Seat-belts Added To B&M Hyper Coasters?

[TTD03]

Unfortunately, as of today, it has been confirmed that seat-belts have been added to Diamondback at Kings Island, Intimidator at Carowinds, and Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland. It is not known yet whether or not Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland will be getting the seat-belts as well. Since this seems to just be a Cedar Fair thing, it is unknown whether or not Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure or other similar B&M Hyper coasters will be affected as well. Unfortunately, it has also been reported that loading times on Intimidator and Behemoth have been very bad. Hopefully as the ride ops and guests get used to the seat-belts, loading will be faster again. The one shed of good news from this is that the seat-belts seem to be the retractable kind so it will be easier for larger guests to buckle the seat-belts. Judging by the picture below, larger guests should not have any issues with the new seat-belts.

Here's the new seat-belts on Diamondback at Kings Island.


Here's Behemoth's seat-belts.


Here's just how far the retractable seat-belts reach (at least on Diamondback)


So what do you think, are the seat-belts a yay or nay for these B&M hypers?

Source

[Oscar]

D: sad day for roller coasters. then again, seatbelts aren't bothersome like OTSR's

[TTD03]

Depends the seat-belts, most of the time, I can't feel the belts on El Toro, but if you get it in the wrong place, they hurt like a b*tch over the airtime hills, especially in the back.

Yay for the general public, nay for enthusiasts. It's not so necessary, but it helps the GP feel safer when riding bigger coasters.

[TTD03]

Yea but then the GP is angry about why loading is so bad and why the line is so long, enthusiasts know why, GP does not.

A few things make me wonder....

All 3 of these hypers belong to the same company and have the same train design. My guesses would be a) a safety bulletin was issued by B&M or b) it was a decision that Cedar Fair's insurance company deemed necessary.

Does anyone know whether or not Shambhala has also received seat belts?

[TTD03]

I think it was a Cedar Fair decision, because Nitro at Great Adventure does not have seat-belts (yet). Not sure about Shambhala, will have to look around about that but since this seems to be a Cedar Fair decision, I would assume no.

[Coasterkidmwm]

Yet another cumbersome anti-fatty measure

[mkingy]

The key I think will be if Shambhala gets them - B&M might've taken note of people falling out of rides and decided in order to protect themselves these measure are required. Those restraints are really comfy but I could see there being an issue if they're not clamped in correctly.

Unless the seatbelts got added since I was there last week, Shambhala doesn't have them.

Intamin's adjustable seatbelts are not bad at all for a riding sensation, no matter how intense the elements get! What is this new B&M device like?

The seatbelts being retractable is bad news, not good news, for rides without strong negatives. Anytime you're near 0G, you'll feel your seatbelt holding you in instead of floating freely between your seat and restraint. That was the case with Steel Force. The ride stays near 0G, and you can feel the seatbelt taking away from the airtime. So, for Intamin it wouldn't matter too much, but for B&M it's not a huge problem, but definitely a bit of an issue. Too bad.

The actual good news is it's being used on B&Ms that seem to have a bit stronger negatives than the average on Nitro, Raging Bull, or Apollo's Chariot (the 3 I've ridden). They shouldn't be as big an issue on the newer ones as they would be on those three.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the death on Texas Giant. why some coasters/rides have redundancy built in and some don't. I would think for safety purposes they would all have 2 restrains, but it does makes a big difference. The feeling of being able to move freely in your seat adds a bit of uneasiness/fear to the experience. thinking "what if this lap bar opens, there is nothing else holding me in". "WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE" as my son likes to yell as we race down the wild thing drop.

[TTD03]

mkingy- I agree
Projektion- Same with me, just went on Nitro this past Saturday, no seat-belts, but they could be added by the next time I am there in 2 weeks.
dcs221- I hate to agree, but yes, I have definitely noticed this on Steel Force, sucks though, that thing should be an Airtime wonderland.
plantoris- I think it is quite clear this is because of the Texas Giant death, why else would Cedar Fair spend the time, money, and labor to install these is nothing bad has happened on any of these coasters?