondered what the fascination with it among enthusiasts is.

EDIT - I went and checked out the discussions on rec.roller-coaster and most of my questions where answered. Still curious as to what others think. I've often wondered how the parties in question have pulled it off for so long.

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Coasterimage.com
*** This post was edited by Lord Gonchar 7/14/2003 12:30:04 PM ***

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Gemini said:
I don't know about that, Pete. Maybe it's just like the camera policy. Some people might be able to safely drive at a fast speed, but there are enough out there who can't :)

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Well, that is one viewpoint. For the other side of the issue, look at the links on this page. Especially this article.

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I'd rather be in my boat with a drink on the rocks,
than in the drink with a boat on the rocks.
*** This post was edited by Pete 7/14/2003 1:28:55 PM ***