Arizona bus fatality

[Ollie W]

Just found this update on FB.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wsyaGZIKX1Jlr3852Qa77JiB_IwsttNm/view?usp=sharing

[Ollie W]

Were there any follow-up news articles? Anyone know who this was in the van?

Terrible story.

[OTO X58]

[crofty]

[Stocknazi]

It looks like this may be what's needed to convert 6 volt to 12 volt:

https://www.amazon.com/DROK-5-5-30V-Adjustable-Reg...4&th=1
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WANTED:
58 Westfalia cabinet knobs (3 needed), roof rack, and (7) privy tent poles (silver painted).

"When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Thomas Jefferson

[brettsvw]

The 58 Corum Rug Bus with a 36hp engine was i believe driving on Interstate i-95 in Florida on a rainy night and was also struck in the rear by a large Ford truck.

We can't control other drivers. Best to do our own diligence to make a slow moving vehicle more visible to avoid an accident and even death.
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My 59 kombi build.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=635003&highlight=

My buggy build.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=558601&highlight=

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[Chuey]

Those roof lights or some mounted up high make a lot of sense. I intend to put some lights up on the rack on top of my camper. My other bus is a 1990 Doka and all Vanagons have the lights way down by the bumper. I have one of those lights like pickup trucks put under the tailgate (a string of LEDs that go all the way across the back) to put up near the bottom of the camper window.
When I ride my bicycle I put the flashing light on my helmet to get it up into the line of sight of drivers. On my motorcycle jacket, I have a reflective stripe across my shoulders and reflective checkers lining the edge of my helmet.

Chuey

[MrPolak]

Modern LED bulbs in new euro housings with US-spec lenses:

Added a running light using a Hella reversing light with a red lens and a modern red LED bulb. It comes on the the bus is running.

I have this LED white beacon with a magnetic base for those tenuous interstate drives. Stick it on the roof and I'm a school bus.

https://www.amazon.com/LAMPHUS-Emergency-Powerful-Warning-Vehicle/dp/B01LZO30PI?th=1

[Ring-Free]

That's all very sad.

I would also feel uneasy if my bus was almost entirely made up of holes and rust and would crumble to dust in a crash. I love patina, but the thing has to be safe. It would be taken off the road immediately here.

I was working on the roof recently and thought it would be a good idea to lay a few cables for the rear lights. I'm going to build something that I can fold down behind the rear window if necessary. In Europe, American lighting is even more confusing.
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=779910

Instagram: ringfree_marc_roder

[borninabus]

lead by saying that my thoughts and prayers go out to our fellow bus driver who has passed and his family.

there was a thread in the bay forum some time ago where they had an amber light and the SMV sticker, yet still got rearended by a semi--at night.
they were OK fortunately.

i'm not arguing against added safety measures, but the simple fact of the matter is that as these antique vehicles become farther removed from modern ones, you as the driver need to be more accountable for your own (and dare i say, other driver's) safety. when was that last time you saw a model A or T Ford out on the interstate? where are you going that is so important that you need to be out on the desolate stretches of interstate at wee hours? i would say that the majority of modern drivers--who are becoming more and more dependent on "nanny" technologies by the day--don't know anything about VW busses beyond "peace and love" or how slow they can actually be.

what i am saying is: consider your own actions when making choices, be it in your travel plans and especially when driving.
stay vigilant, my friends
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88 Van WBX, A/T - 93 Multivan 5cyl 5M/T - 13 JSW TDI 6M/T - 2012 Touareg TDI Sport

[BulliBill]

[PeteSC]

[Stocknazi]

The vintage lights are pretty cool; too bad the European firetruck/ambulance lights are so expensive. Found some 12V-6V converter boxes (fairly cheap) for our die-hard 6V users:

https://www.amazon.com/Converter-DROK-Regulator-Wa...9&th=1

My plan was to make a mount that clamped onto the roof rack and elevated it up another 18 inches? to increase the visibility even further.

It's annoying to have to do all this just to avoid a negligent driver not paying attention. Willingly allowing oneself to be distracted by a screen should be treated just like a DUI/DWI. It's totally avoidable, no excuses.
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WANTED:
58 Westfalia cabinet knobs (3 needed), roof rack, and (7) privy tent poles (silver painted).

"When the people are afraid of the government, that's tyranny. But when the government is afraid of the people, that's liberty."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

Thomas Jefferson

[PeteSC]

This is unbelievably sad and tragic.

I drive a 6v Ghia, I'll share my lighting upgrades since it's been requested. Hopefully it helps someone. I drive my car year around, and it's not uncommon that during the winter months I'm driving home from work after dark. The mods below allow me to feel safe doing so, as my front and rear lights rival the brightness and responsiveness of my daily driver (and all are easily converted back to stock should there ever be a need to do so).

The Vintage Car LED headlight bulbs linked below are the best available on the market in my opinion. Expensive? Absolutely. But they're incredibly bright, have a great light pattern, and (here's what makes them worth the price) they only take 3.5v to power (no flickering at idle) so they don't require any additional load equalizers to be wired in. Plug and play into an H4 housing.

https://vintagecarleds.com/shop/bulbs-only/vcm3-bulbs-only/

For my brake lights I used LED bulbs made by James Franzen of Cu Layer, Inc. He designed a bulb for the 356 beehive housing that fits my lowlight Ghia housing perfectly. They work across a range from like 3v to 24v, so no issues with continuing to use them after a 12v conversion. Like the Vintage Car LED bulbs above they're expensive due to their design performance. My experience with Amazon.com and other inexpensive 6v LED tail light bulbs was mixed due to the amp load those bulbs can require. James' use VERY low amps, so there's no issues with current draw and light activation. James is creative and can likely make tailights to fit any application.

www.culayer.com

Video of James' lights working are below. As you can see from the foreground glare, while the car was in my garage, this was recorded mid day in full sun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzmW6pGf8T0

Regarding brake light activation, I'm using one of the pedal-activated switches advertised on this site, linked below. These are great for Type 1 pedal clusters. It bypasses the MC switch and activates the *instant* the brake pedal is touched. If I notice someone too close/approaching too fast a simple touch of the pedal does the trick; no need to actually engage the brakes and slow to build pressure to get my brake lights to light.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2140061

For buses....I have a good friend with a newly, fully restored '65. He could not get consistant brake light performance from the pressure switches on the market today. I suggested he try the Ross Wulf MC switch and it's worked perfectly for him. It uses an adapter and a Harley Davidson switch which requires far less fluid pressure to activate. He gets consistent brake lights with the touch of his pedal now.

https://rosswulf.com/shop/ols/products/vw-quick-brake-light-switch-conversion-kit

Again, hope all of that is of some help. Stay safe out there.

[vws-microcars4jim]

[Stocknazi]

[Lind]

I am going to get an orange rotating emergency light for my roof. You can get magnetic ones for under $40. Turn it on when pulling a hill in third gear, or whatever. Remove it after freeway travel. Way more obvious that a slow moving vehicle magnet.

https://www.ebay.com/shop/amber-rotating-light?_nkw=amber+rotating+light
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Wanted:
Idaho VW license plate frames or other dealership items.
VWoA literature and early dealership or distributor literature/pictures/information
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[srfndoc]

[Shoyrtt]

[EverettB]

Mile marker 52 going Westbound is pretty flat.

Google Maps street view:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/RoeoBkamSPL6LcYQ8

I watched the video again and it looks like the accident is right where the rest stop re-enters the I-10 so maybe that is related.
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