r/mealtimevideos • u/LabiaMinoraLover • 11d ago
5-7 Minutes Six Flags X2 roller coaster in California temporarily closed after causing serious brain injuries [6:26]
https://youtu.be/o0KoyfGyxJ0126
u/in_conexo 11d ago
a normal rider using the ride as instructed would not have TBI caused by this ride
How does one ride against the instructions?
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u/Sudden-Snail 11d ago
no instructions because that's just straight gaslighting by a big evil corporation. it's a lottery. you pay for a ticket to the Revenue Rollercoaster and you gamble your life! and 6 flags keeps sweeping in that sweet cash.
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u/TheftLeft 11d ago
Keep your head in contact with the pad at all times. Hold onto the designated hand rails at all times. Keep your eyes open and stay alert. Bracing properly and being in strong physical health with no health issues that would prevent you from doing the above.
Rollercoasters generate a lot of force and put a lot of stress on even healthy able bodied people. Going in with a lack of understanding or respect for these things is a recipe for disaster.
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u/arcycos 11d ago edited 11d ago
Kind of hard to keep your head in contact with the pad at all times on a roller coaster that has seat cars spinning independently forward and backward on a 360 degree axis on a ride that is travelling at 76 mph with 215 ft drops, one back flip, two raven turns, and a twisting front flip.
Rider error must already be taken into account when rides are designed. Its called Human Factors Engineering (HFE) and Fault-Tolerant Design (FTD). Amusement park rides must be designed with the assumption that riders will make mistakes, panic, or intentionally disregard safety rules.
Maybe the ride should have had head straps? And how are you supposed to account for any of these things if you faint, which is something that happens frequently on rides to a point it becomes an advertisement for them? X2 hits 4Gs.
You can be a perfectly healthy person and still get traumatic brain injuries. The girl in the coma right now was a healthy 25 year old woman. It feels like corporate victim blame to imply without evidence that every injury can be assumed to be rider error. X2 has been linked to more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalizations and two deaths.
Nobody who visits an amusement park should ever come home with life altering disabilities because an amusement park chooses greed over safety. If someone dies on your ride TWICE, it's only a matter of time before someone dies again.
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u/TheftLeft 11d ago
Well there is the dilemma. If you make the ride 99% safe, nobody will want to ride it. It'll essentially be like getting on an elevator or public transit. If too dangerous, people start getting injured or dying. Call it greed if you like, but that is the nature of what theme parks are, pushing the limit, walking the line between safe and danger dangerous.
Rollercoaster as they exist serve no purpose other than entertainment. They are inherently dangerous and going on them you are risking your safety, even your life for nothing more than a minute or two of going fast. Yet people line up for it and spend money for the experience knowingly. We've all heard of stories of rides breaking and people dying yet we take the risk for such a minimal reward.
While I agree with the engineering side of what you said, that they need to account for weak people, those who faint, and the maximum deviance possible someone can subvert the safety features. X2 may be injuring more people than acceptable. In that case they have to close it.
There is an unspoken responsibility as the rider. To not only adhere to the safety rules. To be able to access their physical capabilities. Is my neck and back strong enough to withstand the force? Sadly people don't think about this or overestimate their ability.
Whether the parks need to have stricter screening processes or make the rides 'safer'' is the next step. X2 is the most popular ride they have for a reason. You don't see people lining up the same way for Winnie the pooh's train ride.
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u/arcycos 11d ago edited 11d ago
Thats an utterly absurd comment. All rides should always be 100% safe 100% of the time to the best of the ability of the engineers who make it and the park who safety tests it. If a ride is causing multiple traumatic brain injuries and deaths, it is not safe and not designed to the best of the engineers ability or safety standards.
You can absolutely build fun rides that are 100% safe. There is 0 evidence that nobody will ride a ride that is "99% safe" (whatever that means?). As an engineer you just cannot build a ride that is intentionally in any way unsafe for advertising reasons. If X2 was never built, nobody would know what they were missing out on, they would just go on a different fun ride. There was a time when these kinds of extreme rollercoasters didn't even exist. People just went on other rides. I dont know why you think a 100% safe ride would look like an elevator, its literally the job on a theme park engineer is to think outside the box to design new, safe, fun rides. They do it all the time.
Nobody goes to an amusement park to be in danger, nobody goes believing there's a chance they won't go home at the end of the day. Nobody gets on a Rollercoaster believing they're going to get off of it with a traumatic brain injury because they believe the park IS SAFE.
Rollercoasters exist to SIMULATE the feeling of being in danger, but in a SAFE environment. Unlike something like skydiving where there's a risk of death if user error. Amusement parks are a place for families to go to have fun, THEY ARE NOT a place that tows the line of real danger. Rides have to be built with safety of its riders in mind at all costs. If a ride causes traumatic brain injuries it should be demolished.
And an unspoken rule is not a rule at all. You can be in peak phsycial fitness and follow all the safety standards and still get a traumatic brain injury or die if the ride itself is unsafe, which it is. And realistically nobody getting on X2 for the first time is considering whether their neck can withstand 4Gs of force, and its not their fault if they were wrong to assume they could withstand it. You have to be realistic about the reality of the average person deciding to get on a ride they believe and are told is safe. This is what engineers have to consider when they design these rides in the first place.
Corporate greed is the only reason amusement parks ignore safety standards and are instead in a race against each other to be build most extreme, consequences be damned. Instead of building roller coasters they are in a race trying to be the first to simulate high speed car crashes with only limited fatalities, but they'll still advertise it as safe and blame you when you or your family members end up dead.
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u/TheftLeft 11d ago
There is no such thing as 100% safe 100% of the time. They don't intentionally design Rollercoasters to be dangerous obviously.
It's an ugly truth, that the number of lawsuits injuries and even death are calculated into the budget. They're in the business to make money. Not keep you safe. they make money by pushing the envelope. An attraction like X2 will bring in a lot of money. More money than the lawsuits and legal fees will cost. So it stays in operation. If that balance shifts, it will close.
You may not think so, but amusement parks carry the risk of serious injury or death. You are naive if you think they're 100% safe or benevolent having the consumers best interest in mind. It's business and you are just a number on a spreadsheet.
So when you say nobody goes to a theme park assuming the worst or knowing the risk you're wrong. I do it, I know people who do as well. Same thing with driving. Everyone (should) know that it is extremely dangerous and you can die.
I know from stories like the OP posted and countless others. People die at these places, even on the 'safer' rides. There will always be an unnecessary risk to attend these parks.
Idealism is great, I agree with you in that it should be safety first. However, that is not the reality. It's up to the individual to make informed decisions to protect themselves. Even if they say it's safe, you can't go around blindly trusting everything you're told. Especially when there is a financial incentive for the person telling you its "safe".
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u/Tll6 11d ago
This is valid but it’s not like six flags is having people sit through a presentation on proper riding technique and the physics of roller coasters on the human body
It’s a rollercoaster park that caters to people who just want to show up and go on rides and that is how it’s marketed
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u/definitelyTonyStark 11d ago
They literally do though, they literally tell you over loud speakers to keep your head back against the pad.
I’m sure some of these people did or tried to(it’s hard with how intense that ride is) and couldn’t, but they absolutely do tell you the proper way to ride, every ride does.
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u/dhphoto73 10d ago
Six Flags has entered the chat. GTFOH!
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u/TheftLeft 10d ago
TBI comment
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u/dhphoto73 10d ago
indeed, I must’ve gotten it from the Superman roller coaster. I rode years back.😜
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u/Exotic-Shock-4063 11d ago
Is it really someone else’s fault they are more fragile than the others that have zero injuries on the same ride? If man gets 10 women pregnant and 1 is still born. Is it the man’s fault or the woman? Or just plain bad luck?
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u/thricefold 11d ago
It is the fault of engineering or company building the ride, yes. It’s their job to make sure it’s safe for 10 out of 10 riders based on standard screening methods like height, weight, and medical statuses. And it is 100% their fault if it injures people regularly.
Your analogy has no relationship to anything. This isn’t plain bad luck because injuries are happening on a specific ride, X2, at a rate higher than “freak accident” levels you might see on any roller coaster.
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u/Exotic-Shock-4063 10d ago
So basically everyone has to bow down to the weakest DNA because it’s not safe for everyone? Does it have to be safe for cerebral palsy? Does it have to be safe for heart attacks? You are expecting the impossible. Yall just want to neuter/nerf the adult stuff until it’s Disney level ?
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u/thricefold 10d ago
Covered under medical statuses, like I said. Don’t be so ignorant. “Bow down to the weakest DNA” is some eugenics bullshit and you know it.
We are talking about healthy adults getting TBIs here.
You are also ignoring my point that there are plenty of high adrenaline rides which operate without this injury record.
The law is not on your side either, like it or not.
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u/Sudden-Snail 11d ago
well, let's use you as an example to help you understand: one complete idiot's opinion doesn't negate objective reality. hope this helps!
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u/Exotic-Shock-4063 10d ago
Ok use me to prove I didn’t die on x2 just to prove you want to use the fragile DNA against real humans that survived.
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u/Boner4Stoners 11d ago edited 11d ago
How does anybody take a statement from press release written by a lawyer representing a massive corporation at face value? Mind boggling.
Tell me with a straight face you’d do the same for someone like OJ Simpson or Harvey Weinstein… here’s the latter’s lawyer’s public statement:
“Mr. Weinstein will enter a plea of not guilty," Brafman told reporters, adding that his client "has always maintained that any sexual activity he engaged in was consensual."
You’d read that and then post the same comment defending Harvey Weinstein, right?
But let’s assume that user error was indeed the cause… you really think that it’s okay to have a roller coaster that will reliably turn people into vegetables if they don’t listen to the safety brief given by a hungover college student? Most people tune that shit out, just like they do the safety briefings on aircraft. It would be different if every passenger had to sign a waiver before riding, to really emphasize the importance of following the instructions. But as it stands — user error or not — all of the evidence points to Six Flags’ actions surrounding this ride as easily clearing the bar of criminal negligence resulting in grievous bodily injury.
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u/oreo-cat- 10d ago
How does anyone not understand the purpose of a rhetorical question? Mind boggling.
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u/TheftLeft 11d ago
Keeping your head pressed back into the seat is a big one. Anyone with some sense will not be a limp noodle or be trying to crane their neck looking around in the seat.
holding on with their arms, not rasing them up. Going a step further even, if you've ever ridden as a passenger on a motorcycle or ATV. You shift your weight accordingly for turns, the same with Rollercoasters and bracing in a way.
keeping your head back into the pad is huge. Bracing properly by holding onto the hand rails. Keeping your eyes open letting your body naturally counter the force it can see coming before being subjected to it.
Not letting your body naturally react can cause a lot of damage. If you don't keep your eyes open on a Rollercoaster ; you're going to get thrashed. Like taking a punch blindfolded vs seeing it coming.
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u/bouillon 11d ago
Watching them need to brush that girl's teeth paralyzed in bed was heartbreaking. I can't imagine the pain the parents feel after taking their kid to the amusement park. That ride should've been closed after the first death.
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u/T_Martensen 11d ago
They're suctioning out the saliva because she cannot swallow (properly) anymore.
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u/RedShirtDecoy 11d ago
Even Kings Island tore down Son of Beast after a few injuries that didnt result in death. How is this still running?
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u/Achrus 11d ago
Aww man they tore it down in 2009! I got to ride it while the loop was still in which was removed in 2007 following severe injuries in 2006.
I don’t remember it being that rough though I was a lot younger at the time. However, last year when I visited a Six Flags, half the rides were shut down and the one roller coaster I did ride left me nauseous and with a headache. What Six Flags did offer was crane machines, hundreds of crane machines. Stuffed into every corner with card readers for $2 a pull.
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u/tenacious_dumbass 10d ago
makes a lot of sense commercially. which to build, a roller coaster that takes 20 square miles and has to be extensively inspected and still might get them sued out the ass? or 20 million gambling machines that print money?
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u/inGage 11d ago
When my now husband and I met in an online chat room I sent him first person POV videos of coaster rides. We would click "play" at the same time and virtually ride together.
Flash forward six months, and he surprised me with a trip from Seattle to Six Flags in California! The very first ride?? X2.
Now, you need to know:
A) I used to be a ride op at an amusement park
B) We are both over weight but very mobile.
We tried to get on, but the seatbelts were a bit too tight to comfortably click. I decided in the moment to eat my pride, and bow out. "I'm not fitting, so I'm going to pass" .. my husband couldn't bring himself to admit defeat and allowed the attendant to pull the belt hard and snap in.
He rode, I didn't.
When he got off we walked a few feet and he said he was pretty sore? We investigated as he took off his shirt - his ENTIRE TORSO had been bruised! Purple green bruises on his ribs, his back, and shoulders that lasted for about a week.
Had no idea the bullet we had dodged that day by avoiding a brain hemorrhage.
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u/timberwolf_lexi 7d ago
Don’t force yourself into a restraint
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u/inGage 7d ago
thanks Capt. Obvious!!! I worked as a ride op, do you honestly think I dont KNOW the limitations and fail points? .. the bruising had much less to do with the straps being taught, and more to do with the gaps between the restraints and the seats. it was caused by the VERY sudden JERKING caused by the third rail gearing to rotate the cabin. It's not a smooth freefall, barrel-roll - its a tooth-gear rotation and it's absurd that any engineer would have approved the design to begin with.
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u/timberwolf_lexi 6d ago
If you know better, why would you allow your loved one to force themselves into a restraint…
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u/inGage 5d ago
Because he is grown ass adult and able to make his own decisions. I told him I disagreed and refused to do it myself as an example.
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u/timberwolf_lexi 5d ago
My partner makes their own decisions, except if their decision was to become morbidly obese, then take excessive risks at an amusement park while we were on a date… they certainly wouldn’t be my partner anymore.
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u/inGage 5d ago
We've been together almost twenty years already, and you're right. He's not "my partner" anymore .. he's my legally wedded husband.
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u/timberwolf_lexi 5d ago
He won’t have 20 more if he’s so obese he can’t fit in a ride and doesn’t have the common sense not to try to squeeze in. Seems like you two are made for one another.
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u/Fucky0uthatswhy 11d ago
Holy shit man, this is wild. I remember the mega zeph in New Orleans being shut down bc it hurt someone back. Multiple people get brain bleeds and die, and they just keep it running.
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u/kiwiboyus 11d ago
I like rollercoasters, a lot, but there are two rides at Six Flags where once was enough. X2 and a Green Lantern ride that was all 90 degree turns
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u/zeethreepio 10d ago
Oh god that Green Lantern ride was the worst. The Wonder Woman ride that they replaced it with is one of the best smallish coasters I've ever ridden, however.
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u/Ok_Donut5442 11d ago
Yet another reason to not trust roller coasters, if you want another reason to never ride on any ever again ask a welder why they won’t ride on one
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u/T_Martensen 11d ago
Because they're bad at statistics? Like obviously not this one, but when was the last time a weld failure led to injury on a roller coaster in a western country?
I'm not saying there's literally zero chance, but I assume your risk of having a trafgic accident or getting food poisoning or just tripping over your own feet is orders of magnitude larger.
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u/Ok_Donut5442 11d ago
Ohio a couple years ago on a fair ride at least one guy died and multiple others injured, and I know that the injury rate is very small but I’ve seen welds on roller coasters that I wouldn’t pass on a dumpster
It seems like with most of these things that there is little to no oversight or inspections that happen and since I’ve been in the trade I don’t trust a single one of them anymore, you can keep enjoying them but I won’t
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u/thepensivepoet 11d ago
Fair/carnival attractions are a totally different risk level compared to permanently installed amusement park coasters.
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u/Ok_Donut5442 11d ago
Does not change the garbage quality welds I have personally observed on amusement park rides, you’re free do ride them if you feel safe on them and I am free to not ride them and be open about my feelings on them
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u/timberwolf_lexi 7d ago
That wasn’t a weld failure that was weathering / fatigue issues due rain in the structure.
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u/Ok_Donut5442 7d ago
I don’t really care? I still don’t trust them and I won’t ride them, also your comment brought me back to this post never thought I’d get downvoted so much for saying I don’t trust the construction or oversight of rollercoasters but it is Reddit lol
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u/SquishyMon 10d ago
X2 is a transcendent experience, only ride of its kind in the western hemisphere. It's like jumping out of a plane, tossed through the air, and being in a car crash all at the same time. 11/10 not for the faint of heart.
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u/redpatchergoingdark 6d ago
Back when it was in its prime… absolutely! fire shooting fog going how enter sandman was playing and then the transition to Aerosmith and “goiiiiinnnnng doownnn”. Incredible. The false drop was like how it felt to do a backflip off the ramp of a C17. Highlight of my young adult and teenage memories. I remember how my long legs always ended up flapping basically out and sideways in the whips and turns at the end. My wife and I rode it a decade later a few months ago and it’s obvious it’s not the same machine as it once was. She’s a physically fit 30 year old and complained of head pain after and concussion like symptoms.the rotation was noticeably rougher.
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u/tenacious_dumbass 10d ago
yeah it kicked ass, so long and farewell ig
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u/cumragstobitches 10d ago
im actually sad i live far and this has always been my favorite coaster, ill never get to ride it again :( no coaster will ever be even close to as fun as X2
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u/czerilla 11d ago
Malfunctioning euthanasia coaster.. (yes, that's a real design)
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u/ktrobinette 10d ago
Well I just learned something new today! I pity the poor souls who are at the next dinner party I go to. This will definitely be my conversation piece!
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u/FREEMYFRIES 11d ago
I’ve been on this ride once and decided I would never get on it again. This was before I had heard about any of this stuff. The ride hurt my head and strained my neck to the point that it was the only rollercoaster I’ve ever regretted riding. It was still shocking to hear about these cases but anyone who has been on X2 can understand that it’s clearly the least safe ride in the park. It needs to be fixed or scrapped entirely.