Bumper cars or dodgems is the generic name for a type of flat ride consisting of several small electrically powered cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operator. They are also known as bumping cars, dodging cars and dashing cars.

Bumper Cars.Don't worry, It's OKAY to CRASH Your Car Here!

Design[edit]

Power is commonly supplied by one of three methods:

• The oldest and most common method, called Over Head System (OHS), uses a conductive floor and ceiling, each with a separate power polarity. Contacts under the vehicle touch the floor while a pole-mounted contact shoe touches the ceiling, forming a complete circuit.
• A newer method, the Floor Pick-Up (FPU) system, uses alternating strips of metal across the floor separated by insulating spacers, and no ceiling grid.^[1]The alternating strips carry the supply current, and the cars are large enough so that the vehicle body can always cover at least two strips at any one time. An array of brushes under each car make random contact with whatever strip is below, and the voltage polarity on each contact is sorted out to always provide a correct and complete circuit to operate the vehicle.
• The bumper cars on the Quantum-class cruise ships run on electric batteries. This avoids the conductive floor/ceiling of the traditional bumper cars setup, as the SeaPlex venue is to be readily convertible from a bumper cars ride to a multipurpose gym (basketball court). The disadvantage is that these ships' bumper cars take several hours to recharge their batteries.

The metal floor is usually set up as a rectangular or oval track, and graphite is sprinkled on the floor to decrease friction.^{[citation needed]} A rubberbumper surrounds each vehicle, and drivers either ram or dodge each other as they travel. The controls are usually an accelerator and a steering wheel. The cars can be made to go backwards by turning the steering wheel far enough in either direction, necessary in the frequent pile-ups that occur.

Although the idea of the ride is to bump other cars, safety-conscious (or at least litigation-conscious) owners sometimes put up signs reading 'This way around' and 'No (head on) bumping.'^[2][3] Depending on the level of enforcement by operators, these rules are often ignored by bumper car riders, especially younger children and teenagers.^{[citation needed]}

During their heyday, from the late 1920s to 1950s, two major US bumper cars brands were Dodgem by Max and Harold Stoehrer and the Lusse Brothers' Auto-Skooter by Joseph and Robert 'Ray' Lusse.^[4][5] Lusse Brothers built the first fiberglass body in 1959, in part due to the survival of Chevrolet Corvette bodies over the previous six years. After getting permission from Chevrolet, then subsequently buying the actual Corvette chevrons from local Philadelphia dealers, those were attached to the nose of their product for 1959. In the mid-1960s, Disneyland introduced hovercraft-based bumper cars called Flying Saucers, which worked on the same principle as an air hockey game; however, the ride was a mechanical failure and closed after a few years.

The current largest operating bumper car floor in the United States is located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, and is called the Rue Le Dodge (Rue Le Morgue during Fright Fest in the fall). The ride is 51 feet 9 inches (15.77 m) by 124 feet 9 inches (38.02 m) or a total of 6,455 square feet (599.7 m²). A replica of the ride was built at California's Great America in Santa Clara; in 2005, however, a concrete island was added to the middle of the floor to promote one-way traffic, reducing the floor area.^{[citation needed]}Six Flags Great Adventure's Autobahn is the largest bumper car floor, but it has not operated since 2008.

Gallery[edit]

• A decorative painting of some bumper cars

• Party hard tycoon download free game. Bumper cars at Taunus Wunderland

• Bumper cars in Frankfurt

• Quizup for pc. Adult bumper cars at Genting Highlands

• Bumper cars in Angeles City

• A bumper car in motion at the Royal Adelaide Show

• Abandoned bumper cars in the Pripyat amusement park that was abandoned after the Chernobyl disaster on the 26th of April, 1986

• A row of parked bumper cars during a local festival in Čakovec, Croatia

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'How does this Electric Floor work?'. physicsforums.com. Retrieved 2014-08-31.
2. ^Dolan, Maura (January 1, 2013). 'Ruling over bumper-car injury supports amusement park'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
3. ^'A Guide To The Rides'. Santa's Village Jefferson, New Hampshire. 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
4. ^(Multiple authors). 'Legend/History'. Lusse Auto Scooter Bumper Car Web Site. Lusse Auto Scooters, LLC. Retrieved 6 September 2014. Includes many details about Dodgem as well.
5. ^Stanton, Jeffrey (1997). 'Coney Island: Independent Rides'. Coney Island History Site. Westland. Retrieved 6 September 2014.

External links[edit]

The Flip Zone has many features that the Spin Zone does not have but includes some of the Spin Zone’s best features.While bumper cars have been popular in big and small parks for years, they had become mostly a kiddy ride until the Spin Zone Bumper cars came along. The Spin Zone has proved that adding a competitive feature makes bumper cars more exciting and more profitable. Paying for themselves in 2 years or less, the Spin Zone is a fantastic profit generator for all amusement businesses: big and small. We have had successful customers in indoor FEC’s, botanical gardens, outdoor FEC’s, Bounce Houses, Laser Tags, zoo’s and in large amusement parks with 3,000,000+ visitors a year! What helped Spin Zone’s generate more money than other bumper cars? EXCLUSIVE FLIP ZONE FEATURES:1) “FLYING” the Flip Zone: The first major change is an elevated seat above the driving platform. The Flip Zone driver has the sensation of flying around the arena.

The driver can drive the car while sitting in any position including standing on their head!2) MORE TARGETS= MORE FUN: The Flip Zone has four FIip Zone targets that can be bumped by other drivers doubling the fun of the Spin Zone. More Targets means more action!3) AMAZING BUMP RESPONSES: Each time one of the targets is hit, the Flip Zone car will go through a series of movements that include both flipping and spinning.4) THE RIDE OF 800 LED’s: The Flip Zone has amped up the light show on the Flip Zone in a big way. Now having LEDs on the bottom, sides and top, the light show is INCREDIBLE!5) DON’T WANT TO FLIP? While the Flip Zone is designed to stand riders on their head, for the timid of heart (or weak of stomach), the GIVE UP button will allow the driver to de-activate the Flipping portion of the interaction.6) BETTER RIDE EXPERIENCE= MORE $$ PER RIDE: The Flip Zone is a moredramatic, more exciting and more unique experience than any bumper car before it.