[Jamesy]

Don't let this put you off. Incidents like this are extremely rare in the theme park industry, the last one I can recall was in 2004 in Germany.

The Smiler is the newest ride at Alton Towers and it has extremely sophisticated technology to ensure it stays safe for the public. This incident will of course come as a complete shock to Alton Towers and the theme park industry as a whole. This will be down to a major error on the computer system that gives clearance for trains to go through sections of the ride. On The Smiler there are a multitude of sensors that separate 'sections' of the ride, the sensors work with the rides computer system to ensure only one train is in one section at a time. So this certainly points towards a major computer error which is very rare for a modern ride.

Usually with incidents like this the ride is closed for months when a full investigation is underway. So expect the same with this.

I have a feeling they might try open it for Scarefest though depending how lengthy the investigation process is.

Just to stress this is an extremely rare case. Just like airplanes, coasters like this are the safest form of rides in the entire world. So while this being in the news is alarming, it's not commonplace. Alton Towers is well known to be one of the best theme parks in the world when it comes to health and safety.

[RichardG]

hope everyone is ok... being involved in a rollercoaster crash must be really really horrible, you go on them for fun, you don't expect this stuff to happen.

Originally Posted by Jamesy

Don't let this put you off. Incidents like this are extremely rare in the theme park industry. Just to stress this is an extremely rare case. Just like airplanes, coasters like this are the safest form of rides in the entire world.

Yeah I always read you were significantly more likely to get involved in a car crash on the way to the theme park than on an actual ride within the park... though I'm sure that's no consolation to those involved in the accident today!!

[Jamesy]

Originally Posted by RichardG

Yeah I always read you were significantly more likely to get involved in a car crash on the way to the theme park than on an actual ride within the park... though I'm sure that's no consolation to those involved in the accident today!!

Yeah it's something like 1 in 6,700 chance of dying in a car crash, 1 in 300 million chance of dying on a roller coaster.

Of course no consolation to those involved today, although maybe something for people to realise who thinks this accident means all rides are death traps.