The dangers... again.

[Bussy]

I had to bring this topic back up again. For those of you who have been members for a while you will probably remember my war on taking loose items, particularly cameras, on rides. I thought it was only fitting to bring it back up again with the release of Final Destination 3. Have a look at the trailer, and for those of you who couldn't be bothered or are on dial-up, basically a group of teenagers go to a theme park and some decide to go on a roller coaster. The ones who do go on the coaster die due to an accident, the reason for the accident? Someone drops a video camera during a loop and it becomes wrapped around track below and causes the train, eventually to de-rail and kill everyone. I couldn't be bothered going back to find the old topics in which this has been brought up before but for those who are fairly new to the forums you might want the go back and find them and have a bit of a read before replying. "The Bus is now leaving for Destination Creek, Tasmania"

[joz]

Interesting point, though the opening from Final Destination 3 is hardly the most accurate place to learn about coaster safety.

[dreamworld_rulz]

Sorry to sound like an idiot, But what idiot would take a video camera on a ride that goes upside down? Last year i bought a new sony video camera that had infra camera. So i took it on the scooby Doo ride to film it. The footage didn't turn out well as the infra red wasn't very strong. I've also filmed Wild West falls, The Duck dodgers (Daffy Duck) and the Loony Tunes river ride. My point is why take a camera on an upside down ride?

[goliath]

When CoasterRadio did their video podcast on FD3 they showed a few clips from the rollercoaster crash, including the part where the video camera gets dropped and wraps around the track. The chance of that happening is EXTREMELY low. Taking a camera on a coaster that goes upsidedown is ok, as long as the camera is extremely well taped to your hand (and you have permission from the park). If it isnt secured then yes, it is extremely stupid.

Edited April 26, 2006 by goliath

[Dylaan]

It would be awesome to watch the footage after, and I agree, it's stupid to have a loose video camera on an inverting coaster but I think there's a very low possibility that it would cause one to derail. Remember, most roller coasters have wheels both on top and on the bottom of the track, some even have them on the sides too! If there weren't any wheels apart from the top there's a much better chance this could happen but then it probly wouldn't have inversions...

[goliath]

Basically ALL rollercoasters have wheels on the side of the track (they're called guide wheels). And again, basically ALL rollercoasters (with the exception of side friction coasters) have up stop wheels; to stop the train coming off the track during an inversion. Considering both of these factors, it would be almost impossible to derail a coaster, unless initially there was something wrong with the wheel assemblies.

[aidan]

Its a movie , everyone movies can be full of [s**t].

[Gazza]

The most likely outcomes would be: A ) The camera being simply being knocked off the track or smashed into a thousand bits B ) The camera getting jammed Neither of these would result in a derailing, and anyway, coasters have more wheels, so if one derailed the others would stay on. And anyway, coasters dont need a camera to derail, they do it all by themselves (Steel Dragon 2000) And with the cameras on ride thing, i think its OK if its secured properly.

Edited April 27, 2006 by Gazza

[Dylaan]

It would probably just cause the train to slow down or stop but how the hell did the Steel Dragon 2000 derail? Is it an older coaster, I've heard of it but I never knew it derailed!

[T-bone]

I believe a wheel came of one of the trains, thus de-railing it.

[Adam]

Basically ALL rollercoasters have wheels on the side of the track (they're called guide wheels). And again, basically ALL rollercoasters (with the exception of side friction coasters) have up stop wheels; to stop the train coming off the track during an inversion. Considering both of these factors, it would be almost impossible to derail a coaster, unless initially there was something wrong with the wheel assemblies.

Exactly. The only reason you can't take cameras on-board is to protect fellow riders and the people on the ground watching. If anyone here's been to Disneyland they'll know that you can take whatever you like on Space Mountain. No spectators? No hassle.

[Bussy]

While this movie is not the most accurate (what movie is, just look at the trailer for MI:III, the director needs a lesson in physics for that one but that is another discussion), it does make a valid point that I have been saying for years, loose items (pretty much anything) plus a ride (pretty much any) is not a good combination. Yes the chances of a full derailment is extremely low just look at what happened when a hat lands on the track. That caused 3 carriages to hit each other and cause some fairly serious injuries. I just re-read your comments Adam and if that is true then Disney obviously doesn't value the safety of the other riders. "The Bus is now leaving for Lost Hat Tarn, Tasmania"

[Spotty]

If it is secured properly, and you have permission I see no problem, I have got permission before to take it on a Looper, And all I used was a wristband to hold it, and had no problems with it, I did have someone else there, just incase something DID go wrong. Just, if you get denied permission to take a camera on the ride, DON'T Try and sneak it on, thats just plain stupid, they say it for a reason. But, if you have a Nice Op, they might let you.

[Dylaan]

....Which ride and which op? And do you still have footage?

[goliath]

Just, if you get denied permission to take a camera on the ride, DON'T Try and sneak it on, thats just plain stupid, they say it for a reason. But, if you have a Nice Op, they might let you.

I would have thought that would be up to management, not the pimply kid operating the ride.

[Dylaan]

Well it probably is but atleast if you get in trouble you could say the op let you...

[HussRainbow]

I took my new JVC Video camera on the Rainbow in Sydney, but i had an over the shoulder strap for it, lol the girls on the deck thought it was pretty funny.... but damn its hard to hold the camera still when the ride is going full speed.... haha fun though, and good footage of it chris

[Spotty]

No, I don't have the footage anymore, the camera didn't work. And, the Ride was corkscrew, I'm not mentioning the operator, as I don't want him or her to get in trouble.

[Nebuchanezzar]

It's already been said here but the chances of a camera causing significant damage on a ride are slim to nil. Sure, the camera could get jammed on the tracks (wrapping around it somehow), yet the roller-coaster would either as Gazza said, smash into small pieces or simply fly into a wheel and cause a wheel or two to slip off. I'm not an expert on the mechanisms of wheels and joints between coaster carriages, but I'm quite sure that one or two wheels falling off wouldn't cause a roller-coaster to fly off the tracks. No, my guess is that the carriage would simply dip to one side and scrape along the rest of the track, eventually coming to a halt from either friction or brake sections.

[goliath]

the carriage would simply dip to one side and scrape along the rest of the track, eventually coming to a halt from either friction or brake sections.

Coincidentally, thats basically what happens in FD3, except; of course the train actually comes to a halt in the middle of the loop.

[joz]

What you guys are talking about is pretty much worst case scenario. Realisticly, nothing is going to happen. I agree that on some rides you shouldn't be able to bring loose items on, but a blanket rule for all rides based on one? To me thats silly. Scooby has a no hand held items policy, which is a mystery to me, but on Superman that rule makes total sense. In the case of Corkscrew, well put it this way, if you leave a camera in the seat by itself and send the train around the camera will make it back. The only way your going to loose a camera on Cork is if you throw it from the train, any sort of half decent grip is more then sufficient. Again, in the case of Lethal, different story. Each ride should be judged on its merits, and if the operator says no, then no it is. Goliath: In QLD, you must be at least 18 to operate the rides, but genrally speaking, the youngest ops are around the 20-21 age bracket (with a couple of exceptions). I don't think a 15 year old should really be calling a 20 year old a "pimply kid".

[goliath]

Fair enough joz, but can anyone actually confirm whether it is infact the 'young-adult' ride op who allows cameras onto the ride; or is persmission needed from management?

[Dylaan]

Coincidentally, thats basically what happens in FD3, except; of course the train actually comes to a halt in the middle of the loop.

So why would it fall off instead of rolling backwards or just sitting there?

[joz]

Depends, each ride is different. There are inconsistances between parks, and between rides. Genrally speaking, if you ask to bend the ride the rules, an op who can't for safety reasons will tell you exactly that, and suggest that you enquire with guest services. Of course there will always be some who go around said rules, but I would trust the judgement of any of the ops who I've met and dealt with on the Coast.

[Bussy]

There is a difference between getting proper permission (from park management not ride operators) and sneaking a camera on a ride is vastly different and is an insurance issue. I know of operators who did work at Wonderland who lost their jobs because they allowed cameras on rides and got caught. While the risk for damaging the ride are slim to none (the ride will probably only be out of action for a short time while they replace the wheel), this risk to yourself, fellow riders and onlookers is fairly high. I have seen a person with a fairly bad laceration that was caused by a baseball cap hitting someone in the face whilst on the Demon, and that was just a hat imagine what a camera would do. I have also seen people come very close to being hit directly on the head by a mobile phone that fell from Bounty's Revenge whilst the idiot owner was making a call on the ride, I have seen countless phones smashed or drowned at that ride. "The Bus is now leaving for Smashup Creek, Queensland"