Kentucky Kingdom- Viral Video claims Roller Coaster Unsafe?

Kentucky Kingdom- "Lightning Run Unsafe" claims Viral Video.

Image from courier-journal.com

 Okay people, I know as a whole we love to freak out and look for problems where none exist. However, it's the internet and I would like to hope most of you do some research before just believing anything you see or read.

 Although, knowing today's society that's not often to case. So here I am to explain things.

 In simple English- Lightning Run IS Safe.

 High intensity roller coasters MUST have some give and take built into the design, they ALL move to some extent. They have to or the steel would warp and shatter under the forces of the ride. Remember, what we feel while riding is only a faction of the stresses which the supports and track are under. Every single roller coaster, from steel to wood, have some sway involved.

 Ever walk under a coaster? Remember feeling the vibrations of the ride on your feet? Most parks hide as much of the track as possible, so most people don't see the normal give/take process which these thrill rides employ. I've watched enough coasters in my life to tell you, they ALL do this at some point. It's not a design flaw, it's a careful design built into the ride.

 Don't believe me? Watch a looping coaster sometime, nearly all of them sway. Many helix elements sway as do cobra rolls and bunny hills. Wooden coasters have plenty of give/take involved as wood is more forgiving then steel with matters of sway. We don't suddenly believe these rides are unsafe because someone posts a video to Facebook and attempts to stir things up, now do we?

 Nope. So let's not start now.

Image from Kentucky.com

 John Mulcahy,the person in charge of communications and marketing at Kentucky Kingdom has even come out to say the ride is safe. It's passed all the tests from the state inspections as well as the design teams high standards. He explains it rather well in this statement- "There are so many twists, turns in this track that there are some points where it does release, and you see that movement," Mulcahy said. "We are aware that there is movement in the coaster track, and it is there by design.".

 So let's stop freaking out. Let's not damn a ride before it get's a chance to live. Let's give Kentucky Kingdom benefit of the doubt, it's no longer associated with Six Flags who caused the parks last accident through negligence.  This is a new park with a bright future, one that I want to see and that we all deserve to have.

 I've said to before, I'll say it again- Don't believe everything to you read without doing some simple research!



Need more proof? Read the full report from Wave3 News.