Brave souls back in the beginning, wow.

https://uncrate.com/video/vintage-race-car-crashes/

 

Makes racing today look absolutely safe .

 

My main observation was the probable reason the old timers eschewed seat belts. Looks like the best scenario in an awkward crash was getting thrown clear of the car!

 

You would think someone would have thought of a roll bar and seat belts before they did. Kinda obvious I would think... Tedd

 

I want one of those "D types

 

They didn't have a cockpit shell to protect them. Unlike the "TUB" modern Indy and Formula One cars have now. Best thing is to get thrown clear of all the metal trying to beat on you. I race 100 MPH shifter kart. No seat belt or roll cage. I want to get clear of that 200 lb kart trying to beat on me if i get in trouble.

Mike

 

Great video, thanks.

 

Regular passenger cars were death traps back in the day too. But the mayhem was seen as an acceptable risk.
Times change.

Roger.

 

Talking about living dangerously

 

In the early 1960's on Saturday mornings I would collect the money from my newspaper customers. I would then ride my bike to the Ford dealership's police impound lot to check out the freshly wrecked cars. Back then one always heard on the news "they died of chest injuries or thrown though the windshield." The cars steering wheels would be bent down on the sides where they were griped. Usually the windshield had one or two areas where the heads hit. Those 1950's dashes were all steel with big ***** and levers. Not crash friendly. I saw some pretty gory wrecks, hair and blood still in the windshield. The cars have come a long way and police cracking down on impaired drivers is a plus.

 

It seems to me a lot of people probably didn't make it out of those wrecks or ended up crippled?


Great film thanks

 

The one with the car fully engulfed in flame was hard to watch.

 

What most people don’t realize these days is it didn’t take a lot of speed to kill you when the car isn’t designed to absorb the impact. I like speed as much as the next guy but I’m getting pissed at people driving too fast and too close. Also, anything over 15 mph in a parking lot is insanity.

 

...suspensions looked pretty soft,,seem it be bouncing around a lot

 

Scary, Flames engulfing that car. The hobby has come a long way. Many probably didn't have personal insurance. ( if available in them days) I couldn't imagine trying to make a living after a horrific crash like some of those.