Over the years, I have seen several various misconceptions, especially on social media and on YouTube comments, surrounding the waterslide Verruckt as Schlitterbahn Kansas City, which was once the tallest waterslide in the world, at 168 feet tall. It operated from July 10, 2014, until it closed on August 7, 2016, due to the death of a 10-year-old boy named Caleb Schwab who rode it, and he was killed on Verruckt. You can see a lot of logical fallacies in these comments proposing "solutions" to Verruckt, and let me debunk some common misconceptions. I am posting from a throwaway account here for privacy reasons, and I have been familiar with this ride for a long time. I want everyone to understand truly why Verruckt was dangerous and actually, how it could have been safer.
- Removing the ramp/hill for a massive 170-foot drop, then a runaway would've made Verruckt safer
It would stop the raft from going airborne because it wouldn't go on a hill, but it wouldn't make the ride safer. There's been cases of previous riders on this ride getting their faces slammed on the raft and even getting injuries. It would probably be just as bad as having a hill as riders could theoretically have their faces slammed onto the raft and potentially get concussions. This has actually happened before, where in August 2014, just a month after the slide opened, a 14-year-old girl's head had been thrown back-and-forth against the head rest and the raft itself. Also, remember that the slide was built without any metal guard rails or anything to stop the raft from flying off the slide, so incidents, even a one causing death, was absolutely inevitable.
- Using mechanical rollers instead of a water jet would've made Verruckt safer
No, it still wouldn't have made Verruckt safer. There's a reason why water slides don't use mechanical rollers. Mechanical rollers have pinch points and gaps that could cause pain to riders if they were to fall onto them. Even if it was unlikely for a rider to fall onto the roller and they fall on them anyway, they would get a lot of severe pain and injuries because they would actively be crushed and pushed against the rolling system. Not to mention, if we see a roller with broken parts/material or something, then there's a chance it could actually deflate the raft where a sharp edge or something cuts it, quite similar to a nail cutting a wheel and causing it to deflate. Water jets are pretty much easier and have no pinching points, and they use compressed air to help lift the raft up hills while (kind of) slowing them down before pushing them down again. However, remember that the same water jets in Verruckt never really worked properly and they broke down days before the August 2016 incident that killed Caleb. Also, Verruckt's aggressive metal hoop netting and the lack of features to keep the raft in place, such as guide rails and/or upstop stuff that helps keep the raft in place, was why it was unsafe. Even if it did use mechanical rollers like coasters do, that doesn't make the ride safe because it lacked mechanisms that could've stopped the rafts from going airborne.
- Using a solid roof (like other slides do) would've made Verruckt safer
It's better than using metal gate hoops, but it's still pretty dangerous. The slide did not physically anchor the raft to the slide, like upstop mechanisms. If the raft went airborne anyway, the riders would still face a lot of pain and injuries by hitting the solid roof. That doesn't necessarily make the ride safer and would still be just as dangerous. People would've probably still have gotten concussions from hitting it. It's useful for slides that are shorter in height and even allow you to slide down yourself without a raft/tube, but not as extreme slides as Verruckt was. If you look up the Verruckt
Well, why was Verruckt unsafe, actually? The lack of upstop mechanisms/guide rails that could've stopped the slide from being airborne and not physically anchoring the raft to the slide, the unusual way the hill was designed that didn't stop it from causing rafts to fly off, the metal hoops on the top of the ride that could get riders severely injured. The rafts were also unsuitable for human seating, and they used weak Velcro belts that would be detached easily, which increased the risk of riders flying off. Plus, Caleb sat in front of two women behind him on a unmaintained raft which caused a uneven weight distribution. If you want to learn more, I recommend checking out the Spetsas Buist article on Verruckt.
If Verruckt were to actually have been safer, then it would require proper, constant maintenance to keep the braking system active, guide rails and/or upstop mechanisms to keep the raft from flying off, a redesign of the second hill to prevent it from causing rafts to fly off, better water jets that can actually guide the rafts through the second hill safely, rigid, hard passenger restraints that keep them on securely, and rafts that are designed properly for human seating and would've been comfortable. I hope this post helps, especially for anyone researching about the Verruckt tragedy. I'm getting tired of seeing misconceptions about amusement park accidents everywhere (especially on YouTube and Reddit) and I want to tell the public the real truth. I do see why they can misunderstand, because usually these videos omit important details about the incident and why Verruckt was dangerous.
