Deadly accident in boise today

[heviarti]

Just saw it on the news. '70 250 was struck head on by a newer cadillac. Truck looks to be reasonably OK, unfortunately the driver won't be enjoying his pickup anymore. From what was said on the news the seat folded down on impact. Driver of the Caddy is surviving (so far) however the Caddy is unrecognizable.

I tried to download the pic but this Palm just won't do it. Search kboi boise news.

I actually went to Thunderfoot's profile and looked at the pics of his truck to be sure it wasn't him. (his is blue, the victim's was maroon on black)

Very sad. I guess I'll be looking at seat latches.

[OldRedFord]

Seat latches? You mean seat belts?

The article I saw said the truck did not have seat belts.

http://www.kboi2.com/news/91703049.html

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

that is very unfortunate, at least he died doing what he loved. i know i would rather be dead than see my truck all smashed up.

i do have to say.. its VERY impressive how little damage the truck has though. i bet it would start up and drive home with a new radiator

[FORDification]

Here's the picture, I saved it here just for general reference.



Not good...with no seat belts he'd have rammed hard into the steering column, probably did some pretty bad damage to his chest. If he'd at least had a factory lap belt he might have survived with a bad concussion from hitting his head on the steering wheel.

[Thunderfoot]

Yep really strange deal that the kid in the caddy went across 3 lanes to hit him head on...
In this video http://www.kboi2.com/news/91703049.html?tab=video it looks like the back seat bolts on the floor were not there or pulled up as the seat back is still latched... Still a seat belt would have helped...

Edit: looking at that seat it is not the factory seat...

Some other pics that may not last long from the links...
The old iron didn't bend near as much as the new.






Feel sorry for the family of the Bump owner.

[averagef250]

Sad news. The highboy frames are pretty strong, they don't bend. The frame under that truck is bent pretty good, that was a hell of a hit. That front bumper looks to be around 2x8 rect tubing, probably .188-250 thick. You pretzel up tube like that and you've got some force there.

That's about as bent as a bump gets.

[basketcase0302]

Very sad, my condolences to his family (and hope if wasn't one of our forum members here).
I never woulda' guessed the caddy owner could have walked away and not the bump owner.

[SoCalExile]

Damn. Prayers to the family.

3 point harnesses are now a higher priority on my list of things to do.

[Ranchero50]

That sucks...

Belts are a much higher priority. On a side note, my buddy who hauls junk used to two junkers with one of those slide in the bed sling lifts in old Chevies. He had some woman try to commit suicide do the same thing as the Caddie did... His front bumper went through the windshield, the junk car was in the bed and all his tools in the bed of the truck went over his cab. It took them three hours to get it all untangled and find most of his stuff. He drove the Chevy and junker home. She survived too.

Jamie

[MaxKlinger]

Very sad, my condolences to his family (and hope if wasn't one of our forum members here).
I never woulda' guessed the caddy owner could have walked away and not the bump owner.

But if the question was posed, "if two vehicles collide head-on, and one driver is wearing a seatbelt and one driver was not, which would survive?" the answer is obvious. I think if Mr. Spencer had been wearing a seatbelt, he would have fared much better than he did here. This is a great reason to upgrade our Bumps to have shoulder belts. Let's learn from Mr. Spencer's experience; I'm going to look at getting a shoulder belt retrofit right away.

[SoCalExile]

Very sad, my condolences to his family (and hope if wasn't one of our forum members here).
I never woulda' guessed the caddy owner could have walked away and not the bump owner.

But if the question was posed, "if two vehicles collide head-on, and one driver is wearing a seatbelt and one driver was not, which would survive?" the answer is obvious. I think if Mr. Spencer had been wearing a seatbelt, he would have fared much better than he did here. This is a great reason to upgrade our Bumps to have shoulder belts. Let's learn from Mr. Spencer's experience; I'm going to look at getting a lap belt retrofit right away.

What's a good source online for classic-looking 3-point belts?

[MaxKlinger]

What's a good source online for classic-looking 3-point belts?

I found this:
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fb/full.aspx?Page=81

Does anyone have any experience with this kit?

[heviarti]

The news keeps harping on the fact it was an "older model Ford" they don't say "early 90s Cadillac" It's kind of starting to bug me. I'm alot more worried about losing a front wheel or the trouble I have with dive in corners or the toe-tapping front end causing me to lose control than a head on collision.

[SoCalExile]

What's a good source online for classic-looking 3-point belts?

I found this:
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fb/full.aspx?Page=81

Does anyone have any experience with this kit?

That's probably the most inexpensive I've seen so far. I found another that wanted $250 for a pair.

[91Bear]

I got mine from here and installed them myself. Black shoulder and lap belts with aircraft-style latches.
http://www.gotbelts.com/chlirelapsh.html