Sunday, February 09, 2025

In the era before airbags and even seat belts, it was easier to die in a car accident back then, so when was your 1st car accident (as a driver or passenger) and how did you survive it before those safety features were around?

 

In the era before airbags and even seat belts, it was easier to die in a car accident back then, so when was your 1st car accident (as a driver or passenger) and how did you survive it before those safety features were around?

And it was also before DUI became a charge so with more frequent drunk driving, how did you defy all those odds stacked against you?

Also, what was the Y/M/M of the first car you had an accident in and how bad was the wreck? How bad were your injuries?

What lessons did you learn from said wreck?

 

all 91 comments

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[–]BeepBopARebop 60 points  

You survived car accidents by your mother flinging her arm across your chest right before impact.

[–]Sh0ckValu3 17 points  

Close the thread. This is the only answer.

[–]StephDos94 4 points  

Yep! And she even had time to put out her menthol cigarette in the little ashtray first.

[–]always-tired60 6 points  

My mom kept her cigarette tight in her lips. Her glasses came off though. Good thing she had them on a chain.

[–]NegativeEbb7346 3 points  

Mom once had a watermelon slide off the seat of a International Travelall right onto the gas pedal. She cussed while clenching her Pall Mall Red & kicked the watermelon to the passenger side. My Mama was a badass. She raced gassers, rode Harley’s, drove muscle cars, scuba diver & swimsuit model. She was the best mom a kid could have!

[–]StephDos94 2 points  

She sounds amazing! When I close my eyes I can still smell my mom’s cigarettes, perfume and hairspray.

[–]Old Enough To Know Better2_Bagel_Dog 5 points  

There is a chance that none of us actually survived this, and Reddit is just some kind of purgatory...

[–]2x4x93 4 points  

In later years, this evolved into "stopping short"

[–]Charming-Charge-596 2 points  

Unexpected Seinfeld.

[–]2x4x93 2 points  

I try to model my life after those miscreants

[–]nosirrahg 2 points  

My 1st wreck was with my mom in our ‘59 Chevy, she hydroplaned and lost control of the car. I was maybe 2-3 years old and I was standing in the front seat (as we did back in the day); I can still see her reaching across the seat to grab me as we spun into the ditch. No one was hurt (including the car), and as we were barely a quarter of a mile from home we couldn’t have been going too fast…but I’m told they finally broke down and bought a new set of tires for the car after that.

[–]SensibleChapess 10 points  

Interesting. Twenty or so years ago, I (in UK) bought a car that had been built in 1959. It was in beautiful condition and it still had the original purchase receipt in equally pristine condition. It had originally been bought by an aircraft engineer and he too had paid extra to have seat belts fitted! Specialist knowledge and expertise is not to be sneezed at!

[–]HotStraightnNormal 5 points  

My dad installed seat belts in my firsr car, a 1953 Ford. Like many cars from that time, it had a large, steel steering wheel and all metal dashboard.

[–]tigers692 3 points  

My Dad did the same thing, he put a seat belt into his car on the passenger side, just for me. I was three and he was able to tie down the booster seat so I could see over the dash. Had he ever wrecked I wouldn’t have been thrown into the steel dash, I would have safely been thrown through the front window. :-)

[–]cofeeholik75 8 points  

My mom’s arm. I was 5. Mom driving. I was in passenger seat. Making a left. Passenger door opens. I start falling out. I remember seeing car tires. Mom grabs me by my shirt and yanks me back.

‘Mom arm’ was the original seat belt.

Oddly, I do the ‘Mom arm’ thing when I am driving, got a passenger and coming to a fast stop. They already have s safety belt on. Maybe the ‘Mom Arm’ is a survival instinct?

[–]60 somethingCrafty-Shape2743 5 points  

My mom didn’t do the mom arm (no surprise there) but even in the modern age of seatbelts and airbags, my 40 something boyfriend did! I married him.

20+ years later…he still does. Writing this out and really thinking about what an airbag could do to his arm in an accident, I think we need to have a little talk.

[–]bombyx440 3 points  

The mom arm is how I knew my date had kids.

[–]NotTravisKelce 5 points  

I was watching an old news report where the reporter was getting everyone’s reaction a new. It was a law that banned drinking alcohol while driving. Everyone was angry. “Can’t a guy let off some steam on his way home from work!?” It was 1982.

[–]NegativeEbb7346 1 point  

I’ve seen that! Joe Factory needed his PBR for the ride home.

[–]scuba-turtle 4 points  

My first car doubled as a tank. My only accident in it involved a small thud.

[–]Old Enough To Know Better2_Bagel_Dog 5 points  

Many years ago I was thinking about participating in the county fair demo derby. Reading through the rules stated 197x (don't remember the years) Crown Chrysler Imperials were disqualified due to risks to drivers of other cars - which I still think is funny.

[–]cofeeholik75 1 point  

Bigger than my 65 Pontiac Grand Prix? I spit at VW bugs!!

[–]scuba-turtle 1 point  

Did you park it or dock it?

[–]Blues-Daddy 1 point  

I rear ended someone instead of them rear ending me. Totally my fault.

[–]60 somethingwikkedwench 1 point  

Steel cars and Soccer Mom saves.

[–]I Like IkeShiggens 1 point  

I was 7. Dad and I were coming over a rise in the road. A car had stopped coming towards us and the car behind it came into our lane to go around it. Dad avoided a head on by leaving the road and going up an embankment. The car rolled over one and a half times. When it stopped I was on the roof. Dad had managed to hang on to the wheel and not fall on me. I cut my fingers crawling through the windshield opening. Otherwise we weren’t injured. The car was a 53 Packard and was totaled.

[–]ArtfromLI 1 point  

Not until 1970, I rear ended another car.

[–]50 somethingRandygilesforpres2 1 point  

They were more dangerous yes but cars didn’t crumple, so unless it was a big one you just got jostled and whiplash.

[–]seaningtime 1 point  

Cars crumple to spread out the deceleration forces caused to you during a crash, I.e., older cars were much more dangerous.

https://youtu.be/fPF4fBGNK0U?si=AZxZQBRN_58yJGM-

[–]50 somethingRandygilesforpres2 1 point  

Which is what I said?

[–]masterP168 0 points  

cars were a lot bigger, heavier, and had metal bumpers so your car didn't crumple up the way new cars do. in that way it was safer

I can remember when power steering and power brakes was an option.

there was no ABS brakes, no traction control, the tires back then were terrible, cars didn't handle very well around turns or corners

I had a 1981 Camaro and if the road was the slightest bit wet the rear end would go sliding sideways. I had so many close calls and a few accidents

cars were dangerous back then, but we survived

[–]seaningtime 3 points  

Crumple zones in a car are exactly for the purpose of safety to the passengers in a crash; in that way it was not safer.

[–]ncminns 0 points  

We learned to drive properly and didn’t act like twats

[–]KaptainKobold 1 point  

Ah yes. No-one had car accidents before 1990.

[–]ncminns 1 point  

Of course they did, but my comment still stands.

[–]waynofish 0 points  

First wreck was when the 80' Bronco (F150 based) I was in rear ended an 80'ish station wagon (Caprice based) at a red light at speed. We walked away from the Bronco and the couple in the station wagon went to the hospital, but for minor injuries. Of course, both vehicles were totaled!

The Bronco had high back captains chairs, seatbelts but no crumple zones or airbags, but both were large vehicles, so they were a lot safer than what people today say they were. Are todays vehicles safer? Yes, they are, but I'd rather be in that Bronco today in that kind of wreck then a small car or modern smaller SUV. These smaller vehicles need those airbags because the aerodynamics put the windshield in your face practically. Those types of older vehicles, the dash and winsdhield were a good bit in front and I feel the weight of them made the front end a crumple zone. 5000lbs at 50 MPH is going to crumple upon impact with something else heavy and hard.

Those older vehicles (trucks and larger cars) were built better and were safer than many today think.

And they even had a few safety features most vehicles don't have anymore. Such as;

Passenger side imaginary brake pedals. The driver would know exactly how much braking force to use by the reaction and tenseness of the passenger pressing the imaginary pedal he had!

a push and prey brake system to get a higher power involved.

Dad's arm reaching across was a dual purpose restraining system which would double as a valid excuse to punch his son in the chest for being bad.

[–]Straight-Mess-9752 0 points  

Wtf is wrong with you?

[–]ArtisticDegree3915 -2 points  

I flipped my first car. I survived by wearing my seatbelt. I walked away.

And to this day I don't wear my seatbelt because I just don't care anymore.

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