Why do theme park rides have height restrictions? Can’t we just engineer safety harnesses that secure all people, regardless of height?
In: Engineering
How would you engineer something that works on a 3 year old that weighs 30 pounds, and 7 foot tall adult that weighs 300 pounds? Also keep in mind it needs to be idiot proof, not prohibitively expensive, and quick to get people in and out of the ride.
Height generally also translates to physical strength and certain physical forces exerted by the ride require a minimum amount of physical strength to keep you from getting physically damaged. In theory a small but fully grown person could be strong enough to survive, but that would mean having to administer a “strength test” at the admittance to the ride, which would slow everything down. A height test is simpler and faster.
In a documentary I saw about a roller coasters once, they said that often the restriction is because of g-forces. Roller coasters generate sometimes about 3 times earth gravity, which isn’t good for a developing body.
> Can’t we just engineer safety harnesses that secure all people, regardless of height?
There’s obviously an incentive to try, since they could then advertise the ride as being available for all heights. So the fact that it hasn’t happened, means that it’s most likely not possible with the available resources.
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