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Horrible news about a bronco owner just hit the news

BajaBronco

Contributor
Bronco Guru
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Apr 30, 2003
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Yeah, sad for sure. Sorry to hear this and my heart goes out to his family.

I try to be as safe as possible and drive as defensively as possible in my Bronco, but some accidents and situations are unavoidable.

I do believe wearing a seatbelt is always a good idea, lap or shoulder.
 

suckerpunched

Sr. Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2006
Messages
882
roll bars and shoulder harnesses are simple upgrades that I feel are necessary if you are going to drive your bronco much. They won't save your life in every situation but they will save you in some. Hard to say about this one, it was a really hard hit. I don't know what the rig was equipped with, or what he was wearing, (I've heard rumors) I can't see a roll bar, so I would guess a lap belt at best. A lap belt only, leaves a lot to be desired. A good friend of mine, a local doctor, was killed in his cj5 a couple years ago in a similar crash but probably slower speeds, it was in town. He had lap belts but suffered head injuries from his head hitting the steering wheel I think. Big tires or factory correct restorations are great, but if they are going to be driven. we all need to think about a few safety upgrades too.
 

Jakedog

Sr. Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Messages
807
All we can really do is try to make our trucks as safe as possible. A lot of us ride with out the doors on. Just that by itself is pretty scary if you're in an accident. I witnessed an accident in my teens. The passenger door on one of the vehicles came open on impact and left a guy hanging out of the car, but he did have a seat belt on so he wasn't ejected.

I see a lot of people driving with roll cages that aren't padded at all. Make sure you pad the areas around your head. I have pads on mine, but I know it's still going to hurt if my head hits the padded portion of the cage. Way worse to hit the bare bar. No pads at all is no Bueno!
 

No Hay

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
1,657
Yep, sad to see. I think of these times driving the Bronco nearly every time I'm in it, but enjoy the ride at the same time.

I had a lady walk up to chat and admire the Bronco here who commented how she liked the front part of the roll cage, pads and shoulder belts added. She lost her brother decades ago when his Bronco flopped on it's side and he hit his head.

It's too bad tougher penalties for causing a crash aren't in place.
 

DirtDonk

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Nov 3, 2003
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47,355
I wonder if she was the sister of my customer. Maybe not, because he had a full cage and destroyed the Bronco in a roll on I-5 in the Central Valley.
We'd built him a custom bar and cage, with cross bars for the 4-point harnesses just a couple of months before.
Unfortunately he was not wearing his when the vehicle rolled. The passenger was, and surmised that the driver had fallen asleep and rolled it off the highway.

The mother and sister came into our shop later to let us know about it, and to say thanks for recommending and building a stout cage that had at least save the life of his friend.
Most people think of off-roading creating the need for cages, but I say it's the street that has the most need due to speeds and more chances it might happen.

I'm not sure about Adams Ave or the other, but many of those roads are actually 2-lane Rural Highways, some with up to 60mph speed limits posted. When not posted, the "assumed limit" is 50-55 mph even. So the Bronco, traveling on the larger of the two roads could easily have been nearing 60.

Paul
 

Skinnyr1

Jr. Member
Joined
May 25, 2019
Messages
115
The weight of the vehicle and size of the tires don't matter,

This is a tragic story to read and see the pictures of.

But, respectively, comparing two otherwise identical vehicles, if one is heavier than the other, it is going to take longer to stop.

Similarly, if one has larger tires than another otherwise identical, it is going to take longer to stop too. Bigger wheels are heavier, have more leverage, and are harder on brake components.

The delivery of the message by one of the previous posters may be in question here, but there may be an arguable point? We can't assume speed as we don't know, but modification must be considered for and against safety.
 

Freezerman1

Newbie
Joined
Oct 14, 2016
Messages
13
How do we know if the guy was speeding, drunk, high or on a suicide mission? Too many assumptions what happened.

The idea driving a Bronco is unsafe is laughable, getting out of bed has risks. Learn the limits of anything you drive will keep you out of trouble.
 

67RT

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Jan 17, 2014
Messages
1,308
How do we know if the guy was speeding, drunk, high or on a suicide mission? Too many assumptions what happened.

The idea driving a Bronco is unsafe is laughable, getting out of bed has risks. Learn the limits of anything you drive will keep you out of trouble.
The issue with old cars isnt about speed, etc. It is that we do the same thing with these old cars that we do with our new cars and we walk away from accidents with the new cars and die in the old cars. If we take the risk we must be serious about driving defensively, having all mechanical components professionally (or competently) maintained, and having the proper safety precautions such as padded full cage with at least shoulder harnesses. For the 4 years I had my truck my son never rode more than around the block as it only had lap belts and no cage. Probably the same reason I eventually sold it. Still drive an old convertible with risk (lap belt and no collapsible column). Just very carefully.
 

thegreatjustino

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Jan 23, 2002
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15,624
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Stockton, CA
This is a tragic story to read and see the pictures of.

But, respectively, comparing two otherwise identical vehicles, if one is heavier than the other, it is going to take longer to stop.

Similarly, if one has larger tires than another otherwise identical, it is going to take longer to stop too. Bigger wheels are heavier, have more leverage, and are harder on brake components.

The delivery of the message by one of the previous posters may be in question here, but there may be an arguable point? We can't assume speed as we don't know, but modification must be considered for and against safety.



If you read the post correctly he's talking about once traction is broken and the tires are simply sliding on the asphalt. At that point, it's not the brakes or weight of the vehicle causing it to stop, it's the friction between the rubber tires and asphalt.
 

elan

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I shouldn't have "just" picked on Broncos for being unsafe. If I crash into a tractor trailer in my FJ40 or 1950 Willys, I reckon the results would be the same. Not good

Isn't weight the force causing the inertia? So more weight, more inertia. More inertia, longer stopping distance.

What takes longer to stop. A 4690 lb '59 Cadillac at 60 mph or a 1500 lb Lotus Elan at 60 mph.
Just sayin'. Or, have I missed the point completely?
 

okie4570

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NW OK
Just had a friend call to say he say just drove up on a t-bone wreck with an early bronco and an economy car at highway 412 and 58 in NW OK. Didn't recognize the description of the bronco, said the front was pretty smashed, unsure on injuries. Bad week for bronco drivers.
 

AZ73

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Isn't weight the force causing the inertia? So more weight, more inertia. More inertia, longer stopping distance.

What takes longer to stop. A 4690 lb '59 Cadillac at 60 mph or a 1500 lb Lotus Elan at 60 mph.
Just sayin'. Or, have I missed the point completely?

Weight is irrelevant. The physics for stopping distance rely only on 2 things: Velocity and, with locked tires where you see skid marks, Coefficient of KINETIC friction. gravity is constant. If you have ABS, you have STATIC friction and you'll stop faster. Like this truck:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ridS396W2BY

That truck is fully loaded and 40 tons GCW. It's traveling at 40mph. If that truck didn't have ABS, it would have slid right into the car. Now. how much does that truck weigh? It has 18 tires which give it a high coefficient of grip WITH ABS which gives it static friction..

Stopping a car is work - work is reducing KINETIC energy to zero.

Work = -umgd u is coefficient of Kinetic friction. m is the mass of the car. g is gravity. mg = weight d=distance v=velocity

-umgd = 1/2mv^2 or one half the mass times the velocity squared

To solve for d you get d= (v^2)/2ug. the Mass of the vehicle disappears. It's irrelevant. It's all about the velocity and the coefficient of Kinetic friction.

Doesn't matter if it's a 4690 lb '59 Cadillac at 60 mph or a 1500 lb Lotus Elan at 60 mph. Just sayin'. The physics say they'll stop the same distance if they're both laying down skid marks. The difference you see on Car and Driver stopping tests is all about the tires. Same car with tires that have a higher u will stop faster. The Caddy isn't going to have the lotus's tires on it so the tires won't melt while stopping which changes the dynamic. The Caddy will have Caddy tires on it so the u is the same. The only difference is if the lotus has newer tires and the Caddy has worn tires, then the u is different and the Caddy will take longer to stop.

I don't care if you have a Bronco with 29" tires or 37" tires. If your brakes will lock up your tires, you'll stop in the same distance as a Lotus that has a similar u (normal street) tire. If it's got racing slicks with a high grip, then yeah, it'll stop faster.

The picture showed the Bronco's skid marks. But I was GENEROUS in my calculations and gave it the minimum stopping distance with a u of .8 as it's tires looked newer. It was probably closer to .6 because of the road conditions so even at 30 MPH it would have taken longer to stop.

This isn't to diss you, it's to educate. It's a common mis-belief that a heavier vehicle will take longer to stop than a lighter vehicle. Sure, if a vehicle is DESIGNED to stop fast, like with 6 caliber Brembos to manage the braking and super fat and sticky tires to take advantage of the brakes and prevent them from skidding, it'll stop faster. But if you have a fully loaded 18 wheeler and a Honda accord with general street tires on them, and they both lock up their tires, they'll stop in exactly the same distance. If you have 6 caliper Brembos on the Honda with street tires, it won't make a bit of difference. They'll both still skid to a stop in the same distance. In fact a Bronco with big tires that has good brakes but can't quite lock up will stop faster than a Bronco with smaller tires and excellent brakes if both drives smash on their brakes.
 
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Slowleak

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Sep 12, 2013
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In fact a Bronco with big tires that has good brakes but can't quite lock up will stop faster than a Bronco with smaller tires and excellent brakes if both drives smash on their brakes.


Not always. When you add weight, the one with bigger tires will take longer to stop. Weight adds traction but, if the brakes cannot lock the tires up, it just adds more work for the brakes to do. That means a longer stopping distance.

Meanwhile, the one with smaller tires, and excellent brakes, can take advantage of the extra friction to slow down that additional weight. It will stop in the same distance as it did before.

So, big tires and more weight can make matters worse. I think was the point that was initially trying to be made.
 

Skiddy

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Oct 8, 2003
Messages
11,557
Just had a friend call to say he say just drove up on a t-bone wreck with an early bronco and an economy car at highway 412 and 58 in NW OK. Didn't recognize the description of the bronco, said the front was pretty smashed, unsure on injuries. Bad week for bronco drivers.

dang hope they are ok, I even know where that's at
 

roundhouse

Bronco Guru
Joined
Sep 5, 2003
Messages
2,886
One of the main reasons why many insurance companies will not cover modified vehicles.....



There’s a lot of variables

Mine now has shoulder belts and a roll bar (not padded yet ) disc brakes and power steering

Even though it’s lifted , I’d say it’s safer than it was when it was stock
 
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