The Smiler - General Discussion

[rosco1982uk]

I'm actually quite disgusted that a rollercoaster crashed and it took 17 minutes before anyone dialled 999.

[PJ.]

I'm actually quite disgusted that a rollercoaster crashed and it took 17 minutes before anyone dialled 999.

There is no defence for that.

[ROYJESS]

The court case sentencing hearing is scheduled for two days. Here is the up dates

https://web.archive.org/web/20160926110 ... ph-8914914" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Alton Towers Smiler 'operated in 46mph winds on day of crash against manufacturer 33mph limit guidelines"

Doesn't sound good does it. If someone drives over the speed limit, it isn't like the are asking for a crash but they can't be surprised if something happens. What could the court do worst case? Could they close the ride? (Not saying I think they should)

"No suggestion ride itself is unsafe - Both the Health and Safety Executive prosecuting and Merlin say there is no suggestion the ride itself was unsafe or inadequately designed, despite it being the first of its kind.

The court heard theme park technicians had sat down with the manufacturer to improve safety further and had introduced some "innovative" measures."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-engla ... e-37371229" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Master_feedback]

The court case sentencing hearing is scheduled for two days. Here is the up dates

https://web.archive.org/web/20160926110 ... ph-8914914" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Alton Towers Smiler 'operated in 46mph winds on day of crash against manufacturer 33mph limit guidelines"

Doesn't sound good does it. If someone drives over the speed limit, it isn't like the are asking for a crash but they can't be surprised if something happens. What could the court do worst case? Could they close the ride? (Not saying I think they should)

It's already been established that the Smiler is both "technically and mechanically sound" so there is no chance of it being closed permanently.

The worst case scenario is a hefty fine (probably 6 or 7 figures)

ITV are saying it could be an 8 figure fine 10 million or more would be a massive blow to Alton towers

[Sawboss]

It's a problem. The employer is blamed for the crash, not the employees, but the company gets a large fine, the company suffers and so it lays off employees.

What is the best way to handle an accident like this, because monetary punishment doesn't seem like the best way.

Edit: also I'd just like to say I've never watched any of the smiler crash videos. Because why the hell would I?? I don't take photos of car crashes. I'm not a ghoul.

[rosco1982uk]

The company should be fined. It was made quite clear in court today that employees - operating a large piece of industrial machinery - hadn't read operating manuals and had trained only by shadowing others on the job.

That's unacceptable and it's the fault of the company for not ensuring regular "official" training and indeed testing on employees' knowledge of the machinery they are operating.

[mark_h]

I'm actually quite disgusted that a rollercoaster crashed and it took 17 minutes before anyone dialled 999.

I thought that there was communication between park first responders with the ambulance control room using their Airwave (emergancy services communication system) before that.

[PJ.]

£5 million fine, could have been s lot worse (and I think it should have)

[xylyx]

Yeah it could have been a lot worse, I think their actions since the crash may have helped as they have been exemplary. Personally, with a company as large as Merlin, it feels about right as it will punish without obliterating them.

The part I found wearying was hearing they linked downtime to your performance appraisal. Targets can be useful but wielded like that gets staff focussing on meeting them at any cost.

[Liam.W]

I didn't realise the empty train stalled at the top of the second part of the batwing upside down for a while before falling backwards to where the crash eventually happened! :yikes:

[owenrita121]

I didn't realise the empty train stalled at the top of the second part of the batwing upside down for a while before falling backwards to where the crash eventually happened! :yikes:

Well how on earth would it have ended up stalled at the bottom of the batwing otherwise..?

[Dan]

I didn't realise the empty train stalled at the top of the second part of the batwing upside down for a while before falling backwards to where the crash eventually happened! :yikes:

Well how on earth would it have ended up stalled at the bottom of the batwing otherwise..?

It could have simply been slow enough that it didn't make the inversion without stopping at the top of it.

[PaxmanValenta]

The independent report into the whole incident is actually quite interesting. The CCTV footage makes me wince every time I see it knowing that the carriage was correctly stopped by the control logic to then be overridden by staff.

The Smiler is a fantastic piece of engineering and I would like to think that this incident will only help future designs of coaster. Much like the aviation industry learns lessons from accidents, hopefully lessons will be learnt from this incident too.

[Ladyofthelake]

Hi all,

just a quick reminder that we do have a dedicated topic for anything relating to the 2nd June 2015 incident therefore please use this to discuss anything relating to that and the recent sentencing hearing.

Thanks

[dazza4783]

I didn't realise the empty train stalled at the top of the second part of the batwing upside down for a while before falling backwards to where the crash eventually happened! :yikes:

It got so close to being so different. If only the wind was blowing the other way.

[ryan8741]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/al ... im-8063874" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

One of the people who lost their legs has revisited the park.

[Sawboss]

That would be an awkward encounter wearing Smiler merch...

[Owen]

The news story is from May

[Sawboss]

The news story is from May

I didn't even click the link since I don't wanna give the Mirror hits

[ryan8741]

The news story is from May

I didn't even click the link since I don't wanna give the Mirror hits

True! I just remember seeing it and wanted to add it.

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