Seatbelt idea...

Ok so now that MF's seatbelts suck why not try a diffrent style of seatbelt instead of the adjustable strap. would it be possible to have a locking wheel on each side of the seat with the belt wrapped around it so that you pull out what you need and it clips in the middle. this way, the slack issue is eliminated and some bigger people can still ride if the lapbar will lock.

Would this work or are there laws and such preventing this?

Well, there is the part in the Ohio revised code which says Cedar Point must follow manufacturers recommendations, and Intamin hasn't made any such recommendation.

Secondly, there's nothing to say the belts wouldn't be just as short.

Lengthening the short end and shortening the long end so that they meet closer to the middle would be a good idea though. Half the problem with buckling it is the location of the arm rest bar.

i'm GUESSING that the seatbelt attachment is on the side so that ride ops can check it better. if its in the middle, it would be under the lap bar and the ride ops wouldn't be able to see it.

I think Fluffy is talking about the kind of seatbelts that can be found on PKI's Beast. Works like a car seatbelt where you pull it out and it locks into place. I'm sure someone else can describe it better. I did like it on the Beast, seemed like a good system to me.

Another thing that would be awesome is retractable seatbelts. they have them on similarors and such, why not roller coasters? The mechanism doesn't take up a lot of space.

Because it costs money, that's why.

MrScott

A bit touchy today?

Oddly enough the Sim seatbelts were exaclty what i was talking about.(thanks rathofdoom) i forgot they had them on there. and if they didnt let the lap bars down until al the belts were checked....we would all be angry because it is taking to long. Hmm could the belts go over the lap bar or around it in a way that they could see it?

Sorry if that came accross harsh, Fastball. Everything in usiness today is REDUCE COST. And quite frankly, I'm sick of it.

If I pay alot, I want a lot. Is that too much to expect?

MrScott (who pays $350 for LHP-2 nights, to get what I want.)

Phantoms Revenge has retractable belts, and they appear to work quite well.

Hmm so it would just be a money issue then. and possibly a lapbar depending on the placement.

you guys are missing the point here. the reason they have the seatbelts they do is to limit the ride to people of a certain size. this was all a result of the death of the man in new england who was overweight. so, having retractable belts that were the same size would actually be worse. if they were the same length, more people would be unable to click them into place. its way easier to buckle a belt with slack and the PULL it tight than it is to try and buckle a short belt.

and, if they redesign the restraints to accept larger people, then the ride loses its "open" feel. so, its a lose-lose situation here. either more people get to ride a coaster that doesn't feel the same, or less people get to ride millennium force as we know it. unfortunately we can't have it both ways. you can't take back the accident that happened at six flags.

Actually, the easy solution to a lot of the troubles with the Intamin seat belts would be to mount the buckle on a piece of spring steel to hold the buckle in a rigid position so that it could be buckled with one hand. Hey, DOT requires it for automobile seat belts, why don't parks demand it for roller coasters?

But the basic problem is this:

If you have an Intamin ride, and you expect Intamin to share in the liability if you have an incident related to the seat belt, then you'd better be using the seat belt that Intamin supplies, in the way that Intamin dictates.

Cedar Point could do a lot of things to change the seats and seat belts around on Millennium Force. But unless and until they are willing to take full ownership of...including full liability for...the ride (not to mention technical independence), they have to do what the manufacturer says. If they start making changes that Intamin doesn't +approve, then they may not consider it to be an Intamin ride anymore.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Very good point, as usual, Dave.

Im not to big to ride... yet. i just feel for some of the bigger people. and who said I was blaming Cedar Point? It was just an idea i had.