Its funny, when ever I take friends out in the "A" they always get a big kick out of riding in the rumble seat. And yet I find myself a little uneasy about them being in there. I try to drive as responsable as possible. But even that dosnt help when tailgaters have no choice, but to tail gate. With the traffic congestion, high speeds, and the need to stay up with traffic, it gets hairy! Ive never had an accident in any of my rods, but Im always playing the what if game in my head. Ive seen a rash of a** end crashes on the highways lately and I find my self saying what if that was a Rumble Seat? When it does happen, I relize how little protection there really is back there for the passangers. I'v often thought about some type of internal, roll cage type bumper. Something unseen. I was wondering if anybody else has given this any thought? And how you deal with it. I hope I dont put a damper on the rumble seat experience for anybody else, And maybe Im just being weird! I just have to ask? Have you ever thought about Rumble seat safety?

My thoughts on rumble seat safety? A bag of rocks for the rumble seat passengers with instructions to throw them if the tailgater is within 30 feet of the rear bumper. Dan

ahhha-The old biker trick, "bag of bolts" Very good, I could relax a bit more with that thought!

Maybe a windshield squirter aimed backwards filled with, say?

When I was younger I used to aim the passenger side sprayer so it would spray over my roof and back towards the trunk. Most of the tailgaters were buttholes who thought their shiny new cars were something special. Nothing pisses off that mentality more than having thier shiny buggy getting peed on!

Every time I think about rumble seat safety I realize 2 things.

1) In a rumble seat a person has way more protection that being on the back of a motorcycle.

2) if it is your time to go it wouldn't matter if you were in an armored car.


If people are tailgating you...GO FASTER!

If that is not possible, I always seem to have a can or 2 half filled with old coca cola laying around the inside of my cars..
People always seem to back off when they see you hold that can out the window, ready to dump it.


Later, mikey

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BE different....ACT normal.

Rumbleseats are dangerous...they are not meant to be used for todays world.

Henry, then T buckets and 99% of all pre 40ish cars are out! And what about the 40ish and up? They have no crumple zones, no collapsing steering columns, no shoulder harness, they are DEATH TRAPS by todays standards.

When we get into ANY rod we are playing the odds, plain and simple. There are 287.5 Gazillion cars on the highways driving 1258987.27 Trazillion miles every day. Now, there are 295.3 rear enders that would result in injury. With 12.7 rubble seat roadsters with people in the back the odds are .00057 in a Gazillion chance. I would say that is pretty good odds.

Brian

C'mon, Brian...quit using those outdated stats..


Yesterday we drove 1258987.29 Trazillion miles, not 1258987.27 Trazillion

How can you expect anyone to take you seriously if you put such misleading info in your posts?



How big is a trazillion, anyway?

hahahahahahahahhahhahah.......HAHAHAHAHAAHAAA

mikey

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BE different....ACT normal.

All good suggestions! I do ride a bike on the street from time to time. The defensive driving is very much the same as when im on two wheels. The "A" is not a daily driver so I do find myself giving more thought to less congested routes, and non peak travel time. I hear what you are saying Powerrodsmike, when your time is up, its up! I just don't want make that time decision for any of my friends or family. They can do that on there own!

Maybe you need some kind of drag bar that you can let down to emit a shower of sparks from under the rear of the car.

I don't buy the "when your time is up, your time is up" argument. I don't think it is just the "luck of the draw" that more guys times were up as they stormed Iwo Jima's beaches than me sitting at my computer.


We have better odds in a new air bag filled car everyday than we would in a T bucket, bedamned the "time is up" angle.

Brian

Dunno Brian? My dad was a Deputy Coroner here in town for many years, Ive seen some things that make you wonder? Now that I think about it, maybe thats why this safety thing is in the back of my mind? Heard, and seen the results of alot of crashes like this. And very seldom street rods, and always fatal, the ones I heard about anyway!

None of us will ever know who is right about all of that, but if you do believe the "luck of the draw" angle, then you don't sweat the small stuff as much.

I think I'd rather ride in a t bucket than a new car anyway.

Later, mikey

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BE different....ACT normal.

I know id rather die in a Bucket T, than a newer car. Im sure if i was driving from the rumble seat I wouldn't have any feelings one way or the other. Its just the responsibility for the safety of my passenger i have a concern for.

That's my point Mikey, I don't. If I engage in some act that is "slightly" more dangerous than not doing it, what the heck. I mean, if I am out in any car, what are my odds of getting in a serious accident, 1 in MANY millions, 50-100-200-500 million? I don't know. So what are the odds that if I am riding in a T bucket in this particular accident I will get injured badly where in a 2007 Sedan I woudln't have? Maybe again, millions to I. So what are the actual INCREASE in the odds? It is soooooooo miniscule it really doesn't matter. I have a much better chance hitting 35 million $ on a scratcher ticket!

Brian