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Incident on The Smiler 02/06/2015

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*substantiate. I doubt he can, truth is none of us know and all we can go on is the evidence. The recent cleaning, bin bags been put in the bins, stock heading for the shop all point to the ride opening soon but maybe the HSE are not happy still, maybe it's being delayed by the weather of the victims reaction, we simply do not know all we can do is keep watching and eating popcorn.
 
Sku said:
Can't believe some people are suggesting they would only open it after Scarefest to avoid "bad PR" during a major event.

Attendance had been rock bottom all year it can't get any worse from further "bad PR". Who exactly goes through the logic "I was going to go to Alton Towers for Scarefest but now they reopened The Smiler I won't"?

People not visiting for safety reasons are already not visiting regardless of it it reopens or not. At least reopening the ride has a chance to attract guests delaying visits due to the incomplete ride lineup.

Attendance is currently completely dismal so the status quo is not something they want to stick with for Scarefest. They have everything to lose and nothing to gain by delaying reopening.
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Ultimately though, if the park were to reopen the Smiler just before the Scarefest event and publish the findings that states that the cause of the crash was 'human error', that could have a potential impact on already low visitor numbers.

Alton Towers are looking to recover some of the hit they've taken this year with this event, and opening the Smiler just before would be a huge gamble.

I don't really understand how 'they have everything to lose' by delaying the opening, if anything, opening the ride just before a major event would be putting their last chance to recover some of the lost footfall at risk.
 
All they need to do is reopen smiler and state the report is awaiting publication. Then release after they close and then it has the entire close season for the media to forget.
 
MaxPower said:
Ultimately though, if the park were to reopen the Smiler just before the Scarefest event and publish the findings that states that the cause of the crash was 'human error', that could have a potential impact on already low visitor numbers.

Alton Towers are looking to recover some of the hit they've taken this year with this event, and opening the Smiler just before would be a huge gamble.

I don't really understand how 'they have everything to lose' by delaying the opening, if anything, opening the ride just before a major event would be putting their last chance to recover some of the lost footfall at risk.
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And yet if they wait and open at the start of next season it could well impact the hole of next years takings.
 
MaxPower said:
I don't really understand how 'they have everything to lose' by delaying the opening, if anything, opening the ride just before a major event would be putting their last chance to recover some of the lost footfall at risk.
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I don't understand how they will benefit from leaving it closed until next season. At least by opening it, the people who aren't going because the rides closed will go.
 
There's a lot of strategies that business can play to. And they are not short sighted plans. They are long term.
 
There would be no significant further impact from reopening the ride. There would however be considerable negative PR and sensationalised media coverage if it were to
  • Stall mid circuit
  • Stop on a lift hill for any period greater than a minute or so
  • Have anything falling from the ride as per the 2013 incidents
HSE requirements aside, they will be painstakingly reducing the potential of the above as much as they possibly can. That's why I think they will want to do many more hours of testing than what we've seen so far, or than what would have been possible outside of park opening hours.
 
Very true, and I doubt they'll want to open in the middle of the shonky weather conditions that are due. If it gets as windy as rumoured it could be a good chance to get some of the extra steps tested in more extreme conditions, so I agree there will probably be a fair bit of testing prior to opening still.​
 
In this day and age of 'Freedom of Information', surely Merlin's best bet is to issue a statement on what went wrong, and what action has been taken to minimise future risk. The only reason I can think to not do this is if it would jeopardise the prosecution case against them. Other than that, an open and honest account would win back public trust.

Also, I'd like some assurance that all bolts have been double-nutted, thread-locked or wire-locked. Having track bolts and guide wheels falling out isn't going to do its reputation any favours. Foundations I'm not so worried about now because any settling should have happened by now. If they fix the stalling issues, that would be great too, but not actually critical in my eyes, just a PR nightmare.
 
Freedom of Information generally only applied to public organisations, such as the police, nhs etc. Private companies dont have to provide any information.
 
GaryH said:
Freedom of Information generally only applied to public organisations, such as the police, nhs etc. Private companies dont have to provide any information.
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The HSE is a public organisation though, I would have thought they would be obliged to disclose their findings under an information request.
 
Tom said:
They will not finalise their findings until possibly 2017.
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Which gives the Mirror the opportunity to release a headline in 2017 along the lines of "Alton Towers hid the truth about Horrific Smiler Crash" unless they are completely open and honest about it now. Don't get me wrong, they cannot release details of the investigation until the findings are finalised, but stating material fact about what was requested to be improved, and how Merlin have complied would be known by that point, otherwise the ride couldn't open.
 
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@micksalt there are rules surrounding FOI requests

the Freedom of Information Act contains a number of exemptions that allow withholding of information from a requester. ............. Other exemptions are based on the harm that would arise or would be likely arise from disclosure, for example, if disclosure would be likely to prejudice a criminal investigation or prejudice someone’s commercial interests.

And also an exemption for personal data if releasing it would be contrary to the Data Protection Act.
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In Merlin's September Trading Update, Nick Varney stated that Merlin have conducted their own internal investigation which they will soon publish the findings of, as well as highlighting that the HSE investigation may not be completed until next year, but their findings will be released in a public document.
 
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