Bumper car
Encyclopedia
Electric car
An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
s 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 dashing cars, dodgem cars, or simply dodgems, the last name being the usual term in British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
.
The inventor was Victor Levand, who worked for G.E
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
.
Design
Power is commonly supplied by one of two methods:- The oldest and most common method uses a conductive floor and ceiling, each with a separate power polarity. Contacts under the vehicle touch the floor while a pole mounted contact touches the ceiling, forming a complete circuitElectronic circuitAn electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow...
. - A newer method uses alternating strips of metalMetalA metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
across the floor separated by insulating spacers, and no ceiling grid. The alternating strips carry the supply current, and the bumper 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 the 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 metal floor is usually set up as a rectangular or oval track, and graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
is sprinkled on the floor to decrease friction
Friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...
. A rubber
Elastomer
An elastomer is a polymer with the property of viscoelasticity , generally having notably low Young's modulus and high yield strain compared with other materials. The term, which is derived from elastic polymer, is often used interchangeably with the term rubber, although the latter is preferred...
bumper surrounds each vehicle, and drivers ram each other as they travel. The controls are usually an accelerator and a steering wheel
Steering wheel
A steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles and vessels ....
. The car can be made to go backwards by turning the steering wheel far enough in either direction, necessary in the frequent pile-ups that occur. Most carnivals and amusement parks require riders to be at least 42 inches or taller to ride and 52 inches (1.3 m) or taller to drive the cars.
Although the idea of the ride is to bump other cars, safety-conscious (or at least litigation-conscious) owners often put up signs reading "This way around" and "No bumping." Depending on the level of enforcement by operators, these rules are often ignored by bumper car riders, especially younger children.
During their heyday (in the late 1920s through 1950s), the two major bumper car brands were Dodgem and the Lusse Brothers' Auto-Skooter. In the mid 1960s, Disneyland introduced hovercraft
Hovercraft
A hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...
-based bumper cars called "The Flying Saucers
Disneyland Flying Saucers
The Flying Saucers was an attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, California from 1961 to 1966.Guests rode in personal flying saucers on a cushion of air, similar to an air hockey game, which played in a way similar to bumper cars, with guests ramming each other with their saucers.The "table" was a...
", which worked on the same principle as an air hockey
Air hockey
Air hockey is a game for two competing players trying to score points in the opposing player's goal.-Equipment:Air hockey requires an air-hockey table, two player-held mallets, and a puck....
game; however the ride was a mechanical failure and closed after a few years.
The current largest bumper car floor is located at Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America
Six Flags Great America is a Six Flags theme park in the Chicago metropolitan area, located in Gurnee, Illinois. It first opened in 1976 as Marriott's Great America. Six Flags purchased the park from the Marriott Corporation in 1984, making it the seventh park in the chain...
in Gurnee, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and is called the Rue Le Dodge (Rue Le Morgue during October for Fright Fest). The ride is 51 feet (15.5 m), 9 inches by 124 in 9 in (38.02 m) or a total of 6455 square feet (599.7 m²). A replica
Replica
A replica is a copy closely resembling the original concerning its shape and appearance. An inverted replica complements the original by filling its gaps. It can be a copy used for historical purposes, such as being placed in a museum. Sometimes the original never existed. For example, Difference...
of the ride was built at California's Great America in Santa Clara
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
, CA
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; in 2005, however, a concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
island was added to the middle of the floor to promote one-way traffic
One-way traffic
One-way traffic is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction.-General signs:...
, reducing the floor area and restoring Rue Le Dodge at Six Flags Great America's largest floor title.
Appearances
- Kings IslandKings IslandKings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. Opened in 1972 by Taft Broadcasting Company and now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Kings Island is the most visited seasonal amusement park in the U.S...
as Dodgems (1972–Present) originally operated at Coney Island, Cincinnati, OhioConey Island, Cincinnati, OhioConey Island is a small amusement park and waterpark located in the California neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio and Anderson Township, on the banks of the Ohio River east of Downtown Cincinnati...
(??-1971)