Theme park forced to shut down roller coaster that continued to break bones

The world’s fastest roller coaster has been suspended after several runners reported fractures.

According to VICE, since December, at least six people have suffered bone fractures after riding “Do-Dodonpa,” a roller coaster that goes “super deadly” at the country’s popular Fuji-Q Highland Park.

Not only did people suffer fractures, but a park spokesperson said four of the injured claimed to have broken their necks or backs.

The ride was built in 2001 and goes from 0 to 180 kilometers per hour (111 miles per hour) in 1.56 seconds, making it the fastest roller coaster in the world.

Until August 17 of this year, authorities say there have been no reports of bone fractures since the ride opened 20 years ago.

According to an initial investigation by the park, no technical issues were found, but the ride’s manufacturer Sansei Technologies apologized to those injured but said they didn’t know what caused their injuries. .

It is believed that the problem could be related to the rapid acceleration of the journey which, at its peak, is more than three times the force of gravity.

That said, this is only a prediction and Naoya Miyasato – an architecture professor at Nihon University who studies roller coaster designs, claimed the broken bones were unheard of.

He told NICE World News: “Roller coaster designs must all meet government approved standards, so it is unusual for there to be multiple similar accidents.”

Mr Miyasato added: “If a runner can’t handle the acceleration he gets injured, which could be what is happening here.

“If they didn’t detect any serious issues with the actual ride, it could be the way people were seated. But if a person was not seated properly, say with a space between their back and their seat, they is the responsibility of the park employees to check their seated position. ”

Reports indicate that Do-Dodonpa forces cyclists to lean against their seats and that shoulder restraints are used to keep people in position with as little space between the back and the backrest as possible.

But one of the runners claiming to be injured said she may have been sitting forward while on the ride.