Touring safety

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

We are having a touring safety program at our next meeting. I was wondering what thoughts you guys might have regarding touring safely? Maybe some guidelines that you're club has installed.One thing that bugs me,is after a "gathering" up, pulling a line of 10/20 cars back out on the hwy. if the lead cars don't accelerate quickly,the cars behind are way too slow, and immediately cause upcoming traffic to slow down. I'm starting to think gathering stragglers needs to be a pre planned off the road spot, preferably with a controlled intersection. Anyway Tia for your thoughts. Chuck

[Jerry in Shasta]

Move over let traffic pass, leave gaps so passing cars can pull in and not stay in the on coning longer than necessary

[700rpm]

Carry flares and safety triangles and a basic First Aid kit.

[Mike V. Florida]

http://www.hawkamodelaclub.org/image...guidelines.pdf

[Redbird]

I'm new to A's, but I am going to buy a slow moving vehicle sign/decal for my car. I would recommend that the last few cars in the convoy have a temporary one attached to give the followers a heads up.

[rocket1]

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how about groups of 4 or 5 so many minutes apart so regular traffic can pass easier

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by rocket1

how about groups of 4 or 5 so many minutes apart so regular traffic can pass easier

I agree. 10-20 cars together is a parade! A better method, if there are that many cars participating, is to assemble a simple tour route book/paper with route instructions. Then have folks can travel at their pace in multiples of twos or threes and meet at scheduled stops every 30 minutes or so.

[jmeckel]

Originally Posted by Redbird

I'm new to A's, but I am going to buy a slow moving vehicle sign/decal for my car. I would recommend that the last few cars in the convoy have a temporary one attached to give the followers a heads up.

I would check the laws of the state you are operating in before displaying a SMV sign on your car. In WI and many other states you must be below 25 mph. And the vehicle must have a normal operating speed of not more than 25, or be horse drawn.

Some states will allow a yellow flashing light to warn other drivers, that would be a better option.

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by jmeckel

I would check the laws of the state you are operating in before displaying a SMV sign on your car. In WI and many other states you must be below 25 mph. And the vehicle must have a normal operating speed of not more than 25, or be horse drawn.

Some states will allow a yellow flashing light to warn other drivers, that would be a better option.

Kansas laws say the slow moving vehicle is not legal like WI. The yellow flashing light works. The brighter the better. Even a white strobe works. Anything to draw attention to something unusual in the road ahead.

[Jim Brierley]

If the road is 4 or more lanes wide we recommend pulling up to a signal side-by-side. This allows all the A's to make it through the light in a group, so cars don't get strung out and lost, as in missing a turn. When a turn is made, and cars are strung out, it is the duty of the last car in a group to wait until the first car in the next group can see where we turned. Not a bad idea to carry a GPS with you, just in case.

[Tom Wesenberg]

X2 what Jim just said.

When a person gets left behind and lost it's a bad feeling, and it happened to me once. It seems to happen more when a fast driver is leading the group.

[Jordan]

CB radios are the best tool for touring. All the cars are connected and on the same page when things change.

[barkleydave]

SMV NO in KY. Amber flashing is OK

[30ccpickup]

Note: in boy scouts you are not allowed to caravan. Take a look at how many people run a yellow or RED light to keep up.

Also note: just like a roller coaster, the last car moves the fastest to keep up.

[James Rogers]

Brent is correct and I would add, if you are wanting to get some tips on touring safety, contact a local Model T club or the MTFCI or MTFCA and ask them. Model T's tour more than any Model A clubs I have ever seen and don't have any of the modern equipment the A's have like four wheel bakes or sliding gear transmissions or over 20 HP.

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

Thanks for your input, I'm liking the "break it up into smaller groups", with pre arranged stops.

[Pilotdave]

One of our touring requirements is that each car is responsible for the car directly behind it. If the car following me disappears, I stop and wait a few minutes - then go find it and call the leader if there's an issue. This rolls up the line - in short order the tour is parked beside the road until the problem is resolved.

If we are going to be touring on busy roads, we break into groups of 4-5 cars to avoid the parade syndrome.

[HoarseWhisperer]

Our club and all of the local chapters have an annual spring "Inspection Day" at Ford Dealerships to ensure road worthiness prior to participating on club sanctioned tours. It does give peace of mind.

[Tacoma Bob]

Chuck...pert of the reason I stopped touring with the Gerties was when someone breaks down everyone and I do mean everyone gets out of their cars and crowd around the disabled "A" We are just begging to get hit by passing motorists. The other turn off for me is the I'm responsible for the car behind me issue. AND for heaven sakes why do we need 6 bazillion two way radios. You need one in the lead car and one for the last car. End of story.