1929 Duesenberg Crashes Near Ann Arbor, Killing 3

I'll tell you what putting seatbelts in a ragtop would have done. When the Duesy flipped, all five would have gone with it until it came to a stop. Think of what would have been above the beltline of the car! I wholeheartedly agree with the headline comment.

 

No ****. Volvo's, SAAB's, and soccor moms in SUV's. Can't tell you how many times those ****S have pulled out and not realized I was RIGHT THERE. What an ***HOLE. I'm all for anti-cell phone laws in all 50 states. Anybody who's been cut off bike, hot rod or what-have-you and then realized the person was on the phone should support that.

So anybody who see's the Es*** and wonders what the NHRA/SFI cage inside it is there for, it's for all the Volvo drivers out there first, and drag racing second.

 

This is being discussed in a few forums...Here was my response...

I had a friend who drove a 60's something-or-other and when he wrecked it, it was pretty bad. He had bolt in after market lap seat belts (to "be safe"). The driver was wearing his seat belt- the p***engers in the front and backseat were not. The front p***enger got his face pretty smashed, but it was a little bit of plastic surgery and he was ok. The backseat p***enger barely had a cut or a s****e. The driver was on life support for quite a while with severe internal damage. They say that his body was nearly ripped completely in half from the seatbelt that he was wearing. If he had not of been wearing a seat belt (like the other p***engers) he would not be dealing with life long damage and recovery. Just a warning to you guys! These old cars were not made with seatbelts! If you are dead set on putting them in, make sure you have some sort of system that is not strict bolting. They can actually cause more damage than good.

Seat belts or no, driving an old car is taking a risk. I am 100% aware of that risk every day I drive my car, and it is worth it to me. The seatbelt statistics are for newer model cars that have harnesses and catches. A lot of people installing seatbelts into their cl***ic cars as just doing this bolt on business and that can be dangerous.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I give my wife and kids a hug every time I leave the house to go for a drive or a ride,ya never know

 

Tragic.I feel sad for the younguns who survived,and for the waste of life.My wifes mum&dad were killed by a drunk driver back in january.He drove on the wrong side of the road for about a mile and a half,and hit their van head on.They both burned to death!The other guy died too.Dont know what else to say.Kol.

 

Were they bolted the frame?

 

I`m not suggesting the volvo driver was drunk.I just wanted to let off some steam cos we still get moments of anger.Sorry.Kol

 

The guy "nearly ripped in half" sounds like a bad design problem, not a belt problem as such. I would guess that either the belt was installed at a bad angle so it went across his stomach instead of hips or he was done in by a seat angle or crash dynamics pulling him down through a loose belt. Properly done belts can certainly cause injuries, but at such high loads that injuries from free flight would be MUCH worse, and the peak loads are taken against your pelvis, nature's specially designed crash suit for your innards.
Real racing harnesses would be better in a crash, but are utterly irrelevant in the real world--they would be intolerable for normal driving.
I found a picture of the '29 on CNN on the computer, and its tub was generally intact. A rollover in what was left would, I think, have given a much better chance than being thrown into the road. Remember, in a side hit like that, those who were thrown were not only hitting the road and going into oncoming traffic at high speed, they were most likely being tossed into the path of the rolling car itself. Look out your windows--is there ANYTHING out there that looks like a better thing to hit than your seatbelt???

 

i agree, if you got the money to restore a duesenberg, then you should be able to afford adding seatbelts.

does it detract from the value to add them and is that why they did not put in any?

 

yeah, and the guy is pretty young for having a newer volvo, probably a older college kid with a cell phone and ill-deserved volvo.

only a punk-*** can miss a stop sign. ESPECIALLY at night, they reflect like a mother-fuc*er.

My grandfather with only one good eye has never missed a red light or stop sign in his life.

 

My local paper covered it today along with pics of a local shop installing
seat belts in a 53 MG roadster. This AP article went on and on about older
cars being unsafe etc.etc.etc. and not more than 3 short lines on the fact
that this accident was caused by an idiot in a Volvo running a stop sign.
sorry for the rant,it justs chaps my *** how the media spins it.

My heart goes out to those two little girls and the family left to deal with
this tragedy...

 

They need to throw the book at the Volvo driving yuppie.

 

Same here. Note the headline:

"1929 Duesenberg Crashes Near Ann Arbor, Killing 3"

Hmmm. At first glance it suggests that that some crazy driver wrapped his expensive collector car around a tree. Or maybe, the murderous old car just went postal and started randomly killing people. In all the follow up stories, big discussions of the lack of safety devices in old cars. But absolutely nothing about why the hell the Volvo driver couldn't read a big red octagon with the letters S-T-O-P. This is incredibly stupid blame-the-victim reporting, and it's obvious with whom the reporter's sympathies lie.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for belts and plan on installing them in the Model A coupe I'm building. But imagine if some idiot drove up on the sidewalk and mowed over 5 people on a park bench -- would the headline read "Park Bench Kills 5"? Would we see follow-up articles about "dangerous park benches"?

 

awesome....

 

WTF ??????????!!!!!!!!!!!

 

i was being sarcastic because he called me an idiot.

 

Aight, at ease Lt.

 

Given the situation, I think you are both being disrespectfull...


But that is just my opinion.

 

My sentiments exactly... I'm still serious bout the auction, contacting Ryan tomorrow noon!

 

Hi Guys,

It seems I sparked a bit of a debate with my comment regarding driving in a car without seatbelts. Just want to set the record straight on a few things...

This is a tragedy, kids growing up without parents, parents burying thier kids and grand kids. I feel sick in my gut just imagining if it was my family.

Firstly, in no way did I place any blame with the victims. They didnt do anything wrong, they didnt run the stop sign, blame lays with the other driver in this instance. All I said, was it makes me shiver to think about driving in a car without seatbelts, let alone driving my family in a car without seatbelts.

Someone said it perfectly on another post, you only have right of way when someone gives it to you. Ask any motor bike rider, they know what I'm talking about. Theoretically you should never die at the hands of another driver, but it happens. Therefor I choose to wear seat belts. I also choose to drive defensivly, ***uming everyone on the road will do something *****ic and I'm rarely disappointed.

As for the posts regaridng the effectivness of seatbelts in old cars, you cant argue with the mountain of facts that have come through exhaustive research over the last 60 years. Seat belts save lives. Would they have saved in this instance? I dont know. But I'm sure they would have tipped the odds in the favor of surviving. The other thing people forget is, ok so in a crash of this magnitude they may not have survived regardless, but what off that 15mph fender bender? Hitting anything at that speed without a seat belt can peg you through the windshield causing death, brain damage or serious injury.

So just so everyone knows my position, I feel devistated that this has happened, its a tragedy on a scale I hope no one here ever has to endure. In no way do I blame the family. But I will continue to argue the point over the benefits of seat belts till I'm blue in the face becuase if it saves one life in the process, thats on kid growing up with a dad, one less widow, one less parent burying a son, one less person without a brother...

Danny

 

I read this post a few days back, Wasn't sure if I wanted to comment on it?

Ck'd out the news footage and studied the vehicle.
I grew up w/o parents My mother died when I was 16 days away from my 1st birhtday. My father was never around because he was always either working or had his own thing goin on. My fathers mother was 67 when she had to take on 3 kids.
She lived to see m graduate from school. That was her goal.
I know what the two young children will endure. I believe that they will survive.
Seatbelts in an antique vehicle: Now that's a whole different can of worms.
I'm a former APD adjuster for both GM-MIC & Farmers Insurance.
I've seen a lot of wrecked vehicles-What I'll say here is sometimes it's just the cir***stances. The seats in that particular Duesey sit pretty high. Take a look @ the flattened out windshield, Seatbelts or no seatbelts, They may have not a chance either way. I've also restored these types of High End Vehicles, 3 point harnesses/belts don't sit well with the concours judges.
This vehicle was not owned by the driver, His father & him were the restorers.
He was just out for a warm sunday afternoon ride with his family.
The party in veh #2 is definitely @ fault in this case. His carrier will have to pay to repair the vehicle,hospital bills & funeral expenses as well as pain & suffering. Believe me,his hell began the moment his vehicle colided with party#1's vehicle. He more than likely will be cited & charged with vehicular
manslaughter-3 counts and may never be able to afford to drive ever again.
That' why I just pulled away from the insurance business. It was very sad.
I feel for all parties involved. I personally do not like laps belts only. I drive my 34 rdstr & I have them in there,but they're not hooked up, because I don't trust the mounting or the design. My 34 3W,34 Woody,32 rdstr & 27 T-ster doesn't have them. I don't worry about it though.That would keep me from driving them. If the car is designed with them, then I use them w/o fail.
Please just remember these people in your prayers.
It is indeed a very sad time for the survivors.

 

Michigan insurance laws are much different then most states. We are what is referred to as a "No Fault" state when is comes to who's insurance pays for what. The Dussies insurance carrier will pay to repair it, the hospital bills for those in the Dussie, funeral expenses, ect. The Volvo's insurance company will pay to repair the Volvo and any hospital and related expenses he incurs. THEN the Dussies insurance company will go thru a subrogation process with the Volvo's insurance company to recoup it's losses.

This has nothing to do with ciminal charges and whos at fault for the accident, just has to do with whos insurance company pays for repairs. The powers that be state that this keeps the court system free of non-sense cases about deciding blame for repairs.

Basicly it's a great system. Makes everyone responsible for his or her own car.

 

Michigan Insurance ****S! We are the only state that charges every vehicle over $170. per year for "Catastrophic Claims" This protects the Ins. Co. From ever loosing any of their own money. Also the "no-Fault" was suppose to ave us money --WRONG. They justs had a thing on TV that MIchigan is one of if not the highest (cost to own a vehicle per year) states to own a car.

 

Tragic waste of life....... If the auction idea goes ahead, I'm more than willing to donate something.

 

I feel for the family, and specially for those kids that survived, I lost my dad at 13 and it was hard then, at their age, should be a lot worst. I will also donate something .

 

Like I said earlier in this about lap belts it's not just helpfull in crashes if you swerve hard in a car with a bench seat you may very well slide away from the wheel. I dont care how stong you are weight and velocity take over every time. The belt also keeps you behind the wheel and working the pedals which is a good thing in my book.

Although in this one situation they might not have helped but in many they do. They have done many studies seatbelts save lives, because some *** you know (this is not directed at anybody) survived one crash dose not mean no seat belts is better. ITS A FACT THEY WORK.

Remeber saftey did not sell it was forced on us in the begining because seat belts work. Its not a automotive conspiracy to make money no one wanted them.

I still think the resto crowd need to think about this hard, and think about letting things like seat belts slide in the judging. I know most of those people would never drive there cars in a millon years, but one more live person is better than the consequenses any day.

I was also thinking that shouldnt the insurance company do a nice pay out for the wrecked car that alone should help those kids a little on there way. I know it no replacement for the kids lost parents but I dont think they are gonna pay for the repairs.

 

and 5000 other children just like them in the slums whos parent got shot up, but apparently nobody cares about them