What are the safety considerations when designing a roller coaster?
Among some of the most important things that designers must pay attention to when designing a roller coaster are the acceleration, the rate of change of acceleration — “jerk,” and the rate of change of jerk — “snap.” The acceleration is extremely important in determining if a ride will be exciting and sufficiently scary without being uncomfortable. “Jerk” and “snap” measure the forces present upon various parts of the coaster at each point in its movement, and are pivotal in roller coaster safety. Maintaining reasonable levels of “jerk” and “snap” ensure that neither the users nor the building framework are subjected to abruptly large forces, which could cause bodily harm or structural collapse.
