Rant : Fix the bloody seatbelts!

Coaster Freak, look at the rules before you post. Please don't use one letter for words. This isn't a chat room. u and r are not allowed here. It took me 7 minutes to comprehend your post!! That must be a new record!:)

Not to mention his lack of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

But other than that, it was perfect.

Not really. He has his facts wrong.

Folks, I am amazed that people are jumping in here without really grasping the point of this thread.

If you want to argue over who is fatter/skinnier and so on, or what size waist should be allowed to ride, or who needs to go on a diet, please do so somewhere else. I really don't care. And I really don't care if CP shorten the belts so much that I personally can't ride, AS LONG AS THEY ARE CONSISTENT (ok, maybe I'd be a tad peeved ;) )

The reason I started this thread was to vent about the fact that the seatbelts are different lengths compared to (a) the test seat, and (b) each other. This length difference has caused a situation to arise where guests who "rode last time" or "fit in the test seat" can't ride now. This causes unnecessary pain and embarrasment for the ride-ops, the guest, and of course everyone else in line who has to wait while the guest in question first tries to fasten the seatbelt, then quite rightly argues with the ride op that they fit last time, and finally gets out and all the lap-bars are reset. The net result of all of this is a major reduction in the capacity of the ride.

The problem is NOT fat people (however you want to define "fat"), but a completely inexplicable attitude on the part of the CP management. Remember the days when the line at the bottom of the ramp used to mean 15 minutes to ride? And down to the pop machines was 30 minutes at most? Those two points are now closer to 30 minutes and an hour respectively.

While those glory days of MF are probably gone forever, at least setting all the belts the same length would be a step towards bringing them back. 'nuff said.

I don't know if this has been mentioned or not, but it seems to me that the difference in the seatbelt lengths is not intentional, but rather has occurred as some of them have been stretched out more than others over time. You can tell just by looking at some of them.

Panman,

I did talk about how fat people cant ride for the very reason of their dimensions. Im sorry if I offended you or anyone else. If you are on the line between fitting in one seat and not fitting in another, then you should maybe think about it for a minute. Cause if the difference from getting to ride is 2 inches or even 4 inches, it might be possible that you or your friend is on the fence of being to big or just right.

Yes it does suck that the belts might not be consistant. But inconsistancy of a couple of inches probably isn't a worry of the maintenance department. I really don't know how I can say it without pissing people off, but here it is. I work all day long, and then go to school all night long. I still find a time at least 3 times a week to at least run a mile or lift some weights. Most of the time I do both. Beyond that I take care of my family and get my finances straightend out. It is possible to stay in shape, or to get into shape. I was overweight and realized it and made time for my own health. It doesn't take long to drop a bunch of fat trust me. If you wanna know how I did it then pm me. I dropped 30 pounds of fat in 3 months and it wasnt hard. Get healthy and this won't be an issue.

There are so many variables to whether you fit: How stretched out the seatbelt is (the test seat is obviously more stretched out because people sit in it and pull as hard as possible all day), how you're sitting in your seat (try sitting as far back and straight up in the seat as possible, slouching will often cause the seatbelt to seem shorter), even down to what you have in your pockets or the angle at which the seatbelt is hitting you. I worked the ride and I know that often if I reminded people to sit all the way back in their seats, they could adjust to get it buckled with slack. I'm not sure if there really is an incosistency in the actual seat belt length (beyond how much they've been stretched), but please remember that there are other variables that are going to come into play if you are just on the verge of not being able to fit.

Turbo Jaw:

You don't have to be FAT to have a work out routine. Even if you are not fat, you should still workout. It is a very healthy thing to do. I ride my bike every day. Whether it be 1 mile, or 20 miles. I ride.

Thank you Turbo Jaw----Im kissing your feet!

Get Healthy USA!!!

The bottom line is that CP has to come up with a new system like SF's did.

I'd be surprised if any of the length variation is due to stretching over time. That stuff is pretty darn strong....IME it has a breaking strain measured in tons not pounds. So I doubt that a few tugs here and there even over time are going to dent it.

Yes it will. Car frames and bodies get bent all the time. They are meant to hold a couple tons. Also pretty much all fabric bends over time when pulled and tugged often.

If we weren't talking about the seatbelts and was talking about something else would we be getting the same reaction. Suppose the height stick at the beginning of the MF queue was 47". The stick used in the station was 49". That's only a couple of inches. There both pretty close to the 48" requirement. That's not a big enough deal for maintance to worry about. But how many people would complain about the children not being able to ride with the stick out front said they could. The same idea is in play here. The test seat is telling you one thing and when you get to the station you are being told something else.

As someone who continually struggles with my weight I can tell you problem like this with MF are disheartening. Almost 2 years ago I started losing weight and ended up losing over 100 lbs. I am still on the big side. One of the tangible benefits was being able to ride more rides. At my heavest, there were only a few roller coasters I could still ride. But, as I started losing weight, I could ride more and more rides I couldn't before. I went to Universal studios over Christmas and could ride DD and Hulk where the Winter before I didn't fit in the seat. I could start riding the Beast again at Kings Island. Then I could ride Raptor (which doesn't have big boy seats like DD), and finally I could ride rides like MF and TTD.

This seat belt problem though has caused it's share of discouragements. The first time I rode MF I tested myself and though Finally I'm able to ride. It buckled, I was able to pull more than enough slack. I get to the station and it's a different story. I just barely got it buckled and got maybe 1/2" slack. This was last year during the 1" rule. Fortunately for me, the ride operator at the time was the only running the test seat and allowed me to go with less than less than normal slack.

At this point MF is the only ride I worry about fitting. I've been to CP once this year and MF was closed that day. I fit the test seat but if things are like what's being reported, I might not fit the real seat on all of the trains.

Jeremy

*edited to fix slack rule from 2" to 1". Had my facts mixed up.
*** Edited 9/21/2006 9:51:12 PM UTC by J Ohde***

J Ohde said:
This was last year during the 2" rule.

There was never a 2" rule. It was originally 1 inch, then reduced to one half.

olesko2 said:

As far as the ever expanding America - I do not think coasters/cars/chairs ect need to be designed around their waist. I did it - drop the fast food and take up a treadmill

I agree at some point there needs to be some kind of insentive to become more healthy!

Turbo Jaw said:
Yes it will. Car frames and bodies get bent all the time. They are meant to hold a couple tons. Also pretty much all fabric bends over time when pulled and tugged often.

Your comparison of a seatbelt to a car is absolutely beyond me.

Did you know that a car is specifically designed to crush on impact? Did you know that your car's ability to crush is the safest aspect of your vehicle? Can you imagine the sheer force of a 45, or even a 25 mile per hour impact if your car had a perfectly rigid frame? Well, let's just say... SPLAT!

For those who don't know, seatbelts are made of Kevlar (or something like it). That's right, the same stuff that bullet proof vests are made of. It would take a force of many tons to rip or stretch it, or "bend" it (whatever that means). You cannot consider Kevlar a simple fabric. Daily tugging and pulling will not affect it. Therefore, the seatbelts have not stretched. They are simply cut shorter, or just looped around that bar.

*** Edited 9/23/2006 7:32:21 AM UTC by ramboozle*** *** Edited 9/23/2006 7:42:30 AM UTC by ramboozle***

WOW, Adam is all about getting healthy and whatnot but still avoids my questions.

So people with a 36 waist should do a work out routine because you are over weight to some people on this board.

You guys sure know how to chew the fat.

topthrilldragster4lyf said:
Oh, chill. If you guys were all 110lbs 5'2 like me, there'd be no complaining! :D

haha yea, im like 115 lbs and 5'5, but i still couldnt ride because it was closed. Maybe i need to start a thread about that too?:)

MF MAN

adam was saying that everyone should workout and exercise , a person who is 511 and weighs 150 lbs is not neccesary healthy they could have high cholesterol which in the long run can give you a heart attack, so yea everyone should eat healthy and exercise.