Originally published at: World's faster roller coaster in Japan suspends operations after 4 people suffer broken backs or necks | Boing Boing
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In case anyone cares, 100 kph in 1.56 seconds is 1.85 g. Definitely faster than your car brakes but not literally neck-snapping.
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The quoted article says 180km/h, which is just over 3.25g.
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I have nothing useful to add here except that my brain was going “WHEEEEEEEEEEE” during that entire video.
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Thanks for the correction. The number that really worries me is 180 kph [1] in a 40 meter diameter circle. Unless they slow that down before the loop, that’s 125 meters per square second – about 13 gravities. That is physiologically very scary.
[1] Conveniently 50 m/s
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Do-donpa is fast, but it’s not the fastest. That honor belongs to Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. At 240 kph top speed, it’s the fastest by a good margin.
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I’ve ridden this coaster at least five times: a couple when it was Dodonpa, and several more now that it’s Do-Dodonpa. It’s great! I’d ride it today, as is.
But it is unbelievably fast, and the acceleration is like nothing your average person has ever experienced elsewhere. The instructions (in English, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin, as I recall?) are very careful to point out that you simply must not tip your head off the headrest, or wear any loose jewelry, or hold anything in your hands.
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And poop 
prior to ride, not during.
Follow me for more life tips.
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Oh, there’s no time to poop during!
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At 13 gravities, I would hope not. We’re talking about your head weighing over 130 pounds – not many people have neck muscles capable of balancing that reliably, and many necks will have serious compression injuries.
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That’s a good point. I wonder where in the ride the injuries occurred.
Back when I rode it (over a decade ago) I remember the start was set up to surprise you. There was a countdown and then a pause just long enough that you started to wonder if there was an issue with the ride- that’s when the basically shot you out of a cannon. I can see that going wrong pretty easily.
That first incline though absolutely feels full speed and comes at you faster than you can think to scream in terror.
The mount Fuji rollercoaster, on the other hand, drops you long enough you run out of screams halfway. I’m still bitter my commemorative mug broke. It was a fantastic snapshot of me remembering just why I don’t ride rollercoasters.
Edited to add: Looking at the video, do-dodonpa is not the same ride as the dodonpa. It has a loop instead of the nearly straight up and nearly straight down path (the top hat) it used to take. Now I’m curious which version the injuries occurred on.
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Yeah: Dodonpa had the top hat; Do-dodonpa now has the loop. It’s the same ride you rode, but revised.
I think I read (in Japanese media) that the injuries are all fairly recent, so that would be the new loop version.
Fujiyama is also pretty great. If you rode Dodonpa, then you probably missed Ee Janai Ka? which is pretty new. It’s ferocious and disorienting because the seats rotate on an axis parallel with your hips, while the track also loops.
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How do you say “Traction Park” in Japanese?
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Only if it’s off to the side. I don’t enjoy mud pie.
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I don’t know the exact speed in the loop, but it’s definitely not 180 km/h. The first blast of acceleration is tempered by a few energy-robbing things before you get to the loop. I could believe you experience single-digit Gs, but as you suggest, 13 Gs would be absolutely punishing.
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Following all safety instructions is critical:
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My trip to Fuji Q was during my second stint in Japan. So I’m guessing it was around 2005?
Yes I am old.
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Me, too: 1996-1999. But I get back every few years.
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