Fastest roller coaster in the world shut down due to injuries that included broken bones

[bcla]

I always thought that the race to make the most extreme roller coasters might get crazy, but I never thought that they would be so intense that they would cause severe injury. Now I've been injured on a roller coaster before, but it was a wooden coaster where I had a bruise from my knee slamming into the side of the car.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14424764​

FUJIYOSHIDA, Yamanashi Prefecture--A looping roller coaster here near Mount Fuji has been shut down for inspection after four people on the ride sustained broken bones between December last year and Aug. 12.​

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Riders on the Do-Dodonpa roller coaster at the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park sustained fractures including in their necks, chest and backs, Yamanashi Prefecture announced on Aug. 20.​

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The park reported the string of incidents to the prefectural government and the transport ministry on Aug. 17 and they began an investigation into its office on Aug. 21.​

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While most roller coasters ascend to a high position and then shoot down from there, accelerating through gravity, the roller coaster cars in Do-Dodonpa are propelled mechanically and hit a speed of 180 kph some 1.56 seconds after the ride starts.​

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The first accident on the ride occurred in December 2020, according to the prefectural government and the park.​

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A woman in her 30s who took the ride began to have pain after returning home from the park. She went to see a doctor and found out that she had fractured bones in her neck and chest, requiring two months to heal.​

Seems like fun, but they might have to do some modifications. That's about 0 to 112 MPH in 1.56 seconds. The ride itself is more than 20 years old, but they modified it a few years ago to make it even faster.

 

[RedAngie]

Now I've been injured on a roller coaster before, but it was a wooden coaster where I had a bruise from my knee slamming into the side of the car.

​

​

On which wooden coaster did your knee slam? I’ve received a few minor boo-boos over the decades.

In general, I’m not a fan of launched coasters, either by a mechanical cable or LIM or similar. Give me the old fashioned chain lifts. That’s part of the excitement. (Newer faster cable lifts are fine too.)

The narrator in that video always annoys me. I know he’s a big shot in the coaster fan community but he’s still a dilwad.

 

[starvenger]

The narrator in that video always annoys me. I know he’s a big shot in the coaster fan community but he’s still a dilwad.

Try the "Expedition" youtuber. I feel like he does a good job with his research and presentation.

A 20 year old coaster is definitely going to have wear and tear on it. Would not be surprised if they didn't have serious injuries in years previous, but they were outliers, so could be explained as exceptions to the norm.

So I think that an overhaul will happen, perhaps even a replacement coaster.

 

[JaxDad]

​

On which wooden coaster did your knee slam? I’ve received a few minor boo-boos over the decades.

In general, I’m not a fan of launched coasters, either by a mechanical cable or LIM or similar. Give me the old fashioned chain lifts. That’s part of the excitement. (Newer faster cable lifts are fine too.)

The narrator in that video always annoys me. I know he’s a big shot in the coaster fan community but he’s still a dilwad.

And I’ll just add that I’ve once again enjoyed your use of the word “dilwad.”

 

[DisLiss]

Yikes. I thought the idea behind thrill rides is that you're supposed to enjoy the fact that they seem dangerous, but are not----not that they truly are dangerous!

 

[kdonnel]

Doesn’t the risk of paralysis or death just make it more fun when you survive?

 

[jdb in AZ]

I've been slammed around on rides in both DCA (whiplash) and Animal Kingdom (bruised hip.) also got a migraine from a roller coaster at Knotts Berry Farm. Guess I'm just not a fast-ride junkie.

 

[soccerdad72]

In other (semi-related) news, Top Thrill Dragster is shut down for the season after a bracket came off of one of the trains and struck a guest waiting in line in the back of the head. Obviously not an injury suffered while on the ride, but a nasty injury nonetheless.

https://news.yahoo.com/cedar-point-victim-struck-metal-030200521.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

 

[RedAngie]

Decades ago, I used to say if I could choose my method of death, it would be on a rickety old wooden coaster that jumps the tracks and smashes into the cotton candy stand at a seaside amusement park.

The opening scene of the mid-70s film “Roller Coaster” approximates this.

 

[kdonnel]

cotton candy

 

[bcla]

​

On which wooden coaster did your knee slam? I’ve received a few minor boo-boos over the decades.

In general, I’m not a fan of launched coasters, either by a mechanical cable or LIM or similar. Give me the old fashioned chain lifts. That’s part of the excitement. (Newer faster cable lifts are fine too.)

The narrator in that video always annoys me. I know he’s a big shot in the coaster fan community but he’s still a dilwad.

Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. That was just a loose lap bar and my legs would fly around the car. These newer rides with contoured lap bars lock the legs in place.

I don't mind launched coasters. The original shuttle loops using weights were never too bad. California Screamin' at DCA kind of pioneered LIM launches. But they only hit top speeds around 50-60 MPH. There's a certain point where the human body won't be able to handle it all the time.

 

[bcla]

Try the "Expedition" youtuber. I feel like he does a good job with his research and presentation.

A 20 year old coaster is definitely going to have wear and tear on it. Would not be surprised if they didn't have serious injuries in years previous, but they were outliers, so could be explained as exceptions to the norm.

So I think that an overhaul will happen, perhaps even a replacement coaster.

It's 20 years old, but was modified a few years back to increase the speed and change the layout.

 

[RedAngie]

Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. That was just a loose lap bar and my legs would fly around the car. These newer rides with contoured lap bars lock the legs in place.

I the Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz. IIRC, it has a long ground level route before reaching the chain lift.

 

[starvenger]

It's 20 years old, but was modified a few years back to increase the speed and change the layout.

True, but the refresh presumably wouldn't mean a complete overhaul, so the overall structure is still 20 years old.

Regardless, I don't think my thought changes. Wear and tear has reached a point where people are getting serious injuries on a more consistent basis, and they are going to need to figure out what to do about it.

 

[bcla]

True, but the refresh presumably wouldn't mean a complete overhaul, so the overall structure is still 20 years old.

Regardless, I don't think my thought changes. Wear and tear has reached a point where people are getting serious injuries on a more consistent basis, and they are going to need to figure out what to do about it.

I ride on older roller coasters all the time. 20 years is actually not that old. There are some wooden roller coasters that are 100 years old that still pass inspections. Matterhorn Bobsleds is more than 60 years old.

The problem with Do-Dodonpa wasn't about the age. As far as I can tell, it's in superb condition, as I'd expect would be the case in Japan. Their problem seemed to be the arms race to make it bigger and badder.

 

[DL1WDW2]

…Big Thunder Mountain …DL
…Mission to Space Journey to Mars Epcot…
…Columbia Sailing Ship at DL …
SclitterbHan in Kansas City, Mo…
Alligators anywhere…

 

[starvenger]

I ride on older roller coasters all the time. 20 years is actually not that old. There are some wooden roller coasters that are 100 years old that still pass inspections. Matterhorn Bobsleds is more than 60 years old.

The problem with Do-Dodonpa wasn't about the age. As far as I can tell, it's in superb condition, as I'd expect would be the case in Japan. Their problem seemed to be the arms race to make it bigger and badder.

Love wooden coasters. And I think wooden coasters are much better equipped to stand the test of time. Plus it feels as if the vibrations and bumps and such are a feature, whereas on a steel coaster it's a bug.

In hindsight, I'm probably not using age in the best manner, because I was trying to describe age in terms of years, but really it's more age in terms of stresses. That would line up better with what I was saying about wear and tear. I mean, it doesn't matter how well maintained a ride is. Every time a coaster runs, it puts stresses and strains on the entire ride and inevitably weakens it. With the new bigger, badder, faster and more thrilling rides, you probably put more stress on it over a shorter period of time. And it doesn't really matter how well that coaster is maintained. Unless you do complete overhauls on the regular, the coaster will start becoming less smooth, riders will start feeling more bumps, and things will reach a point where you need to consider retiring the ride. Seems like Do-Dodonpa has reached that point

I get what you're saying though - in the attempts to make rides bigger, badder, faster and more thrilling, we're starting to see rides that ask the body to handle stresses that they probably shouldn't, or can't handle. That is something that amusement parks are also going to have to start asking themselves about when they order these new coasters.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Now I just hate that I missed out on this.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

In other (semi-related) news, Top Thrill Dragster is shut down for the season after a bracket came off of one of the trains and struck a guest waiting in line in the back of the head. Obviously not an injury suffered while on the ride, but a nasty injury nonetheless.

https://news.yahoo.com/cedar-point-victim-struck-metal-030200521.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

I live about 20 minutes away from Cedar Point. The metal piece that hit her was the size of your hand. She’s in serious condition.

 

[bcla]

Love wooden coasters. And I think wooden coasters are much better equipped to stand the test of time. Plus it feels as if the vibrations and bumps and such are a feature, whereas on a steel coaster it's a bug.

In hindsight, I'm probably not using age in the best manner, because I was trying to describe age in terms of years, but really it's more age in terms of stresses. That would line up better with what I was saying about wear and tear. I mean, it doesn't matter how well maintained a ride is. Every time a coaster runs, it puts stresses and strains on the entire ride and inevitably weakens it. With the new bigger, badder, faster and more thrilling rides, you probably put more stress on it over a shorter period of time. And it doesn't really matter how well that coaster is maintained. Unless you do complete overhauls on the regular, the coaster will start becoming less smooth, riders will start feeling more bumps, and things will reach a point where you need to consider retiring the ride. Seems like Do-Dodonpa has reached that point

I get what you're saying though - in the attempts to make rides bigger, badder, faster and more thrilling, we're starting to see rides that ask the body to handle stresses that they probably shouldn't, or can't handle. That is something that amusement parks are also going to have to start asking themselves about when they order these new coasters.

Well - the fact that wooden (and other older coasters) are shaky is often considered a badge of honor. And wooden coasters by their nature have to flex quite a bit, because if they were too rigid they might actually suffer more damage from stresses.

I guess a lot of older coasters get parts replaced. Matterhorn Bobsleds was the first roller coaster of its kind. It's also in an enclosed structure, although I'm thinking most of that is just fiberglass and that it still has a framework like most open layout coasters. I'd be surprised if they're still using the original track.

I go to my local Six Flags park where there are several coasters that are already over 20 years old and using the original track and original ride vehicles. And absolutely I can feel them shake like I don't see from newer rides. But to some, that's part of the experience.