[whiteperil] Sean: Roller coasters

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Posted by Sean:
Roller coasters
http://whiteperil.com/posts/1178463638.shtml


   One of the big news stories this weekend is the fatal accident at an
   amusement park in Osaka. A car on a roller coaster derailed and
   listed. One woman collided with a rail and was killed, and a few dozen
   people were rushed to the hospital. (Well, some of the English stories
   say "seats," but it was [1]apparently one of those rides on which you
   stand and have your torso held in by an overhead harness-type thing.)
   Not surprisingly, it's [2]suspected that lax enforcement of safety
   standards is the culprit:

     In February, the amusement park took the roller coaster apart for
     inspection. However, it said it did not inspect the integrity of
     the axle shaft because there was no garage available at the time.
     The park subsequently postponed the inspection until May 15.
     The police suspect improper safety management may have led to the
     accident, and are investigating the amusement park on suspicion of
     professional negligence resulting in death and injury.

   And at a different amusement park, there was another accident--this
   one a sort of fender-bender with nothing more serious than nausea
   resulting, luckily, though it still gives one cause for worry:

     Four people were taken to hospital after a roller coaster car
     carrying a parent and child rear-ended another car carrying a
     parent and child at about 2:50 p.m. Saturday at Wonderland
     amusement park in Sakai, Fukui Prefecture. The four complained of
     feeling nauseous after the collision.
     Local police questioned employees of the amusement park on
     suspicion of professional negligence resulting in injuries.

   Two accidents in one weekend don't constitute an epidemic of safety
   violations, but they do indicate a problem that's very real with
   infrastructure, industry, and public accommodations here: No one
   really knows where the accidents waiting to happen are, because
   government oversight of safety is erratic. There are some cases in
   which the evidence is heartening. Transportation authorities have been
   riding JAL hard over safety violations, for example, and they haven't
   needed an airliner crash to motivate them to do so. The Aneha scandal
   literally hit the Japanese where they live, but it was brought to
   light before an real, live catastrophic earthquake revealed that all
   those fraudulently certified buildings weren't actually safe. But in
   other sectors--nuclear power, toxic waste disposal, and
   pharmaceuticals are big ones--one wonders whether things are actually
   humming along generally well or it's only a matter of time before luck
   runs out.

References

   1. http://www.mainichi-msn.co.jp/shakai/jiken/news/20070505k0000e040031000c.html
   2. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070506TDY01004.htm