Yeah I don't know if I completely believe that either. You don't exactly have a good view of anyone else's restraint on the ride, and to say you were a couple rows back and somehow noticed a lapbar popping up seems to be a stretch.
Not to mention those lapbars are freakin' hard to push down, and I dunno if the force from the ride alone would be enough to push it back down had it indeed released.
So you're trying to tell me that being two rows back, as the train is ascending a hill, you wouldn't be able to see a restraint pop up? That's the story you're rolling with?