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Coasters to Face G-Force Limits?

Posted by chrisd on from the but-is-the-tilt-a-whirl-is-still-safe dept.

jonerik writes "NBC News is reporting that today New Jersey will begin examining the possibility of placing limits on roller coaster G-forces. Pointing out that the G-forces on coasters are considerably greater than even those experienced by astronauts and race car drivers, legislators on both the state and national levels want to start reining in coaster G-forces which have been blamed for a number of injuries and deaths over the past few years. Pansies. Why do they think people ride roller coasters to begin with?"

4 of 568 comments (clear)

  1. Another reason not to trust the media by jdun · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Bunch of morons. The liberal media are a bunch of idiots. They need to do their background research better. I can't believe that they think that a Roller Coasters ride has more Gforce then getting shoot up into space at an ungodly speed. Another reason not to trust the media.

  2. There really is cause for concern by b.foster · · Score: 2, Flamebait
    I used to think that the veritable laundry list of anal little safety requirements on amusement park rides were nothing more than C.Y.A. drivel from Six Flags' lawyers. After all, how many undeserving people actually got hurt on roller coasters? As far as I had ever known, the only injuries and fatalities at amusement parts were a direct result of blatant stupidity, and these instances provided fodder for many eager Darwinists and other persons interested in the well-being of the greater gene pool.

    All of that changed, though, in one terrifying incident: my cousin, a perfectly healthy 16 year old kid, suffered a serious blackout during a particular roller coaster ride. My family obtained video evidence of his unconscious state from one of the cameras mounted on the ride to take visitors' pictures; he was completely limp and had passed out during one of the steeper drops. In the ensuing weeks after the vacation, he had frequent blackouts and seizures. His driver's license was revoked, and he lost his summer job as a result. Although the problem went away a few months later and now he is back to normal, it was a scary reminder of the fact that we really do not understand all of the potentially harmful effects of large gravitational fields on the human body. And maybe we should wait until we do before we subject the public to these risks.

  3. Re:Great... by jhunsake · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    People who use drugs are much more likely to cause harm to other (innocent) people than those who ride rollercoasters. Hence your analogy goes nowhere.

  4. Re:Great... by Bios_Hakr · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    There was, in '93ish, a couple having sex in their house in Georgia. Someone taped them, and then called to police. The couple was charged with a publid display of lewdness and fined many hundreds of dollars.
    The Southern states SUCK...BAD.

    --
    I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.