Son knocked unconscious on Butlins ride.

skipsmum

earthstorm wrote: »

i very doubt they would not have safety belts as this would be a serious breach of Health and Safety and would mean they dont carry out an annual inspection (MOT) by an Amusement Devices Inspection Procedures Scheme (ADIPS) inspector.

I echo this, although the ride operator must check the belts are being used in each car before starting the ride.

(I'm showman family and still run rides in the summer)

vaio

skipsmum wrote: »

I echo this, although the ride operator must check the belts are being used in each car before starting the ride.

(I'm showman family and still run rides in the summer)

Really? I've ridden them over the last 50 years, first as a child, then with children and now with grandchildren and I can honestly say I've never used a seatbelt or been checked/asked to use one.

I have seen the seatbelts but from memory they are just a "one size fits all" loop of fabric attached to the power pole and wouldn't function as a seat belt in the accepted sense

OlliesDad

vaio wrote: »

I have seen the seatbelts but from memory they are just a "one size fits all" loop of fabric attached to the power pole and wouldn't function as a seat belt in the accepted sense

Last year I used dodgems at a local fair.. thinking back they were just lap belts.

skipsmum

vaio wrote: »

Really? I've ridden them over the last 50 years, first as a child, then with children and now with grandchildren and I can honestly say I've never used a seatbelt or been checked/asked to use one.

I have seen the seatbelts but from memory they are just a "one size fits all" loop of fabric attached to the power pole and wouldn't function as a seat belt in the accepted sense

I should've made it clearer - where safety restraints are in use the ride operator must check that they are being used correctly - wether that be a lockdown bar or a loop of fabric.
(although what should be done isn't always what is actually done).

I agree, the loop of fabric doesn't function well as a seatbelt. I have a bar and loop system on my rides - the loop is really just to make it more difficult for a child to climb out. My rides are all hand-powered so slower and easier to keep an eye on.
I'm sure theres a difference between advertising a ride as dodgems or bumper cars as well - I will see if I can find it.

earthstorm

skipsmum wrote: »

I'm sure theres a difference between advertising a ride as dodgems or bumper cars as well - I will see if I can find it.

not sure their is, it all depends on what part of the world you come from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_cars

Bumper cars is the generic name for a type of flat ride consisting of several small electric cars which draw power from the floor and/or ceiling, and which are turned on and off remotely by an operatorI][URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"]citation needed[/URL][/I. They are also known as bumping cars, dashing cars, dodgem cars, or simply dodgems, the last name being the usual term in British English.

skipsmum

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8472394/Butlins-bans-bumping-on-the-bumper-cars.html

lincroft1710

earthstorm wrote: »

when i was a kid ( many moons ago) you went on dodgems and could travel anyway you wanted and bump anyone.
now it seems you have to all travel in the same direction and not bump into each other ( so the fun taken out of the ride)

I'm sure that 50 years ago the dodgems on the travelling fairs which visited my hometown had a "No Bumping" sign, usually near the pay booth.

The sign was of course completely ignored.

halibut2209

I always thought if they were called "Dodgems" then there is no bumping, hence the name!

lincroft1710

halibut2209 wrote: »

I always thought if they were called "Dodgems" then there is no bumping, hence the name!

I believe they've been called "Dodgems" by the ride owners for many, many years. But when you have a load of little manoeuvrable vehicles doing their drivers' own thing in a fairly confined space, contact between the vehicles will be inevitable.

vaio

lincroft1710 wrote: »

I believe they've been called "Dodgems" by the ride owners for many, many years. But when you have a load of little manoeuvrable vehicles doing their drivers' own thing in a fairly confined space, contact between the vehicles will be inevitable.

In most peoples eyes contact is the whole point. and if you have a known person to contact with (be it sibling, mate, parent or grand parent) then so much the better