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I guess my point, which I failed to iterate clearly, was this: A doped up lifeguard was not the cause of this. No way. No how. But that is EXACTLY what they are looking for. A scapegoat.
I am not advocating drug use. Haven't smoked weed since, well, probably before many of you here were born. That said, drug testing the employees is clearly looking for the lowest guy on the totem pole to hang this on. Next, it's going to be the maintenance man in charge of the stupid Velcro straps. Or the guy in charge of inspecting the sharp wire.
Mark my words, people.
You may well be right. The liability insurance carrier is going to have a vested interest in finding the cause, or a scapegoat, to take advantage of any policy loopholes. If they agreed to insure a faulty or bad design, they might not have as good of negotiating position when comes time to settle the certain law suit that's going to come. Could make a big difference in their exposure.
You may well be right. The liability insurance carrier is going to have a vested interest in finding the cause, or a scapegoat, to take advantage of any policy loopholes. If they agreed to insure a faulty or bad design, they might not have as good of negotiating position when comes time to settle the certain law suit that's going to come. Could make a big difference in their exposure.
I guess my point, which I failed to iterate clearly, was this: A doped up lifeguard was not the cause of this. No way. No how. But that is EXACTLY what they are looking for. A scapegoat.
I am not advocating drug use. Haven't smoked weed since, well, probably before many of you here were born. That said, drug testing the employees is clearly looking for the lowest guy on the totem pole to hang this on. Next, it's going to be the maintenance man in charge of the stupid Velcro straps. Or the guy in charge of inspecting the sharp wire.
Mark my words, people.
I've seen two causes mentioned that, to me, would not have anything to do with the high school kids they are employing. The first are the velcro straps. Are they saying that velcro is the only thing keeping riders from flying out of the rafts. Their lives are depending on those velcro straps? When is the last time they were replaced? Ever? How many people have told them the velcro didn't work? One rider said they even posted it to the park's Facebook page. How often was the velcro tested? What is the recommended lifespan of a velcro fastening opened every five minutes for x number of years and constantly wet?
The second, but less often mentioned, were the scales. I've seen reports that the scales at the top weren't working very well. I don't know if this is true but it's been mentioned in more than one story. If the weight is what kept the raft from flying off and the velcro is what kept the passengers in the raft, and both fail, what has that to do with the high school kids?
Here's what is really disturbing to me. If they have never replaced that velcro, how long were they going to not replace it? Was every passenger a test dummy for the ultimate failure of the velcro? Is that the measure? Not "replace every 30-60 days" but "replace when it fails"?
Anyone that has used velcro tennis shoes knows the velcro gives out and they aren't opening and closing them every five minutes (that ride looks only about a minute long).
The question is probably how Velcro straps were approved in the first place, as that's (obviously) not an adequate restraint even in an optimal condition. How many other rides are using these as a cost-saving measure?
Velcro straps on water rides are not a cost-saving measure. Velcro is used on water rides so that riders can easily unstrap themselves in case a boat or raft overturns.
Velcro straps on water rides are not a cost-saving measure. Velcro is used on water rides so that riders can easily unstrap themselves in case a boat or raft overturns.
I did wonder about that. Seems to make the most sense for using that material.
Velcro straps on water rides are not a cost-saving measure. Velcro is used on water rides so that riders can easily unstrap themselves in case a boat or raft overturns.
How often does that happen? Where people have to unstrap themselves? ( no snark intended )
My wife and I were at schlitterbahn in Texas . My wife was in the river with my 7 year old son. She ended up getting injured and cutting her foot open trying to save our son after the lifeguard sent him down the river with a raft . She had a two inch gash and had to go to hospital .To me , they lifeguards are not properly trained, or they just don't care.
I don't agree. Schlitterbahn draws huge crowds. How much should one lifeguard be expected to do? They can neither predict nor prevent the stupid behavior of thousands of people. They can't even keep all these people within their line of sight, much less determine what is in going on their heads all the time. Injuries are a risk of going to amusement parks. That's why family members and friends need to keep close watch on one another. Of course the rides should be safe, but safety is a two pronged issue. The rides should be built with safety in mind, but riders also need to follow the park's/attendant's instructions to minimize their risk of injury.
I don't agree. Schlitterbahn draws huge crowds. How much should one lifeguard be expected to do? They can neither predict nor prevent the stupid behavior of thousands of people. They can't even keep all these people within their line of sight, much less determine what is in going on their heads all the time. Injuries are a risk of going to amusement parks. That's why family members and friends need to keep close watch on one another. Of course the rides should be safe, but safety is a two pronged issue. The rides should be built with safety in mind, but riders also need to follow the park's/attendant's instructions to minimize their risk of injury.
The kiddie lifeguards are just there for the illusion of safety. Like TSA.
Returning to the point, how often do those straps get inspected and replaced, and how often do the rafts turn over necessitating Velcro and a quick release in the first place?
How often does that happen? Where people have to unstrap themselves? ( no snark intended )
I don't think it happens often but one incident I do remember was a Six Flags raft with 11 people on board overturned, ten people survived and one woman drowned.
Freak accidents happen. When I lived in Ohio two young preschool children were playing with a jump rope in the back seat of the car, mom was driving. One end of the jump rope got tangled in the wheel of the car, through an open window, after they made a stop at Walmart and got back into the car. When mom reached highway speed one of the kids had the jump rope around his neck. He was decapitated in the back seat of the car, while sitting beside his sister, with mom and grandma in the front seat.
One of the most horrific things I ever heard, and a total freak accident.
Velcro straps on water rides are not a cost-saving measure. Velcro is used on water rides so that riders can easily unstrap themselves in case a boat or raft overturns.
My family used to go to two different major water parks every summer. We went on all types of water slides, some open and some with closed tubes. Of course, none of them were that high or that steep as the ride in question, but to my recollection NONE of the water slides/water rides that we rode had velcro straps or any straps at all holding you in. It was the design of the slide & of the individual raft and following the instructions of the workers (hold on to the hand holds, keep your hands & legs in certain position, riders were seating in specific areas of the raft to balance the weight, etc) that kept you safe. Some of the rides ended in a wet "straight away" and others ended in a wide or deep pool of water. When our children were very young, and my husband & I were overweight, I remember several times (heck, numerous times) when our raft sank or we were pitched out at the end of the ride and we needed to quickly lift our children out of the water. That would have been almost impossible if we were strapped in.
Maybe, even probably, the newer, much taller water slides have velcro straps, but all those years that my family visited those parks none of the water slides that we went on had them. They said that it was for your safety not to strapped in. Of course, your experience may be different.
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