• ℹ️ Heads up...

    This is a popular topic that is fast moving Guest - before posting, please ensure that you check out the first post in the topic for a quick reminder of guidelines, and importantly a summary of the known facts and information so far. Thanks.

Drayton Manor Park

@Rob As a rider, I think it's hard to really understand the quality of the operations below what's happening on the surface. If you take most accidents in history, things will have 'seemed to' have been fine moments before - it's very rare you get on a permanent ride, feel unsafe and expect there to be a problem - it's a reasonable expectation that you will be safe, even if a ride is rough and provides a level of temporary discomfort. You take for granted inspections, oversight, governance etc.

For example, a park I have first hand experience with were fined along similar lines for not having adequate CCTV on a water ride. They had CCTV but the system hadn't been looked after, a camera had failed and a number of image components had burnt onto the display meaning spotting anyone in the water was a bit of an eye test. To a rider, it all looked good to go - competent ride op sat in front of a bank of screens, but it was not fit for purpose.
 
Good points @Rick and I do agree, operations may seem fine when you are riding but there can be underlying issues that are no obvious. And most accidents are usually a result of several things going wrong at the same time.

We'll find out more about the charge when it finally gets to court, which in all likelihood is going to be next year now. From an 'industry' point of view I am hoping that the charge relates to something like CCTV or Drayton's response, as things can be done about issues such as that. If it relates to Drayton not doing enough to stop people from standing up on the ride then there is no point in having rapids rides in the UK any longer.
 
Rob said:
Good points @Rick and I do agree, operations may seem fine when you are riding but there can be underlying issues that are no obvious. And most accidents are usually a result of several things going wrong at the same time.

We'll find out more about the charge when it finally gets to court, which in all likelihood is going to be next year now. From an 'industry' point of view I am hoping that the charge relates to something like CCTV or Drayton's response, as things can be done about issues such as that. If it relates to Drayton not doing enough to stop people from standing up on the ride then there is no point in having rapids rides in the UK any longer.
Click to expand...
Fully agree that this could well be the end of rapids rides in the UK if this had to do with lack of ability to control guests standing up... Not that there is much to miss about Congo or rumba rapids. Will be interesting to see if it results in the end of log flumes as well as they also allow people to stand up. Could be a sad day for @Log Flume's Dennis
 
I did tell you last month that DMTP was expecting to be fined

RoyJess said:
Apparently the park is holding back any investment at the moment as they are awaiting the results of the inquest, they are expecting to payout some sort of fine.
Click to expand...

Rob said:
I am hoping that the charge relates to something like CCTV
Click to expand...

Yes, from what I've been told last month, apparently they didn't have enough CCTV coverage on the ride, only time will tell if this info is correct
 
ringo said:
Was thinking the same, anything where you aren’t in a restraint surely opens a can of worms as effectively you are relying on the guest to follow the safety instructions in order to stay safe.

Not what the park or industry needs.
Click to expand...
Am i right in saying that Valhalla ar BPB doesn't have restraints?
 
That girl could have fallen into any of the rapids rides in the UK as it was her decision to stand up and try to move seats. That’s not the problem of the park or any park and Merlin have put gates and a rail around the top to hopefully it won’t happen again. Asking staff to watch CCTV all day long is near impossible but hopefully when the court case comes about the reports will say Drayton Manor did enough to try to save her life as she died in hospital of chest injuries not drowning.
 
If a court case has been filed then as I mention already, it appears there is a case to answer. If, and I mean IF there wasnt adequate cctv then the response time may well have been delayed as the ride op & response teams wouldn't know she was in the water.

We also have no idea how often it is that people fall in. At Drayton Manor they will keep near miss records of all incidents. If the HSE see it has happened regularly then DM do have a case to answer whether they have done everything possible to stop it happening.
 
I did see an internal email that was sent to staff before this news broke. While I do find it unlikely. The email did appear to put the future of the park as it currently is, into doubt. This could however be the park covering all bases and possibilities.
 
DistortAMG said:
I did see an internal email that was sent to staff before this news broke. While I do find it unlikely. The email did appear to put the future of the park as it currently is, into doubt. This could however be the park covering all bases and possibilities.
Click to expand...
Sad news if true. Sounds like they are expecting a bad outcome.
 
I’m surprised that they been able to still run Stormforce 10 without seat belts and I see many guests standing up soaked after the backwards drop. Well as I see Oakwood got fired £250000 for the death of a girl on there water ride I can’t see this been more than £500000
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
I’m surprised that they been able to still run Stormforce 10 without seat belts and I see many guests standing up soaked after the backwards drop. Well as I see Oakwood got fired £250000 for the death of a girl on there water ride I can’t see this been more than £500000
Click to expand...

Storm force did have a lot of work done to it and was closed for a while. I know it had a whole new CCTV system fitted across the ride and does have someone sat watching it whilst the operator does the ride.

The same has happened to altons rapids now with an operator controlling the ride and another staff member watching the CCTV (however they are usually both chatting or on the phone, probably making it actually worse now having two staff rather than the one).

My guess is either the rapids CCTV was rubbish/didn’t cover enough of the ride/wasn’t being watched properly. Which lead to the time the girl falling in to the time she got taken out being far too long, and that is what they are prosecuting Drayton for. You only have to look at towers and Thorpe rapids since to see the amount of cameras that ride has, plus the random staff members dotted around the ride, to help if someone did fall in.
 
It does anger me how one person's stupidity could possibly put a treasured Theme Park at risk.

If I go on a roller coaster and it tells me on about 20 signs, keep your arms inside the train... then I don't, I've only got myself to blame when I arrive back at the station with 2 bleeding stumps.
 
thevardinator said:
It does anger me how one person's stupidity could possibly put a treasured Theme Park at risk.

If I go on a roller coaster and it tells me on about 20 signs, keep your arms inside the train... then I don't, I've only got myself to blame when I arrive back at the station with 2 bleeding stumps.
Click to expand...
If that happened the park would be liable for not taking reasonable precautions in designing the safety envelope.
Im not sure what would count as one for rapids.

Sent from my Swift 2 Plus using Tapatalk
 
thevardinator said:
It does anger me how one person's stupidity could possibly put a treasured Theme Park at risk.

If I go on a roller coaster and it tells me on about 20 signs, keep your arms inside the train... then I don't, I've only got myself to blame when I arrive back at the station with 2 bleeding stumps.
Click to expand...

You have quite literally no idea of the facts, nobody does until the HSE report is released. A little girl is dead, a family are grieving.

I have said before, there is clearly a reason they are being prosecuted. Maybe hold off such stupid comments until you know the truth.
 
I also have suspicions that the HSE may know something we don't with regards to Drayton's liability. Who remembers The Smiler crash court case in 2016, where tons came to light that wasn't previously known? The HSE will have done a thorough investigation of every little detail surrounding this incident; if even a single little thing was slightly wrong, I'm afraid that it probably makes the park accountable for what happened.

Whatever way you slice it, however, the death of anyone at a theme park is extremely tragic, and the necessary steps should be taken to ensure it never happens again.
 
Think people are also putting the cart before the horse. To be found guilty/ liable of something 3 things need to happen 1) Investigation 2) prosecution 3) conviction. We have only reached point number two.

Despite what the right wing press would like you to believe, courts deal in facts, I think you have to trust them to deliver a just verdict.
 
To be honest I'm amazed there hasn't been a lot more serious injuries / deaths on rapids rides over the years. I know there's been some but I have lost count the times I have seen people briefly standup when a wave hits the raft.

I think a seatbelt is needed. Obviously you wouldn't want something like a harness for obvious reasons but a seatbelt that could be wriggled out of in an emergency fairly easily is the way to go. You can put as many signs up as you want saying no standing. People will still do it. At least a seatbelt gives you no choice but sit down and if you somehow find yourself standing up then it can be no blame on the park at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top