Big Thunder Mountain

[PureDisney]

I believe that this ride is safe. That doesn't mean it's idiot proofed. I'm sure if you wanted to find a way you could get hurt on, but like all the Disney rides you'd really have to work at it.

[MmeLeota]

I hit the wrong button by mistake...I believe the attraction is safe, though I admit I do get a little nervous in the spiral section

[eagle4life69]

Just thought I would say take a look at my ride through... Looks okay to me.
http://www.disneymountainrides.com/foru ... ?f=42&t=79

[michelesanchez]

I Just think of how many times a day these attractions run everyday and no accidents so i think it is pretty amazing !!!

[mindflipper]

Really, safety and security do not exist outside of our own minds.

You're right, the misconception of safety is all in our minds. Safety is the acceptable level of risk with an activity or condition. Each person has their own acceptable levels of risk they're willing to take. However, we can find ways to quantify it and measure it, so yes, it can exist outside our minds as well. There a lot of people who work on the safety engineering and monitoring, inside Disney and outside of Disney.

Anyway, it comes down to this: the lower the risk of hazards, the greater the perception of safety. Lowering risks requires identifying the hazards correctly, and possibly eliminating them through re-engineering or placing apporiate controls to mitigate.

The greatest misconception of safety is "100% safe." Nothing is ever 100% safe. There is some hazard to everything, but depending upon its design and controls, the question is how probable is for the design and contols to fail, creating an unsafe event? Doing whatever it is necessary to keep this probability low makes the "safety" of the ride better.

Given the history safety problems many were caused by: (1) by guests behaving in ways that are outside the accepted norm required by the park [such as getting out of a doombuggy while the ride is in motion and trying to leap to another doombuggy - there is a reason they warn you to not to get out of seat, and to keep your hand, arms, and feet inside the ride vehicle AT ALL TIMES], (2) errors in maintenance, or (3) unforseeable design flaw or material flaw. As (2) and (3) are usually unintentional errors, (1) is just plain stupidity.

[hackmonkey]

Since I was a kid I have always feared the over hanging rocks and mountain landscape as a source of removing my arms and your hug the turns....(same with MH). They appear to be very close. I suppose thats why they say keeps your arms and hands inside the car at all times. Of course its likely an illusion as I wiz by them and I doubt DL would have any ride where its even feasible to smack any part of your body on a rides decor.