I just emailed Intamin

Hmmm...like a seat belt that connects to the lap bar...

****...I should go patent that...

thats why they use 2 locking cylinders per lap bar on MF and TTD and 2 locking clips on the seat belts

Where are those Cylinders on the lap bars? I"m confused! *** Edited 7/15/2005 9:59:42 PM UTC by Shawn Meyer***

Underneath where the lapbar meets the train chassis.

Sedusa said:
why the hell does millennium force nead seat belts for? You don't get any air. So why did they shorten them for? Tight seat belts does not do nothing for safety. Lap bars does not work for fat people with big stomachs, shortening belts hurts people that are muscular because the belt goes over the thighs. Fat people with guts and just lift up their fat and let the belt pass under it which makes it easy if you are fat and have small thighs.

I can honestly say that my ass has yet to remain in that seat during that first drop. Trust me, without those restraints, we'd fly right out of the seat. If the restraint fails, without those belts, hello Lake Erie!

How can you say there is no airtime there dude? Millennium Force has plenty of airtime.

Sandusky Bay, Boris, but I get yer point.

Maybe because I'm skinny, but I've yet to have a bad ride on Millennium Force. No matter how tight I pull the seatbelt, no matter how far down the attendant pushes my lap bar, I still soar on every point of airtime, from every seat I've tried. Although the front does give better airtime on the second hill.

I think we are getting way off the subject here. As with all amusement machinery that strap humans in as their cargo there are redundant safety items. Lap bars and seat belts- computer aided locking mechanisms, etc. Cedar POint would not jepordize their reputation of being one of the "safest" parks in the world by operating a machine that isn't safe.

Now, history has shown us, that Intamins T bar restraint has malfunctioned in the past. Case in point Perilous Plunge. Ok, so instead of changing the whole train configuartion CP decided to change the rules of who gets on this ride. All-be-it unfair to some riders. Guest of size may not be able to "safely" ride this ride. Because we know not all humans are the same size and the ride vehicle is not adjustable.

Now, I'm sure CP's insurance agencies and Ohio state laws dictate what goes and what doesn't. CP works very closely with the ride manufactuers and makes sure everything is within limits. CP has no issues about shutting something down if it is deemed "unsafe".

OTSR- as seen on Storm Runner and Kingda Ka may not be an option for CP as this equipment adds weight to it's vehicle. And physics tells us that extra weight could add extra stress to the track, structure and trains. These rides were not designed to have such modifications.

So flawed design- maybe. But if keepping 250+ pound people off the ride makes it safer, then so be it. At least you will be able to "safely" walk to the parking lot that night with your family.

You said it! lol

It does seem a little unfair but you were right about cedar point not risking their reputation for being one of the safest parks.

This is one of them times where you shouldn't bring back an old thread only to agree.

I was on the Millennium Force crew the first season the new seat belt policy was implemented. Since then the policy has changed slightly. But you will NEVER have the same belt length on every seat due to the extreme tugging and pulling that is done on the belts on a daily basis. (they stretch) The only time the belts are removed is if they are damaged or in need of replacement due regular maintenance. However, there are many tricks to get the slack required to ride and if you get an experienced host that can explain how to do that you should be fine. I pride myself on being able to get any guest on MF.

S

Scott, that is incorrect. I could quote the lengths that the seatbelts were and have changed to, but CP has a trick up their sleeve. They measure different distances between measurements so there isn't consistency. Even the crew usually can't tell exactly how much these differ. I happened to have measuring tape that I used several times.

The deviation on the seatbelts used to be much greater than they are now. I remember when the difference was 5 inches and most were in the middle somewhere.

The difference between the shortest seatbelt and the longest seatbelt that was bolted to the ride is fuzzy. To the best of my knowledge it is around 10 inches. I wish I had a picture from back in 2000 when the seatbelts were actually accommodating.

The real question is do the short seatbelts increase safety? The short answer is no they don't. The long answer couldn't fit in a book.

I honestly say once again, just make the belts the same when MF first open so we do not have to play the guessing game every single time we hit the ride.

Thanks for the clarification, for a second there I thought you were lying.

Just to talk about the seatbelts. I rememeber this summer one of my friends and I measured the slack he could get on the train and at the test seat. The test seat was about 2 inches shorter then the actual seats. Like other people said the seatbelts will never be exactly the same lenght. They do stretch. This past season, the blue train had longer seatbelts. Yellow train had shorter seatbelts. Its bad but it happens.

The green train has the longest seatbelts. :)

It's too bad it flew into the bay before the ride opened.

nice one josh...

Mike, didn't we have a few good green train jokes this summer?