MTFCA Forum

The driver lost control of his car on a grade and plunged 50 feet to the creek below, June 29, 1921. He died three days later from injuries sustained in the accident.

I can imagine going over the edge and thinking what’s next! The guy or whoever probably fell out or was almost out of the car on the way down. The person would have been better off if he would have been thrown out instead of of staying with the car and the shattered glass and no telling what else!

"Automobiles are ugly and unsafe."

- Kittie Wilkins. 1857-1936.

Idaho's "Horse Queen" from the 1880's through 1910 shipped more horses to eastern markets than any other producer. She rode the horse roundups side-saddle as pictured.

We forget there were some nasty carriage accidents as well. Nonetheless, accidents are to be avoided in a Model T.

Glad this was 19 instead of 2021 !!! Always cringe when I see a post like that! Probably would lived today with medivac

Agreed - rather morbid post for the Forum - perhaps O.T. ?

I miss read this at first as 2021, until I looked close at the picture. I thought, omg do we know who it was?

and the point of this post is

Early motoring had it's tragedies. A reminder to be careful is a good thing. I'm reminded of an interview that Fred Marriott gave regarding his crash of the Stanley Steamer on Daytona Beach in 1906. The morbid mention of the first fellow on scene was a doctor who put his eye back in it's socket was a bit shocking. However his comment that "It is my best eye now" gave me a chuckle and the realization that these were real people much like us today. They were living life and enjoying things they loved.
Thanks for the period photo.
A Runabout, perhaps '17-'19 in my estimation.
Rich

Yes it’s real life. While we love our old cars it’s a reminder that our Model T’s weren’t indestructible then and surely aren’t now. A good reminder to be careful is always appreciated.

I almost got sideswiped the day after I brought my Speedster home. I signaled for a right turn into a gas station and a young girl passed me in the parking lane. Something made me look before I turned. I think the purpose of this photo is to remind all of us to be extra cautious. Drive like you are on a motorcycle and car drivers never see you.

Kittie may have thought horses were better, but runaway horses and being thrown can also result in fatalities.

I just read a story in "Documenting Reality" about a woman who was walking along the road in PA, and was invited by the local butcher to ride with him in his wagon. When she climbed in, the horses bolted, and the butcher was tossed out of the wagon. She wound up in the back of the wagon, which was lined with meat-hooks on the ceiling and both sides. She got tossed around in there for a little over a mile before someone caught up to the team and got them stopped. They described her injuries, and finally stated in the article "She is not expected to survive the night"
Horses were always a misery to use. We forget how much of an improvement cars were.
My grandfather was kicked in the face by a horse in Chetek, Wisconsin, and he also was reported in the paper as "not expected to survive"
But he did. He never owned another horse. He bought a Packard, and Packards were all he drove for the rest of his life.

No wonder I don't like road edges that have a hill down from there.
Sobering reminder. It happened then and still does.
Dare I thank you for the post Rich.
I was wanting to ask if standard rear axle, Ruxtell or clamshell but with the negativity I won't.

The drivers may not be any better, 100 years later, but at least the roads are safer than they were.

You don't like road edges with a hill ya say??

I'll take the INSIDE lane, thank you...
I dream enough road edges, only fallen off a couple times, don't care to drive them.

Just drove over Loveland Pass (11,990 feet) and rode around a few corners like that last week.

I thought riding a horse could be just as dangerous as riding in a T???

I think it might be best if you modified the title to include a date! I'm sure I'm not the only one whose heart skipped a beat reading that!

This reminds me of about 40 years ago, driving 20 odd miles between rig sites in Papua New Guinea, along a track much of which had a cliff up on one side and a cliff down on the other.

I got to the site, waited for the chap to open the gates, let the clutch in and 'click'.

That's odd, I thought.

It must have been the last wheel stud shearing off, as the truck slumped onto the back axle and, Laurel and Hardy style, the wheel wobbled slowly forward past me.

When things seem always to go wrong, you've got to remember the lucky days!

Model Ts were never offered with self-driving equipment.

I always forget to check the topic date.
I realized it when Rich Eagle chimed in. It was nice hearing from him again though
Crunched up T’s are Eerily fascinating in a historical since. I don’t like the modern versions so be careful out there!

Bryant

When I was newsletter editor of our Phoenix Model T club in the 1980's, I wrote a "strange but true" type of article about early automobiles, focusing, of course, on Fords whenever possible. If I recall the year correctly as being 1902, there were only two cars in the entire state of Kansas, which at the time was still a wild and wooly western prairie state with a small population. I don't remember the cars' marques, but they weren't Fords. And these two cars - the ONLY ones in Kansas - managed - you guessed it - to run into each other. Accidents in our beloved antique cars are by no means new. Thumb through the Old Cars Weekly's "Antique Car Wrecks" to see how our forefathers were just as prone to bump into each other as we are today.
Marshall

Shorpy.com has a lot of antique car and truck pics in high definition including crash scenes. Early cars did not hold up well in serious crashes.
A driver's education textbook called "Youth At the Wheel" came out around 1934. I came across a copy in the "library" when I was in the 4th grade. Hair-raising stuff!

Love A1-Sauce.

Ask a question, and bits and bites respond -

Were model t fords designed to survive wrecks?

AI Overview

No, Model T Fords were not designed to survive modern wrecks; their simple, durable design focused on affordability and versatility, not occupant safety. Unlike modern cars with crumple zones, safety cages, and airbags, the Model T's rigid frame and lightweight body offered little protection in a collision, making crashes potentially fatal for occupants.

Lack of modern safety features: The Model T lacks features that are standard on modern vehicles, such as airbags, seat belts, and a reinforced passenger compartment to absorb impact energy.

Structural design: The car's rigid frame and simple body structure are not designed to deform and absorb crash forces in the same way modern cars are.

Occupant injury: In a crash, the occupants were at a high risk of serious injury from hitting the unpadded dashboard, the roof buckling, or being ejected through the windshield, which could pop out.

Focus on durability and affordability: Henry Ford designed the Model T to be durable, simple, and affordable, achieving his goal of creating a "universal car" that was accessible to the masses. Its strength was in its ability to handle rough roads and be easily repaired, not in crash survivability.

Auto accidents can be bad in any era. Not being careful, bad luck and bad driving can kill or mame.
Growing up in the 60’s, Jan and Dean had a hit song named “Dead Man’s Curve” which we listened to a lot when cruising downtown in our cars.

It came out in 1964 and was story of a drag race gone bad. In 1966 Jan Berry was driving his Corvette Stingray near the location of the curve in his hit song and ran off the road to avoid a crash. He demolished the Corvette and was seriously injured. He recovered to an extent but not like he was before. It didn’t kill him but it was close to doing it.