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Coasters are about the safest rides that you will find in any amusement park. Think
about it... if you spent millions of dollars on an investment like that, wouldn't you give
it the best of care? Well, so true. Not to say that the rest of the rides
aren't safe, or as safe, but let's face it...some roller coaster annual
maintenance budgets could easily be used to purchase a whole new ride. One of the
coasters I used to work on had an annual budget of clear over a hundred thousand dollars.
You have to take into consideration that every machine that has moving parts, which is
what a roller coaster is, is prone to mechanical failure similar to how you always seem to
have something go wrong with your car. Right? Ok, so here's the thing... Unlike your
car, a roller coaster, as well as every ride at an amusement park is inspected every
single day that it carries passengers. People watch very carefully to ensure that all of
the equipment is in top mechanical and electrical condition every day. Over the
winter, the rides don't just get a tarp thrown over them and the main disconnect shut off,
but each ride is overhauled by mechanics, electricians and carpenters who work at the park
full time all year. In this section, I hope to teach you a
little bit about what is involved with amusement ride safety, particularly with roller
coasters. I have plenty of interesting photos for you to look at, to give you a close-up
look at the rides that you go crazy on during the summer. You have certain obligations and
responsibilities when you're at the amusement park. Please pass on the tips that I
give you in this section, because even though you have little chance of getting hurt at
the park due to some sort of mechanical failure, you do run the risk of getting hurt
because of ignorance or neglect.
Let's look at the different aspects of safety at the amusement facilities: |
