Safety Concerns When Designing a Roller Coaster

Since the 1700s, innovative designers have worked to meet the public's desire for thrilling rides while making those rides safe. Using available technology and applied physics, roller coaster designers have taken what was once a straightforward sled ride and made it into a competitive entertainment industry. As the rides have developed, their safety records have improved. Modern roller coaster safety relies on the lessons of history and contemporary technology.

Origins

• The loop-the-loop was first tried in the mid-19th century.

  Roller coasters started in 18th century Russia. People rode ice or wood sleds down slides of ice, slowing to a stop when the sled hit sand scattered for the purpose. Adapted for warmer climates in France, the ride used a wooden sled on rollers and a waxed wooden slide. Both models required some skill at controlling the sled, and accidents were common. In the 1850s, an early loop-the-loop design was shut down by government officials after one accident.

Enter the Railway

• The mules were the first to ride mine cars down the 18-mile slope.

  The Mauch Chunk Railway began using gravity in 1827 to get coal mine cars 18 miles down a mountain and using mules and later a steam engine to bring them back up. It didn't take long to turn the conveyance into a pleasure ride. This side business became the only business for the track in 1870, and the ride continued to operate in 1938. Notably, operations had few accidents in the safety record.

From Sightseeing to Thrills

• The inverted coaster took 125 years to make safe.

  The true original coasters appeared in 1890 and were designed for sightseeing. As coasters evolved, people rode more for thrills, which drove the safety aspect. A second attempt at a loop-the-loop came in 1898, using a true circle for the loop. The gravitational force of the loop broke the necks of riders, and the circular loop was abandoned. The first successful inverted coaster didn't appear until the Corkscrew was unveiled in 1975.

John Miller

• Locking bars keep passengers from losing their seats.

  Designing roller coasters in the 1920s, John Miller was a pioneer of safety mechanisms for the rides. His efforts kept cars from leaving the track or rolling back down it, and he invented a variety of braking mechanisms as well as locks for the car bars. Much of what he introduced to the industry--including the mechanism that makes the familiar ratcheting sound as you reach a summit--remains standard, although few coasters of his own design remain operational.