What's it like to be in a roadster wreck

[FergO2k]

a buddy in the backroads driving group added LED lites in behind the grill of his Spitfire, that run in the daytime. When you look in the rear view mirror, it appears to be a piece of chrome catching the lite, so looks fitting - not out of place. But it catches your eye in the rear view mirror, which is a good thing. Once a rollbar is in, a 3rd brake light up high is a good idea, because folks are not used to looking so low to see roadster tail lites.
I like lights on in the daytime, but thn (at least on late models) the lights are "on always, and brighter when braking", which in sunlight the difference is not so easy to pick up.

[david premo]

I agree with the defensive driving. I can control most of what’s in front of me while driving defensively, it’s whatever behind me that I have no control over. It is for this reason I put on the third brake light hanging from my roll bar. It no guarantee, but it helps get you some more visibility. Without a doubt though the best thing is to drive like you are invisible and do as much as you can to be visible.
Dave

[SLOroadster]

You know, I think I'd rather take my chances in a roadster than in a Smart car, or even a Miata. The frames are pretty robust, and with a roll bar and harnesses, I'm inclined to think its more safe than a Miata.

More food for thought. This '59 Bel-Air and its 210" full length frame is "pretty robust", right?
WRONG:
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And more Miata, because we all know that the answer is always Miata!
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Since Alvin loves to quote me. I still stand by the statement.

Since I have been involved in an accident in a roadster that could have been pretty serious, I will post some pics.





A kid hit me while I was sitting at a stop sign waiting to make a left turn. He was doing 45+ when it happened. It was a hard enough hit that the car rotated 90 degrees and the passenger side front wheel hit the curb hard enough to crack the windshield and break the lower ball joint. I was wearing my race harnesses and walked away totally unharmed. A few years later I was rear ended (in my first Alfa) by a guy in a Nissan Frontier doing 55. I was again at a standstill trying to make a left turn. I got punted into a ditch, totalling the car. Again, 1969 tech, but this time with 1969 seat belts. Again, I walked away unharmed in any way.



Both of these incidents have caused me to change how I drive. Now, I watch my mirror when slowing or stopping in an uncontrolled intersection, and if I see someone who looks even remotely inattentive coming up (as in not slowing at all) I dump the clutch and take off down the road till I can turn around and come back to where I was trying to turn in the first place. If I'm at a stop sign, again I make sure I have an out if I need one. As other have said, drive like you are invisible, assume the other guy is an idiot and not paying attention. Its not a matter of if someone is going to do something stupid these days, its a matter of when, and how stupid.

Will

[jamesw]

That about sums it up Will - a large proportion of drivers on the road are distracted drivers. Car manufacturers are having to come up with "engineering controls" to make up for the "behavioral controls" that are no longer in place...

It's too bad neither of the folks who hit you had one of those fancy cars w/ radar that will stop you from rear-ending someone automatically.

James

[SLOroadster]

Manufacturers adding engineering controls are adding to the issue. People learn to rely on the car thinking for them, rather than them thinking for themselves. At the same time they keep adding distractions to the cars. The more "tech" that is added, the more distractions drivers end up with. GPS? Ok, you have someone trying to program the thing while driving. Phone or internet? again, paying attention to something other than driving. Heck I saw one car the other day with so much crap suction-cupped to the windshield with phones and whatever that I was shocked the person could see where they were going. Then we get to cars like the Prius where the whole dash is distracting. Not to mention they tell you how how good it thinks your driving is. Hell people have a hard enough time negtiationg a left turn without leaving their lane and driving down the oncoming lane till the road turns and forces them into the correct lane, or they drive with 2 wheels over the fog line through every right sweeping turn. People need to be less lazy behind the wheel and actually give a crap about what they are doing behind the wheel, and that is when they aren't distracted by a phone, the car itself ect.

Will

[GoldHawg]

I plan on added LED rear brake light strips to the roll bar I'll install in my build. Any other good "lighting" techniques people have used to be a bit more visible?

[mraitch]

Given that blinking/flashing thingies attract more attention, is there any 3rd party 3rd light that blinks when braking? With increased frequency as braking is harder!

[bobd]

Google "how to make brake lights flash", lots of stuff!

https://www.ebay.com/i/161617943669?chn=ps&dispItem=1

I think the new car advertisements are essentially telling us that we don't have to pay attention - they will save us.

No amount of flashing lights will save you from the oblivious driver, so driving like you're on a motorcycle (invisible) is a good idea no matter what you drive.

I ride bicycles and this subject is a hot button for bicycle riders as well.

[jamesw]

You're not talking about engineering controls in your post Will - you are just talking about in-car gadgets which have been around for years. I'm sure people argued the am radio would be distracting and cause accidents.

I'm talking about engineering safety controls for collision avoidance.

James

[Linda]

Having decent tires to maneuver with are important.
Check the date code on your tires!
Linda

[redroadster]

Id bet the self driving car is going to die now , dont you think ( after the pedestrian death)
It will be like a 18 yr old wanting to insure a camero , or Mustang , the insurance agent would just say , you cant afford it

[mraitch]

Completely self-driving cars scare the bejaysus out of me. If ALL the cars were self-driving (hopefully NOT, since bibi roadster) maybe - but computers are programmed by humans - and humans make mistakes.

I certainly get the usefulness of all the proximity warnings, fair enough, but I recall a time on the 101 when a tanker truck came from the 405 at too high a transition speed (for a tanker) - while he didn't lose the trailer completely (it did end up in my lane, where I would have been). I had to a) notice that this was happening in the first place, b) decide on brake or gas c) evaluate my exit strategy d) fulfill on my decisions.

At one level, I get that the computer could do ALL of these things faster than I, but the combination of all 4 would probably be beyond the ability of the PROGRAMMER to program against such an eventuality. And that's the point!!

[Alvin]

Here we go!

[68DSU]

Back to subject.
Early on I had a car pull a U-turn right in front of me. A year or so later, the same thing happened. My thought was that I was too low to appear in their poorly adjusted mirrors. We are not only low but without a roof they really only see about door height. I give plenty of space and drive with the thought that if there is a stupid move to make that driver right there will make it.
Our cars don't have the crumple zones that absorb impacts but make for ugly pictures. The damage for my car was relatively minor (RF corner and LF corner) but I took quite a shock both times. Belts worked and no steering wheel problems partly because I had my arms locked and the obscenity vocalizer on full blast.

[AC77]

Hopefully, I never have a "roadster wreck" story to tell, not because I don't survive, but because it never occurs. I am a defensive driver in all cars, but especially so in my Datsun. Compared to a normal car I'm small, let alone trucks and semis. I'm always thinking of the "what if" scenarios and try and never put myself in situations where I don't have some options. Unfortunately, you can't account for every fool on the road.