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Inventor Turns Bumper Car Into Actual Car, Sort Of

One inventor from Tamworth, Staffordshire has found the perfect way to avoid traffic jams, and no, it doesn’t imply riding a bike or walking, or any other means of transportation that would have him exert himself.
Mark Harper shows off his converted bumper car 6 photos
Photo: YouTube / DailyMail
50-year-old woman takes a bumper car to the busy streets of China50-year-old woman takes a bumper car to the busy streets of China50-year-old woman takes a bumper car to the busy streets of China50-year-old woman takes a bumper car to the busy streets of China50-year-old woman takes a bumper car to the busy streets of China
Mark Harper is converting bumper cars that he buys off eBay into actual working cars that he can take out to do his daily errands. They’re not road-legal yet, but he’s ok with driving them on the sidewalk for the time being, he says in an interview with the Daily Mail.

He’s made 4 so far, 2 of which he sold. He uses one and his wife another, and they both have a blast when they take them out and they know people can’t stop staring. As you can see in the video at the bottom of the page, he kept many of the dodgem’s original features, like underfloor lighting and blinking lights, funny horns and whatnot.

As for the one he drives on the regular, he says he paid £400 for it. He spent another £2,500 to make it functional on the road, which included fitting it with a battery, a mobility scooter engine, a radio and sound system, and more LED lights.

“I enjoy just driving it around Tamworth and people seem to love it and want photos taken with it all the time. It seems to brighten up people’s days,” Harper explains. “They can only do 8mph so they can’t go that fast, but its a great way to just nip around town and avoid traffic on the roads.”

Still, his bumper car is fast enough to allow him to race mobility scooters, which he does quite often. As for whether he will ever take it out on the actual road, well, that’s up to the DVLA.

“I did contact the DVLA to see if I could make it officially roadworthy but they never replied, I wonder if they thought it was a joke,” Harper says. Until they do reply, he’ll stick to racing mobility scooters on the sidewalk and alleys.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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