Bystanders rush over to stop a carnival ride from tipping over... video *holy crap*

[IcyPeas]

Bystanders at the Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan rushed over to stop a carnival ride from tipping over

Link to tweet

?s=19

[Demovictory9]

1. 😳

Omg

[CentralMass]

2. Underwear sales must have been brisk

[Ms. Toad]

3. And where was the operator and the emergency stop switch. n/t

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

7. In the second video, it looks like the operator jumped off the ride as it went out of control.

What they don't show is that as the line of men are jumping on the ride to stabilize it, a second line is forming behind them. That line is made up of every lawyer at the fair.

[multigraincracker]

11. +1

You nailed that one.

[Ms. Toad]

26. Yup -

I'm always looking for good torts questions. I'll have to snag the video and create a good story behind it for my incoming 1L students!

[Raine]

4. Good for the bystanders 👍 otherwise there would've been a disaster. nt

[MustLoveBeagles]

5. That was scary

Where the hell was the ride's operator?

[IcyPeas]

6. The second clip, I believe, shows him jumping off the platform of the ride...

[Rhiannon12866]

8. Yikes! There is a new ride at our local amusement park very like this - only much larger and taller!

According to what I read, the new ride is 16 stories tall and goes 52 mph! I've always said I'd try any ride once, but I think I'll give that one a pass!

[Old Crank]

9. Bunch of sailors

At the fair. They do this all the time on sail boats.

[bigtree]

23. lol

...

[Old Crank]

10. You do have to wonder

If there was an improper installation or mechanical failure.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

12. This made me smile

These bystanders prevented an accident

[KY_EnviroGuy]

13. Most likely, someone neglected to level the base before operation.

With an out-of-level base, with this design I can see this thing flopping over easily with a moment arm that long. No doubt leveling jacks and bubble levels were provided.

Read the damn instruction book and follow it, folks..... .......

[Throck]

14. I thought public events like this were prohibited in MI due to COVID?

Michigan had some pretty good Covid prevention protocols working to stop the spread. Now a carnival?

[marmar]

21. Michigan, like the rest of the country, has dropped all restrictions.

[2naSalit]

15. Where was the operator?

They should have shut it down! It looks like the ride kept going for some time. And I noticed, too, that most of the people who ran to help where POC.

That whole carnival needs to go through some inspection and personnel investigation. I stopped going to those sort of things when, as an adult equipment operator, I looked over one of the rides I took my nephew on... I would have red flagged the ride as unsafe overall. And the folks who are hired to operate them are far from being knowledgeable about the equipment they operate.

Death traps looking for an event.

[MineralMan]

17. That particular ride cannot be stopped quickly.

It slowly stops on its own when the motor that drives it is turned off. Momentum and the pendulum effect are in play. There is no way to just stop it. It has to stop on its own accord. A very unsafe ride, it seems to me.

[MineralMan]

16. As a teenager, I watched a crew assemble carnival rides

in my small home town. I have never ridden one after that. The people working at that job were clearly not qualified, nor careful.

Ride traveling carnival rides at your own risk. I won't.

[panader0]

18. I agree. I have seen the carnies that travel with these carnivals.

It's probably the only job they could get.

[niyad]

19. When I was about 14, I was trapped in a carnival ride that malfunctioned. Have never been

on another one, even at a state fair.

[marmar]

22. Yep, I saw one that was literally being held together by what looked like duct tape.

That was it for me.

[bigtree]

20. people can be cool

...easy to lose sight of that.

[crickets]

27. True. Huge credit to the guy who selflessly stepped up first,

as well as those who jumped in to help him. The ride might have stopped without tipping over but it looked very doubtful. They all did a very good thing.

[Greybnk48]

24. This is terrifying!

The men who ran over and balanced it acted like what we used to call "real men." For me that always meant "real humans." Not reckless or stupid, but empathic and caring. The "helpers."

[Rhiannon12866]

28. Yikes! This resonates with me since I used to have a summer job at an amusement park

And I worked in "rides." They have a new ride there starting this summer that I've seen in operation when I've driven by, similar to this one, but billed as 16 stories high and traveling at 52 mph! There are eight people sitting back-to-back at each end which gives you an idea of the size...

I have no idea why they made no effort to stop the thing, for rides like this we definitely had more than one ride operator. Here's the one that they debuted this summer. I love rides and I've always said I'd try any ride once, but I think I'd give this one a pass!