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Incident on The Smiler 02/06/2015

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When people say it's disgraceful that the park is shut they have every right to complain. It is disgraceful that this was allowed to happen. Sorry if that sounds harsh but this should never have happened.
 
Stern John said:
When people say it's disgraceful that the park is shut they have every right to complain. It is disgraceful that this was allowed to happen. Sorry if that sounds harsh but this should never have happened.
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Have you taken even a second to consider that the reason they have closed the park for 3 days running and lost revenue of over £1 million is to make sure that this can never happen again?
 
Yes, it is however disgraceful that it happened in the first place.
Someone or something that the park is responsible for has put people's lives in danger.
I would also hazard a guess that the park closure has been forced upon them.
 
Stern John said:
Yes, it is however disgraceful that it happened in the first place.
Someone or something that the park is responsible for has put people's lives in danger.
I would also hazard a guess that the park closure has been forced upon them.
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We don't know what happened. If you bought a car and the car's brakes failed would you be responsible as the driver? If you crashed because of lack of concentration then you would be. An investigation would say which is which. The park closure is not something that is forced upon them, HSE has stated they are not investigating any other ride, Merlin is the decider on when the park opens.
 
@James - someone mentioned about staff being paid on Twitter earlier and fair play to Alton, they responded really quickly saying that the staff were still being paid their hourly rate for each day the park is closed.

I think the way the Social media team at Alton Towers are dealing with this is amazing. Their responses on Twitter and Facebook deserve a medal, they are responding to every message and within a few minutes. They are also being calm in the face of some ridiculous and nasty comments.

We are all guilty of moaning about Alton Towers but I think in this situation, they are really showing their true side. They are being honest to everyone who is asking questions, they are obviously as gutted about the accident as we are, and by closing the park they are showing that they really are taking this seriously (although lets not keep it closed to long eh!).

The money they must be losing is phenomenal, and I would think they would also be considering paying compensation to those who have booked hotels in the local area who cant get their money back, either by money or by offering free stays in the resort hotels.

So in that regard, I have to congratulate them on their customer assistance at the moment.
 
Tom.B said:
It's from the last time that The Smiler valleyed on the batwing.

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Thanks, now I know. But wait... this has happened before???
Stern John said:
Yes, it is however disgraceful that it happened in the first place.
Someone or something that the park is responsible for has put people's lives in danger.
I would also hazard a guess that the park closure has been forced upon them.
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BarryZola said:
Have you taken even a second to consider that the reason they have closed the park for 3 days running and lost revenue of over £1 million is to make sure that this can never happen again?
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I think your both right, it shouldent have happened in the first place but I praise them for closing the park. Merlin and towers have handled a tragic accident really well and it is safer for guests and just easier for towers without the visitors swarming the park, trying to get a look.
 
Stern John said:
Yes, it is however disgraceful that it happened in the first place.
Someone or something that the park is responsible for has put people's lives in danger.
I would also hazard a guess that the park closure has been forced upon them.
Click to expand...

Accidents happen. In the NHS we use the Swiss Cheese Model to explain incidents like this... despite layers of safety sometimes an adverse event slips through. If you were to have a car accident - a total accident - you are technically putting lives in danger. Does that make you a disgrace? No, its just life - its unfortunate.

I find it hard to fathom that people who, prior to the incident, had no qualms about strapping yourself to a piece of metal that inverts 14 times now find it 'despicable' that someones life may be in danger. You essentially imply your consent to risk when you get on the damn thing, especially considering the number of safety warnings that are at the entrance to the ride and dotted around the queueline.
 
I imagine they are reviewing the training and emergency procedures on all the rides as a result of this. Meaning the park can't open. This will most likely have been imposed upon them.
The incident seems more likely to have been caused by intervention than hardware at this stage in my opinion.
The park has handled this extremely well but people also have a right to complain.
I was really responding to an earlier post who said he wanted to punch someone for saying this was a disgrace.
I'm afraid a disgrace is what it is.
 
Leah said:
Thanks, now I know. But wait... this has happened before???
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Yes it has, back in 2013. Don't think anything major happened in 2014 though. Fortunately nothing occurred other than the stalled train.
 
One of the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash passengers 'thought he would die' after screaming at staff to stop the ride just seconds before the horrific collision.

The man, who does not wish to be named, was one of 16 on board The Smiler as it careered down the track and smashed into an empty carriage, seriously injuring four people on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old says everyone on the ride was pleading with staff to halt it after spotting the empty carriage ahead.

"I actually saw the other carriage on the track ahead of us," he told the Mirror.
"It was at the top that we all started shouting to the staff telling them to stop.

"I was swearing and shouting 'no, no, no'.

"I was absolutely petrified.

"I thought it was going to be the end of my life."
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Full article http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/alton-towers-rollercoaster-crash-passenger-5824114
 
It would be interesting to know what would have happened if it were a Friday when the crash happened, would they close over a weekend.
 
Stern John said:
I imagine they are reviewing the training and emergency procedures on all the rides as a result of this. Meaning the park can't open. This will most likely have been imposed upon them.
The incident seems more likely to have been caused by intervention than hardware at this stage in my opinion.
The park has handled this extremely well but people also have a right to complain.
I was really responding to an earlier post who said he wanted to punch someone for saying this was a disgrace.
I'm afraid a disgrace is what it is.
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In theory you shouldn't be able to intervene in the ride systems blocking system so your assumption has no more basis than anything else. Doesn't mean it isn't the truth but until we know what the truth is maybe we need to keep the hyperbole to a minimum.
 
Tom said:
It would be interesting to know what would have happened if it were a Friday when the crash happened, would they close over a weekend.
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We will find out when we see whether they open for this weekend or not!
 
James said:
Wow this thread moves quick.

I haven't got anything exciting to add, although just bouncing off a few things. They won't scrap The Smiler, it's a £18 million coaster, and rides that have had accidents and even deaths stay open beyond incidents. So no, no way it will be scrapped, even if they have to spend millions to improve it (if it requires any upgrades or improvements) it will be back open one day.

I think a rebrand could be likely, it's a hard one to judge. In one way over the years people will still continue to go on the ride. Although given the amount of media attention this has brought it would somewhat be kind of weird to have a ride named The Smiler, that aims to make you 'Smile. Always.' - I find that a little grim after something this major has happened. I guess that's something Towers will go into lengthy discussions about once the investigation has concluded.

The media dramatizing this more today has been annoying to see, but ah well, water is wet.
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I agree with you partially. Yes they won't scrap it. The parks most expensive coaster... Nah. They will hopeful get Gerst to fix it up, make it more reliable and that will be great. I think this was the kick to the face Alton needed to say that their ride is faulty.

I truly believe the smiler can be made from a good ride to a great ride simply by making it more reliable and more comfortable.

A re-brand though... I don't think so. They would have to spend money on that.

Joking aside. New Texas Giant didn't get re-branded, neither did RMT. It is a dark ride after all. (Not saying injury adds to that, Just It's not exactly Happy the ride (Well...) is it?)
 
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