Hello, That scene reminded me why we no longer drive VW vans anywhere from 1964. We were at a 4th of July party in Huntington Beach with sleeping at the party house. So, I wanted to be the first guy in the water on the 5th of July, and was walking toward PCH/the beach to check out the waves. It was around 4 A.M and a little dark. But the light poles along PCH lit up the highway easily. As I looked backward to see if any car was coming up from behind me to the PCH main drag, I heard a big bang. Upon turning back to the highway to see a VW van in a similar position against a light pole right on the highway. The front end was completely wrapped around the pole. But, the awful thing was the driver's side windshield held the driver halfway in and out. He had gashes all over and was not moving. The pole was right in the middle of the large VW sign and it was wrapped tightly. No skid marks, no braking swerves, just a VW van stuck on a light pole. The young surfer must have fallen asleep and just drifted over across the Southbound (he was heading South) and Northbound lanes to crash into the pole on the inland side of the PCH highway.. An older lady was walking her big dog and came over to see what was happening and since we had no way to communicate to the police, (no cell phones back in 1964) we both stood there figuring out how we were going to call the police or ambulance. I was trying to wave down some cars, but they did not want to stop for a bedraggled surfer in shorts/sandals and a t-shirt, especially at 4:00 in the morning. So, after trying to flag down some cars, I went back several blocks to the party house to find the house phone. That was another lost cause, with all of the stuff in the rooms and a ton of party goers still out like a light. But, in the background silence, I heard several sirens and knew the lady was at the scene with her big dog. I did not do well surfing the waves in the later morning. The thought of the young guy sticking out of the windshield was enough to make me not want a van, let alone a popular van like the surf oriented VW vans of the time. Driving those VW vans all over So Cal and down into Baja, Mexico was a thing to do, trading driving chores with my brother or our friends who owned the vans. I had my many miles behind the wheel and never gave it thought as to a head on collision. But, all that separates the driver and the front oncoming cars/trucks is a thin wall of metal and the circular VW insignia. No crash protection, no motor or crushable zones... just a thin wall of metal. OMG... Jnaki But, I still had my Flathead 40 Ford Sedan Delivery and it was a nice transportation vehicle to and from the beaches of So Cal. Luckily, I have never been in a head on crash or have run into anything like a wall or other cars. I did have an idiot racing a Mustang, driving a small sporty car, crash into the driver's door of the red El Camino while I was up in San Jose going to college. But, that had some kind of crush protection in the door design and all I got was a headache. The sporty car driver's insurance paid for the repair plus future medical visits... My passenger was a medical insurance supervisor and she requested we go to the Stanford Medical Center for checkups. That eventually turned into extra cash for the long run. But, for me and when I met my wife, we drove in a VW van one time from our Long Beach house to a beach city apartment for my brother. It was a slow lane no traffic drive as the van was full of his stuff for the apartment. As the old saying goes... "one and done..." Those stories, memories, and actual experiences play a big part of our safety and long lives to this day. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
