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Mon Mar 08, 2010 11:01 am

in lower speed accidents lap belts are not great, as you noted... their *only* benefit is in accidents where you can or would be ejected from the vehicle... they may keep your face bouncing off the dash, but that is possibly better than being ejected... as Alby's Dubby said, and I agree, lap and shoulder belts are mandatory(in my opinion) even on antique vehicles that folks plan to drive in traffic...

Mon Mar 08, 2010 12:13 pm

was in 3 fender benders in my 73

first was driving in rush hour, sped up to go through the green light... and there was another light after that really close, and it was red, so everyone stopped short... and I couldnt stop fast enough pumped the brakes 3 times and locked up everytime, was going maybe 30and was able to almost stop before impact.... crunched up my front pass fender and it rubbed a groove in the tire, on the way home... I had no front bumper, at the time

another was a lady from behind, while I was stopped at a light... she almost stopped in time, and it barely moved my back bumper

next was turning out of a parking lot... the guy in front of me went, i looked to check on coming and gassed it... only to look over and see the guy in front of me stopped... crunched another fender

Then on to my 68...... no bumpers at all... only had lap belts

drunk dude pulled in front of me head on... i was going about 35, he was probably doing 15 or so ... he was in a 90's ford f150 i swerved at the last second, so the passenger front took the brunt of it... Fed my bug up... bent the beam, crunched both fenders and hood, bent the front point of the pans... passenger side was smashed all the way to the door... the spare took ALOT of the damage

I cut and bruised my arm on the steering wheel... bent abd cracked that steering wheel all to hell... My head hit the widnshield, I broke a toothfrom my teeth clattering together... cracked my ribs, and was sore as hell for a week or so from the whiplash,

I was able to walk away and call my wife.... the drunk dude ran off, and had no insurance and was not a citizen....

the bug was pretty totalled, it got parted out and cut up

I also was driving my 70 ghia on the highway, doing 70 mph in the fastlane, over a bridge with no breakdown lane.. when the last lugnut came of the front drivers wheel....

I was lucky to have fat tires and aftermarket mags.. the axle caught the inset of the rim and I was able to pull over without flipping and dieng...

remember to TIGHTEN your lugnuts before driving off, after doing repairs!!!!

I just got A 60 rag with no belts.... I will be adding lapbelts before driving it

Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:10 pm

The day I finally finished my oval, an elderly guy in a Cadillac pulled in front of me, I had right of way. I had bolted the front bumper on no less than 6 hours earlier. No injuries, but the bumper, hood, fender and front quarter panel were toast. Got it all fixed and was able to pocket over $400 in insurance $$

Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:04 pm

My first one was in '77 in my 60 ragtop. He ran a light and tboned me. Broke 3 ribs, major concussion, and totalled my first major restoration. Second was about a year later in a 63. Spent a week in the hospital on that one. More broken ribs, broken arm, hand, etc. Switched over to a full size truck as a daily driver, but still built racing engines and ran a baha offroad.

Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:21 pm

Lighter Klepto wrote:
next was turning out of a parking lot... the guy in front of me went, i looked to check on coming and gassed it... only to look over and see the guy in front of me stopped... crunched another fender

God I hate when other drivers do that. Happened to me in another classic but not vw car.

Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:43 pm

Faustuss wrote: Lighter Klepto wrote:
next was turning out of a parking lot... the guy in front of me went, i looked to check on coming and gassed it... only to look over and see the guy in front of me stopped... crunched another fender

God I hate when other drivers do that. Happened to me in another classic but not vw car.

I hate it when drivers do that too.... they should make sure it's clear in front of them before "gassing it".... :wink:

Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:52 pm

once got rear ended at about 5-10 mph in stop n go traffic in my 63 bug. that just pushed my bumper and muffler in just enough to pry my valve cover a bit, then half way home my valve cover fell into the street, that was scary going home, leaking all my oil :shock:

once again someone hit my passenger front side going about 15mph. messed up my bumper and fender so it rubbed against my tire and i had to pry it off.

i was never hurt, thankfully

Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:04 am

drunk driver, rain, sharp turn, rolled the embankment. My mom walked away from this. She ended up with her legs out the back window sitting in the trunk space behind the back seat. That car was rusted from Minnesota roads.

Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:50 am

Years ago I rear-ended a 65 Jaguar XKE with my '68. The VW front shot under the Jag's rear, knocked off both mufflers. When I finally came to a stop, the Jag's license plate was almost touching my windshield. I put the bug in reverse and backed out, setting the Jag back on the pavement. I ended up needing a new hood and a new insurance agent.

I suppose the other vehicle matters, if that had been a large truck with a full bumper, it would have been a much different story.

Tue Mar 23, 2010 9:06 pm

andrewsanteiro wrote:
drunk driver, rain, sharp turn, rolled the embankment. My mom walked away from this. She ended up with her legs out the back window sitting in the trunk space behind the back seat. That car was rusted from Minnesota roads.

:( Yek, that's terrible. Glad your mum (or as the Americans say - mom) was ok.
Paul :)

Wed Mar 24, 2010 11:28 am

Way back in 03' I was working my way through college at a local deli. One morning a delivery order came in and I was on task to take it. I hoped in my 1970 VW bug to swing around the corner and take the delivery.

I was about to get on the freeway, heading under the overpass to get to the south-bound onramp when an LA County Fire Paramedics truck came blazing through the non-lighted intersection with lights and sirens in full.

They made a left-hand turn right in front of me and didn't see me barreling along at 40mph in a bright-lime-green bug. I guess I never saw them either (I don't remember anything!). I slammed in to the toolbox of the truck behind the passender side. I was only 21 at the time and stupid. I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I slammed my head into the windshield and body into the steering wheel.

The car was pretty messed up

I spent a few days in the hospital (3 days in ICU) with only a major concussion. No broken bones, no permanent injuries. So I ended up OK

A lot of it is all chance. I probably should have died. I'm not sure driving a bug made it any worse. I think if I wasn't wearing a seatbelt in any car, I would have had the same problems. If I was wearing a seatbelt I probably wouldn't have hit the windshield and wouldn't have even made a trip to the hospital.