Reply to Boy Killed on Kansas Water Slide

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I want to feel like it would be okay for my kid to ride a water slide again.  I know mostly it is, but I can't imagine the guilt his parents are feeling.  Their kid's death wasn't their fault, but I'm sure they blame themselves irrational as it is.[/quote]

I don't think you should give up on most water slide parks, really. They are professionally designed and engineered by companies like WhiteWater Inc. or ADG or ProSlide. You will see similar designs and slides and attractions in parks like Great Wolf Lodge, The Boardwalk at Hersheypark, Six Flags, etc. - attractions that are tested and true. Accidents can still happen, but they are largely the result of rider error or staff error (not following height/weight requirements, not properly checking equipment, etc.)

No other park is going to build a Verruckt. It was designed by talented people (they hold a lot of patents on certain waterpark technology), but they lacked engineering degrees. The design process was largely trial and error, and they had to tear half of it down and rebuild when their initial design launched the test rafts. The initial design was created with roller coaster engineering software and didn't take into account the effects of the water on the ride. And then the other "safety" elements were jerry-rigged - the velcro harness straps and the netting. And based on witnesses, it seems like it wasn't maintained at a high level, as there are a lot of reports of loose/failing velcro straps and the scale on the top level not working for more than a week. And after more than a year of operation, they relaxed the safety requirements for the ride by removing the 14 and up requiremet. This will probably turn out to be a classic and terrible example of the Swiss cheese model of failure: a ride that pushes the limits of safety (deliberately built in a state with zero regulation for a slide of this height and speed) and has post-design questionable safety features added, with the ride requirements relaxed after a year, with relaxed maintenance (failing velcro straps and non functioning scale), and lax staff,  the planning and safety holes lined up and a young boy lost his life in a catastrophic manner. Given the gruesome nature of poor Caleb's horrific death, I really doubt that the ride will reopen.

My kids and I are huge roller coaster fans, and we like water parks as well. I love reading articles about how engineering companies like B&M or Intamin design the thrill rides that they do. But I watched the documentary on Verruckt when it was being built and I read the Smithsonian article and I thought it was crazy. Accidents can still happen, but giving up on attractions like Intimidator 305 at KD (seriously one of the best coasters on the East Coast) or the Coastline Plunge at Hersheypark is like giving up on your family car because your crazy uncle blew up his experimental rocket car in the desert.[/quote]

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