HOW SAFE ARE WE?

[neil4030]

Did brakes over the weekend and just passed MOT! I must say I am much happier driving my Morris out there in 'La-La Land' following all the information posted. Many thanks for that. 'Modern' for sale on E-Bay!!

[Suzukimorris]

Had minor daily drive for seven years, used to do a 90 mile daily round commute mon-fri, bewdley WORCS to Kenilworth WARWICKSHIRE. bought myself an 80s vw (sorry) for a run around whilst I rebuild the mog (in re-britishing my Morris post) and you do all of sudden realise that weekends aren't purely there for tightening, de rusting, level checking, polishing and wobble checking to get you to the next weekend! I'd wait for the snow threats to pass to, I have only broken down a couple of times but always in the bloody snow and or heavy rain!

[Arthurdaily]

I'd like to add something else here, something my wife notices when we drive about in the Morris, that makes it much safer: people NOTICE you. In a Fiesta, or KA or whatever you blur into the back ground, but in a classic, especially something so loved as a Morris I find people give you more room, don't beep at you at junctions if you are slow off the mark, they wave at you, they SEE you amongst other cars, and surely that makes Morris Minors safer... certainly the insurance statistic seem to suggest that?

[lockupchap]

Compared to other classic cars - and certainly compared to a 'real' Mini - I reckon the Minor would perform well in a crash. The steering column, although a one-piece design, stops just forward of the bulkhead and doesn't go almost to the front of the car as in some 1950s and 1960s models. It's quite high off the road, so the floor and sills would take much of the force in a side impact, whereas other cars would receive the same impact in their doors. The shape of the doors leaves a good amount of crumple space between the impact and the driver, compared to other small classic cars. The only downside I can see is that the tall stance probably makes it a fairly easy car to roll over.

[welshrat]

I'd like to add something else here, something my wife notices when we drive about in the Morris, that makes it much safer: people NOTICE you. In a Fiesta, or KA or whatever you blur into the back ground, but in a classic, especially something so loved as a Morris I find people give you more room, don't beep at you at junctions if you are slow off the mark, they wave at you, they SEE you amongst other cars, and surely that makes Morris Minors safer... certainly the insurance statistic seem to suggest that?

Good point this i think, other drivers do seem to offer a little more respect to the classic car and their driver, however there can be a negative affect (never sure if it should be aff or eff), some people are focussing on the old car in front and forget to apply their brakes while having a discussion about their fond memories. Still not fitted seatbelts to mine so a death trap really, old enough to remeber when belts were for show and being very offended when the government said you will wear them. I do recognise that belts save lives but driving mine without adds to the experience and memories as been driving it without belts for 32 years.

[Suzukimorris]

The bigger problem is if your mog is tuned or modified without some hideous yellow paint job and flames! The amount of times I get cut up and boxed in because people don't expect a mog to beat them off the lights ...mind..it always makes me smile seeing the looks on there face!

[neil4030]

I have just driven my traveller in snow and ice for the first time. The conditions in Cumbria couldn't have been worse with several inches of frozen slush, flooding (odd combination), black ice, proper deep snow and low blinding sun. Several moderns stuck with front wheels spinning. I happily cruised past the lot and never slipped once, even up the steep winding bits. Very impressive even by modern standards with plenty of room in the back for a spade, just in case!

[brucek]

...and a couple of bags of sand too

The looks you get when you cruise past a 'modern' struggling to get going is worth every penny

[JPX877J]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHNMo_WXV24

Perfectly safe

[MrDodo]

To see how structurally strong the Minor is compared with modern cars take a look at this (skip to 35min 50sec) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNk9QHqg5JU (credit for finding this goes to Thomas Turner on the YMMOC Fb page)

[neil4030]

Wow. Very interesting clip. I wonder how a traveller would have fared.....

[Audrey1955]

Wouldnt want to have been in a traveller!

[plastic_orange]

Here's one I attended as OIC when in the Fire Service:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/440921.stm
Not much chance with 38 tons on top of a car - we didn't even know there was a car under it as we approached the scene.
We were turned out to a 'lorry on fire'

Pete

[youngcamper]

I HATE to have to say this but a strong structure in a crash is NOT always a good thing. The amount of injury you receive in a crash is all down to the transfer of energy and the impulse yo receive ( forcextime).

For example, you have two cars weighing the same ( in this instance 1000kg) and travelling the same speed 25 meters per second (roughly 60 mph), the total momentm of the cars will be 25000 Ns (newton seconds or kgms^-1 if you'd prefer) when the cars come to a stop this momentum is transferred to other sources, namely the occupancy of the car.

The formula is forcextime=change in momentum

The idea of crumple zones and air bags is to deform, lengthening the time taken for the occupancy( and the car ) to slow down- I'll use 1 second for this example. where as our lovely old rigid cars won't deform, meaning the time taken for us to come to a complete stop is much less- in this instance I'll stay 0.4 seconds.

forcextime=change in momentum

so force= change in momentum/time

for the modern car this is 25000/1 which =25000 newtons

for the old mog this is 25000/04 which is 625000 newtons

The differneces in force are huge hear, although your car may be fixable afterwards you might not be!

obviously this is pretty simplified and there are many other factors in determining the damage done in an accident ( not all of the force will go into you etc...) but it highlights in some instances- like the ones above it's much better to have a strong shell.

Cheers,

Will ( Using a minor daily )

[neil4030]

I'm glad I started this strand! Very interesting and so basically as Minor drivers, we would rather they tried to crush us than crash into us!
Mine is a Traveller and I think (I could be wrong) that whilst it is a more practical design for daily use, it is more 'crushable' as a result of the back end being made out of wood and aluminium. I have been using it as my only car for two months now and whilst I love driving it more often, I still have serious doubts (and guilt) about using it in all the bad weather and I still have niggling safety concerns; particularly running my young son about.
Believe it or not (and I know this is bad) I still seriously consider selling old Horace on to a good home, buying a Honda and paying off my kitchen loan!!

[plastic_orange]

Just be careful crossing the road as you could be hit by a bus
If you drive sensibly and with good observation (a skill sadly lacking these days) you really have little reason to worry. However, if you really want to be fully closeted in your vehicle, then buy a tank, but folk have even been killed in them when they roll over, so really, nothing is 100% safe.
Modern car drivers are cocooned in their little world and get a real surprise when things go wrong, and rely very much on the inbuilt safety that their car provides. Minor drivers have to actually drive their car, and are very aware of their vulnerability, so hopefully drive accordingly.
I certainly wouldn't replace a Minor with a modern, but I do have one to do the mundane trips.

Pete

[CherryPeeks]

Crikey - I've just bought a Traveller to use as a weekend car for days out and things with my little girl and dog - wondering whether it's safe now!

[plastic_orange]

Crikey - I've just bought a Traveller to use as a weekend car for days out and things with my little girl and dog - wondering whether it's safe now!

Just drive and enjoy - plenty other things to worry about these days.

PO

[neil4030]

Seconded. My main concern is spoiling a lovely Traveller by using it in all weathers. Lots of road salt about at the moment and values are defying the economy by actually increasing. Mine is almost as good as you can get but it won't be a year from now, which is a great shame. I can't afford to run two cars though, even if one stays mainly in the garage.
Safety wise, I agree with with everyone on here and so generally put my niggling, wheedling, sad sack fears to one side! My Traveller does have modern seats though, and seat belts, home made air bags made out of bubble wrap; that's it really, apart from the crash helmets, and the bull bars on the front; oh and the rear facing 50 caliber anti aircraft gun with tripod mount. That's definitely it (for now)

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

Seat belts are the single most greatest contribution to road safety. To be restrained in a moving vehicle has saved more lives than any other occupant safety system.