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 Post subject: Rear ended
PostPosted: November 30, 2017, 5:13 pm 
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Joined: July 4, 2006, 5:40 pm
Posts: 1994
Location: Novato, CA
I got punted by a Mercedes at a stoplight this morning. The light was green, but across the intersection the lane was full, so I stopped at the limit line. The Mercedes driver decided not to, but changed her mind at the last second when she figured out I wasn't moving, and slammed on the brakes. When I heard the screech behind me I lifted off the brake pedal, and the Mercedes booted me into the intersection.

Damage to the Locost was minimal, a bent license frame and backing plate. The spare tire absorbed most of the impact, transferring it to the chassis without bending anything. I know some people have reinforced this area for just this sort of accident, but I think the combination of the spare tire and the light weight of the car is better than any 5 mph bumper out there. The impact was probably only at that speed, but I think even at twice that speed I'd have been okay.


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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: November 30, 2017, 5:23 pm 
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Joined: May 1, 2012, 9:43 am
Posts: 336
Location: Sidney, BC, Canada
Glad to hear everything's OK! I thought about putting a spare tire on the back for exactly this purpose (and also to have a spare, obviously).

I think with the light weight and fairly solid frame on these cars, the most important safety features for a rear end collision are a sturdy seat and a properly positioned well padded headrest. A small bump can cause significant accelerations.

Good habit to leave a bit of space ahead of you when you stop in traffic. That way when you hear the screeching of tires behind you, you can roll forward a bit under your own power.


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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: November 30, 2017, 10:05 pm 
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Joined: March 30, 2011, 7:18 am
Posts: 1615
Location: central Arkansas
Could you put some pictures up in this thread?
https://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewto ... 32&t=12190

So far we've learned the Locosts aren't quite the deathtraps some people think they are.


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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 12:23 am 
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Joined: March 19, 2011, 10:22 am
Posts: 2386
Location: Holden, Alberta, Canada
nick47 wrote:
I got punted by a Mercedes at a stoplight this morning. When I heard the screech behind me I lifted off the brake pedal, and the Mercedes booted me into the intersection.


Good to hear you're ok and minimal damage to 7. Still I have to wonder, was the driver distracted? Texting maybe. One has to wonder.

I see so many people looking at their crotches at stop lights.

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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 1:13 am 
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Joined: December 17, 2010, 1:24 pm
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Location: Gainesville, Mo.
In light of Nick's incident, maybe I need to revisit my inquiry. http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=19169

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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 1:22 am 
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Joined: December 24, 2007, 5:11 am
Posts: 1307
Location: Seattle area
Sorry it happened at all. Glad that you're OK and damage is manageable. I don't have my spare hanging off the back but it sure seems like a good idea since my gas tank is right there. Something to consider.

Best regards,

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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 3:24 am 
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Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
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Location: No. Nevada
This is the sort of thing that makes the Healey Silverstone spare tire mounting make sense!


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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 8:13 am 
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Joined: December 7, 2012, 8:28 am
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Location: Sarasota
I can't decide weather a spare tire is a good idea or weather spikes would be a better deterrent.
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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 9:48 am 
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Location: Gainesville, Mo.
wrightcomputing wrote:
...spikes would be a better deterrent.


Sadly, for the spikes to be a deterrent, the driver behind you has to be paying attention! :?

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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 12:13 pm 
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Joined: July 17, 2008, 9:11 am
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Location: West Chicago,IL
Sorry to hear about your accident. I have been rear ended 7-8 times over my lifetime. Never in one of my toy cars. I can't imagine the frustration you are experiencing.

Metal is easier to fix than flesh! Take care.

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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 1:04 pm 
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The pictures of the Healey and the spike car are awesome, I've never seen anything like that before! :rofl:

Our cars are more prone to this because of how low and small they are. It's not the first rear ender that's been described here and it's not a huge number of road miles it's happened in. I wonder if higher mounted brake lights would work. Perhaps a set mounted on the back of the head rests? These days the LED bulb itself is very small, maybe just the size of an eraser on a pencil so I don't think it needs to be very obvious except for when the brakes are on. Small units intended for bicycles would be pretty easy.

I was worried about this too because of a collision, so I made the rear tubes on Car9 from the same material as the roll cage. This also provides an actual place to mount the roll bar braces that as strong as the roll bar which seems to make sense. I don't think it was a big weight issue, probably 5 lbs. or less in difference but much, much stronger.

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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 3:52 pm 
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Joined: December 17, 2010, 1:24 pm
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Location: Gainesville, Mo.
horizenjob wrote:
I wonder if higher mounted brake lights would work


I've seen some motorcycles around with an LED brake light. When activated, this rather bright light strobes 3 or 4 times before going to "steady ON". Really gets your attention! I was thinking that one of these in the "cyclops" position might help. I've also seen something similar on some municipal buses!

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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 5:26 pm 
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Joined: July 4, 2006, 5:40 pm
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Location: Novato, CA
Thanks for the support. The lady just wasn't expecting me to stop. She tried to blame me for the accident, saying I had room to get through the intersection. I tried to explain to her that wasn't the point, but she just got angrier. She ended up with some paint scratches on her front bumper, so much more expensive damage to her car. Hopefully.

I'm not sure you need a spare tire in back, just something that can transfer the impact to the chassis without bending. Marcus' idea of beefing up the back end is good. No matter what you do, though, above a certain speed something's going to break.


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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 6:08 pm 
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Location: Port Angeles. Wa
The Wycked7


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 Post subject: Re: Rear ended
PostPosted: December 1, 2017, 6:10 pm 
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Joined: November 11, 2013, 4:47 am
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Location: No. Nevada
Long time ago I knew a guy who ran an Anglia Mini-Stock car.
He had spring steel behind his fender panels so that when the competition tried to push him off the track they sprang back into shape. :shock:
Seems a bit extreme for a street car though. :roll:

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