Once a number of consecutive loops are made it can be shifted to go the other direction. It elevates on every pass through the station until it has gained enough momentum to make it completely around the loop, thus riders experiencing hangtime (the feeling of themselves almost falling out of their seats). The ride's train is rocked back and forth at a generous rate, as not to put too much stress on the tire drive. The rim is run through a shock-absorbent tire drive, which drives the train around the loop. On one section of the rim the train is snugly placed. In this boxed track is a multiple-piece pivoted end-rim (inertia ring) with wheel dogs attached settled within this boxed track. There is a large steel boxed-track loop attached to a concrete base or portable trailer with supporting outriggers and steel cables. The ride can be transported on a tandem axle trailer measuring 13 feet 6 inches (4.1 meters) high, 45 ft (13.7 m) long, and 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m) wide. It has a capacity of 20 people, with 10 two-person seats. Under the amended contract, the fair continues to receive between 40 percent and 45 percent of the ride revenue collected by Amusements of America.The Fire Ball is 58 feet 9 inches (17.9 meters) high, 56 ft 1 in (17.1 m) long, and 41 ft 11 in (12.8 m) wide. "We don't really oversee ride safety," which is under the Agriculture Department. "We really didn't have any power to enforce that," Schoults said. All that language was removed from the amended contract. Amusement of America's ride-safety consultant must be approved by the OEC, and the commission had to receive copies of safety and inspections reports. Under the old contract, the commission "reserves the right in its sole discretion to close down, at any time, any amusement ride OEC deems unsafe," or which becomes hazardous to operate. "Last year’s accident definitely made the commission take a more critical look at the contract with assistant attorneys general, who were not working with our agency when the original contract was written," Shoults said in an email. The changes were made at the behest of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office, which began for the first time working with the commission on the contract after the Fire Ball accident, Shoults said. "I don't think there were any (other) claims" on last year's policy, she said. If Amusements of America again obtains a policy that aggregates the amount of State Fair coverage with other events, the total coverage doubles to $20 million, Shoults said. Under the previous contract, Amusements of America was ensured for $10 million for all its carnival events that year, meaning that the amount of coverage could be reduced if there were injuries or deaths at other events. The amount of liability insurance coverage that Amusements of America must maintain is still $10 million, but unlike last year, that amount applies only to the Ohio State Fair. "The law sees all state agencies as the 'State of Ohio,' so this change was made to be consistent with Ohio law," Shoults said. Also in the running are Reithoffer Shows and Halley Amusements, Shoults said. One of the three finalists is, again, Amusements of America, which owned the Fire Ball ride that broke apart from rust on opening day at the 2017 Ohio State Fair, killing a man and severely injuring others. The last time the commission got competitive proposals from other ride operators was 2006, said spokeswoman Alicia Shoults. The commission has put out requests for proposals to 16 ride operators, and has focused on three finalists for next year's amusements contract. The current contract between the Ohio Expositions Commission, which puts on the fair, and longtime ride vendor Amusements of America is expected to expire after this year's State Fair, even though a clause exists that could extend it a year. The agency that runs the Ohio State Fair amended and extended its contract with its longtime amusement-ride vendor about six months after the deadly Fire Ball ride failure to take fair commission officials completely out of the ride-safety business.
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