Be careful

[Fibber Mcgee]

I was driving down 95 last night about 10 pm when I saw a model A sitting in the emergency lane with no lights and no one around. It looked brand new and I thought it was odd that no one was around. By the time I saw it I couldn't stop to see what was going on so I called FHP to ask them to check on it ( needless to say they didn't seem to believe me but said they would check it out) so I just continued to Orlando. When I arrived in Orlando I asked one of the drivers that was behind me if he saw it and he said he had but it was driving down the 95 with just the one taillight doing about 45 and that he almost ran it over. About that time another driver came up and said he saw it near Daytona in the middle of 95 in pieces, it had gotten rear ended by a SUV and it was gone from the windshield back. I don't know what happened to the driver or why he was out on the interstate doing 45 at 10 pm but I just thought I would remind everyone, Be Careful.

[Ross F-1]

Driving an interstate is harrowing enough, but at night you are taking a real chance. Hope the driver survived...

[white64]

I tried an internet search w/o results...

[19Fordy]

Gosh, that's terrible. 45mph is below the legal slowest speed.
Hope injuries were not serious.

[41panelmark]

Heard a similar story here South of Denver, one of the local owners of a Model A shop came up on an old car doing 75, had to swerve to miss it just in time. Since then they have been selling the LED inserts and high candlepower lamps. I have all installed on my panel and you can see it like it was a UPS truck.

[Mike51Merc]

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And, of course, just another reason to carry flares in the toolkit.

[V8COOPMAN]

.......and THE perfect reason to FIX your stuff better than "good enough for now"! DD

[Old Henry]

Magnetic and license plate reflectors I put on the back of Old Henry for night highway driving (plus super bright bulbs in the tail lights). Ain't been rear ended yet (cross my fingers, knock on wood.)

[green50]

I also carry magnetic RED reflectors in the glove box for night driving.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

Magnetic and license plate reflectors I put on the back of Old Henry for night highway driving (plus super bright bulbs in the tail lights). Ain't been rear ended yet (cross my fingers, knock on wood.)

Originally Posted by green50

I also carry magnetic RED reflectors in the glove box for night driving.

Mine are all red also. Don't know why the photo flash made them yellow. Probably over exposed.

[Ross F-1]

A sign like these isn't a bad idea, neither is driving with your 4-ways on. But I prefer to just avoid night driving, too many critters...

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Ross F-1

A sign like these isn't a bad idea, neither is driving with your 4-ways on. But I prefer to just avoid night driving, too many critters...

I considered putting one of those triangle signs on but in my state you have to be going under 25 mph to use one. I at least get above that on the highways, limit 65 mph usually.

[rotorwrench]

Having driven models A cars a fair amount and sometimes at night, I'm well aware how lacking the 3-brush generator set up can be. No mater how good the set up is, the damn things will not keep up with the current draw of the lights being on. The alternator is a good way to go but bad things can still happen. A person has to know the limitations and physical condition of their vehicle. I would plan very carefully for a night drive in a Model A. A tow home would be less traumatic than the loss of a whole vehicle and all the time it took to fix it up plus the bodily injury possibilities

[Fibber Mcgee]

I think Old Henry has the right idea. I know a lot of us are wanting to maintain originality so a second taillight on an A might not work but I think some magnetic LED red lights would have made a difference. I'm not saying the SUV wasn't partially to blame as well (probably texting) as I have driven over 2 million miles ( most at night) and have seen many cars without lights and you can usually see something of the car weather it be the outline or a reflection off of something and the fact that one of our trucks Almost hit it but didn't says something as well. I also tried to find something on the Internet and couldn't other than the report on the FHP website when it happened.

[B-O-B]

It isn't always another vehicle. A few years back on my way to LARS & this critter tried to outrun me. It wasn't in a crosswalk either but it was @ dusk.
Damage was 10 grand thanks for insurance.

[PeterC]

At night ... the few times I've been caught after dark ... I attach two of those modern flashing bicycle red LED lights that have amazing brightness and pulsing night pentration

[Fortunateson]

I heard of a neat trick... install a couple of the brightest LED lights at the rear of the frame. They light up the pavement really well especially when the road is wet. Bonus, nobody will notice the non-originality of the vehicle when its parked.

[Straightpipes]

45 may be the slow limit on some highways but if you can't keep up with moving trafic stay off the highway.

[mhsprecher]

The flashing bike lights are great. They are probably illegal in some states, but better to get a ticket for that than rear-ended.

I have LED tail lights on one car and just bought some for my roadster. I am considering putting a high stop light in my cars, too. The biggest issue is inattention, though.

[scooder]

10 grand for a fu@@ing bent bumper. You hit a little raccoon, and they payed up 10 grand! Anybody wounder why insurance is pricy these days.?
Martin.

[32BBflathead]

I agree with straight pipes, if you can't run at least within 10mph of the speed limit stay off the interstate, especially at night. It's uncourteous to the other drivers as well as dangerous. Your also blocking traffic, even most of the truck drivers run within 10mph of the limit so running slower than that is disrupting them and causing alot of excess traffic. If I want to run slower than that I take a different route. I know when my truck gets finished the closest it'll ever come to the interstate is 2 feet (distance between the road and boards of the trailer it's carried on).
I also like Peter's idea with blinking lights, as you know those are signals rather than markers, the speed limit around here is 75 mostly but the traffic usually runs at least 80, so if I'm driving i see are car with the lights on up ahead running 45mph, I don't know this at the time all I see is a car presumeably running the speed limit, I glance in the mirror, then all of a sudden I'm on top of the car running 35mph slower than me, I've had this happen before. Whereas with the hazards I automatically think this guys running slow so I should move over, it gives a bit of warning.

[FL&WVMIKE]

Not too long ago, at night, I came up upon a '37-'38 Ford, with their low, itty-bitty tail lights, and could hardly see them at any distance, at all.
It's not just '37-'38 Fords. All tail lights of that era are too small for the Interstate.
MIKE (mikeburch)

[B-O-B]

Scooder you may want to look @ the pictures & ask a few questions. It bent the bumper twisted the lower shock mount (putting it in a bid) that I didn't catch & by the time I got home ( 1,000 miles later) it had ripped the upper shock bracket from the frame.I made a new piece & had it welded in place then to make it look right did the other side. The glass fenders had stress cracks in them necessitating repair & repaint of the complete fender. I also had to have the alignment checked. It could have been worse as it threw the car a bit sideways & I was doing 65 mph. I didn't have time to hit the brakes & that probably kept me rolling over.

[VeryTangled]

Hi Everyone, Scary story! Some of our highways are pretty hostile day or night, even AT THE SPEED LIMIT (the flow of traffic is usually 10+ over the limit), and I-95 is a good example of one. The original poster, Fibber McGee is a trucker, and can probably tell stories for quite a while.

Just because you can use a piece of pavement doesn't always mean it's a good idea. If anyone is causing a rolling roadblock, it is only a matter of time until a distracted driver finds them.

One thing my dad taught me was to line the tail light buckets with aluminum foil. It takes only minutes to do, and I don't know of a down side.

I put a feeler on the Model A side to see if anyone knows more about the report.

-VT/JeffH

[scooder]

Ok more than a bumper. How's this? If you brung that job to me. Remove, repair,paint both fenders, while they were off. Repair the shock mount area of the frame, and make good. Go over the front end, check for any other problems. Check alignment. Job done. I would be uncomfortable asking for 1/2 that amount. It would probably come in at around 3-4 grand.
Maybe I should move over there and open shop. The price would remain the same. I go on the fact I love doing this stuff, I'm not gonna be a millionaire at my prices, but I sleep very well every night. And I would not be getting wet from the rain over here AGAIN! I hate rain.
Martin.

[31Tudor]

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Well actually I have some information on the accident. This was my buddies 31 Roadster that he had just sold to a gentleman who lived in Orlando. We live north of Charlotte, NC. This guy was bound and determined to make it in one day back to Orlando. They came by my house the night before he left on Tuesday morning. I had even mapped him a route to Orlando without having to go on the interstates. He thanked me but I could tell he was not really interested. We both said that would be a really long day, and that we would make it into at least an over nighter.
Well then the accident!! He apparently was hit from behind on I95. Flew upside down, landed on the wheels and then was hit by another car. He was released from the hospital that very next morning with bruises and a few cuts. Amazing that he was not killed! He called my buddy that next morning to let him know what happened. Absolutely shocked that he did not die or would have been in the hospital for months.

[scooder]

Good Lord! Happy he's almost unbelievably ok. Shame about the car though. How many miles is that journey? And you mapped out an interstate free journey for him, he must be nuts.
Martin

[31Tudor]

It was about 500 miles. In a stock Model A that is a long day. Talk about lucky though, when I think about being upside down in a Roadster, if you land upside down, you are done. So Lucky!

[scooder]

5 hunner miles in one day, in a new to you stock Model A down the interstate? Like I said, nuts. Stay on smaller roads, over two days, I think would have made a very pleasant journey.
Martin.

[tubman]

At my age, 500 miles in a new Caddy is a long day; I can't believe he tried it in a Model "A". I drive back and for to Florida every year, and the traffic on both 75 and 95 will run you over if you drive the speed limit.

[rotorwrench]

I'm glad to hear he survived. I've been near run over on the road so many times that it gave me a good dose of what not to do. I can fix cars more often than not but gave up on trying to fix other people a long time ago. Some things just can't be fixed.

[Sid the Maineiac]

Yup, even duct tape won't fix stupid !!

[Ted Duke]

I live near I-81 in Virginia. The speed limit is 70MPH. The right lane normally runs 65 to 75 and the left lane 75 to 85, except when someone from Maryland or New Jersey or Tennessean is in a hurry, then they run whatever they can maintain weaving thru traffic. My A Model is still UNDER construction, but I can NOT imagine driving it or an other car that won't maintain 70 on I-81 (or I-95 it's the same) DAY OR NIGHT. I picked up too many from wrecks when I was driving an ambulance.

STAY OFF the interstates, please. It's dangerous enough on any street with the texters and book readers and sleepy ones.

[donQ]

I avoid night driving in my model As, but the suggestions regarding LED bike lights that can be attached are the way to go. If the blinking lights are not legal where you are,a unit called Powermax Superdeer has 3 settings, rapid flash, moderate flash and steady beam. It also has a belt clip that allows you to easily slip it over your license plate. I think you can find these most places that sell bikes.
donQ

[VeryTangled]

Hi All,

At least the buyer will have a story, if he's brave enough to tell it. Not the first Model A to be destroyed, many with right cause.

I have a colleague who was towing a trailer with her race bike down (south, to us Yankees) I-81 last summer (a two lane interstate with lots of left lane traffic) and a lane-weaver caused a 40+ car pile up! In a thunderstorm! Toasted her new Forrester, the trailer (thankfully not the bike), and a flatbead semi beside them shed a newly restored Airstream into the ditch. The loco fled the scene on foot and was caught later. The insurance was a nightmare. Everybody got drenched.

It is a scary world if you follow the green overhead signs. Fibber McGee will attest.

On the other hand, route 30 can take you from Gettysburg to Tahoe, I hear...

-VT/JeffH

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Ted Duke

STAY OFF the interstates, please. It's dangerous enough on any street with the texters and book readers and sleepy ones.

Sure hope you guys can find an occasional drive away from freeways like this one I took today to Great Basin National Park on the Utah/Nevada border. This picture shows a 13.7 mile long section of the road that I was on for several hours (compressed by telephoto lens). Saw another car about 3 or 4 times an hour.



10.7 miles of that section as straight as an arrow.



Google Earth view of the section shown: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/38.4...!1m0!3e0?hl=en

[scooder]

Why anyone would go on an interstate when you have roads like Henry just posted at your disposal is beyond me.
Martin.

[BILL WZOREK]

Originally Posted by scooder

Why anyone would go on an interstate when you have roads like Henry just posted at your disposal is beyond me.
Martin.

People get caught up in a Having to get there before we even leave life style !!!

[mhsprecher]

We need to be careful all the time. I believe that statistically, secondary roads are more dangerous than interstates, but if we cannot keep up the speed and stop like the rest out there on the interstates, we should not be out there. I just think that with the brakes we have, our high center of gravity and the limited amount of tire surface on the roadway, we should not be on high speed roads. Maybe early on a Sunday morning when no one else is on the road.

[scrapiron]

More foolishness, yesterday on I-81 near the I-77 junction there was also a good looking "A" Roadster being dragged along on what appeared to be a flimsy home built tow dolly/trailer pulled by a small van, at about 55 mph. Created a slow down back up getting around it...

[Fibber Mcgee]

31 Tudor, let us know if you come across any pictures , I wonder if anything is salvageable. I'm glad to know he is okay but what he was he thinking and he only had 50 miles to go , not that he stood a chance in the construction on I 4.

[V8COOPMAN]

Therein lies the problem...a combination of "get-home-itis", and thinking "I've only got fifty miles to go".

Dirty Harry actually said a lot with his famous remark: "A man has to know his limitations". DD

[scooder]

With me the journey is as big a part of a trip, as the destination. Oftentimes the best bit. Sometimes it's just a journey. Those roads Henry shows in his pics, in my eyes as close you can get to heaven built roads, while you still alive.
Martin.

[josh1331]

For those that have show cars and others that have extra cash, here is the name of a company and web address that sells led lights that are magnets ,front and back that are used as signal lights and at night blinking lights. Invented about 2years ago. Smart signals.com. Or 1800 231 9685. Mention John L from the little rhody model a club of Rhode Island . Mention number 11274 for discount at least that's what is on a business card given to me . I received it from a nice fellow named Ken. Good luck. John L

[dumb person]

But is the important part, the car, going to be alright?

[Ted Duke]

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Originally Posted by mhsprecher

We need to be careful all the time. I believe that statistically, secondary roads are more dangerous than interstates, but if we cannot keep up the speed and stop like the rest out there on the interstates, we should not be out there. I just think that with the brakes we have, our high center of gravity and the limited amount of tire surface on the roadway, we should not be on high speed roads. Maybe early on a Sunday morning when no one else is on the road.

Secondary roads were dangerous, that's why they built Interstates. But, they were engineered for 55 MPH. The speed limits are mostly 65 or 70 MPH now, and a large percentage of the drivers are driving 10 to 15 MPH over the limit and allow NO space between them and the guy in front. Traffic is much higher then EVER predicted and truck traffic percentage even higher. Unless you are in the great Northwest "no traffic zone", Interstates are IMHO not necessarily safer.

[Fibber Mcgee]

After driving over 2 million miles I can tell you there might be more accidents on back roads but the ones on interstates are usually far worse.

[32BBflathead]

Roads aren't really engineered for a certain speed, traffic flow and weight yes but speed no, except on the curves. There is also nothing wrong with high speed limits so long as the drivers actually pay attention and drive courteously, most don't, I think having slow speed limits in certain places can be ridiculous, I live In east Texas and there are long stretches of literally nothing but either trees or if your further west bushes, driving 60mph on a straight boring road can really mess with your mind and make you lose focus.
As far as back road accidents go they are usually single vehicle wrecks from people driving idiotically especially around curves, I see alot of that around here. Modern vehicles are also designed with the higher speed limits in mind as well so it's really just a problem of things becoming obsolete to the point of the not even being useable since things have progressed to the point of cancelling them out.