Driving Habits For Safety

Bob Bidonde

Bob Bidonde

Well-known member
A lot has been said about driving a Model "A" & "AA" in modern traffic. Lets list Do's & Don'ts in a bullet format that we can all download to share with other club members. Here is my contribution:

  • Do not drive your Model "A" like you do your modern car! Have a 1930s driving mentality.
  • Leave extra space for breaking & for modern cars to cut in front of you.
  • Stay in the right side / slow traffic lane.
  • Your Model "A" should be able to sustain 50 MPH.
  • 2 taillights with bright incandescent or LED bulbs are a must have.
  • Turn signals are a must have.
  • When 1st at a traffic light, count to 3 & look both ways before going when the light turns green.
  • Outside mirrors on both sides of the vehicle are a must have.
  • Your vehicle should be able to skid all wheels in a straight line when braking hard.
  • A back window shade is a must have for night-time driving to prevent dangerous reflections on the windshield.
 
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Amen... especially the first point 'Don't drive your car like it is a modern car.'

Absolutely. Show it some respect don't flog it.
 
I posted this info on another thread discussing safely driving our Model A's and thought I would add it here...

Todays distracted drivers are a concern for all of us. I bought this emergency strobe and use it regularly. I can tell you that it is extremely bright and annoying to distracted drivers behind you!! It's rechargeable and uses strong magnets to attach to the car body...

https://www.amazon.com/BooYu-Operat...hargeable/dp/B0CTWT1MP3/?tag=atomicindus08-20


My wife was following me one day and told me how irritating it was to be behind me because of the extreme intensity of the light. It also has variable flash modes to help get attention. I highly recommend one of these for a little extra visibility. Inexpensive and helps other drivers see you!
 
Bob, Regarding the side mirrors: Have them pointed to the blind zones. These are the zones at the sides of your car that you cannot see in your central rear view mirror and have to turn your head to see a car there. This eliminates having to turn your head to see traffic besides you and missing something that might be happening in front of you. This has saved my skin a number of times.

I know people use convex mirrors so that they can see the blind zones but this distorts the distance that the car is at and can cause problems when switching lanes. On my pickup I have the flat mirrors and the convex mirrors on both sides.

Another trick I have learned it to keep my left foot posed right above the brake peddle when driving in traffic. This greatly reduces the reaction time which is especially important for us older folks. If I have to stop quickly to avoid hitting something I don't mind stalling the engine. You see race car drivers that are racing antique cars using this trick. It works great with automatic transmissions.
 
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50? My engine sounds like it’s going to grenade itself at that speed. 45 is my sweet spot, and I never take it on the freeway, never drive it at night either, not worth the risk.
 
1st update to reflect comments:
  • Do not drive your Model "A" like you do your modern car! Have a 1930s driving mentality.
  • Leave extra space for breaking & for modern cars to cut in front of you.
  • Stay in the right side / slow traffic lane.
  • Your Model "A" should be able to sustain 50 MPH.
  • 2 taillights with bright incandescent or LED bulbs are a must have.
  • Turn signals are a must have. Hand signals are usually not recognized/understood by modern drivers.
  • When 1st at a traffic light, count to 3 & look both ways before going when the light turns green. Be aware of modern cars running through red lights. Look left and then right before going.
  • Outside mirrors on both sides of the vehicle are a must have. Orient the mirrors to look at blind spots. Consider concave mirrors, but be aware they distort distance & size.
  • Your vehicle should be able to skid all wheels in a straight line when braking hard.
  • A back window shade is a must have for night-time driving to prevent dangerous reflections on the windshield.
 
I wonder if one of those “glare guard” polarized filters would be effective over the rear window at night without blocking it.
 
The tip about positioning the outside mirrors to see the blind spots is on the money.

I'd like to add one, please-

If you drive at night, switch the headlight bulbs to the pre-focused LED's or the Newton Wells LED's and focus them. This makes you MUCH more visible and helps you see much farther. And, this is just a plug-and-play upgrade, no modification of the car is necessary. You can just swap the bulbs (no tools needed) for fine point.
 
Any part numbers or brand for the pre focused LEDs ? Are they 12 volt ?, available at my local auto store ,hopefully .
Don S
 
Yes they are what I am looking for,but do all lights have to be LED’s in the system to work ?
Thanks Don S
 
Don S said:
Yes they are what I am looking for,but do all lights have to be LED’s in the system to work ?
Thanks Don S
Click to expand...

No. You can have LED headlights and incandescent tail lights. However, I would strongly suggest switching to the Newton Wells plug-in replacement LEDs in tail lights also. Makes a HUGE difference in other drivers seeing you from behind, and especially your brake lights.
 
Something I have thought about doing, but have not done which is putting some sort of reflectors on the SIDES of my car. It's good to be seen front and back, but you want drivers perpendicular to you to see you, too. Not quite sure how to do this, but the reason there have been side marker lights on cars since the late 60's.
 
nkaminar said:
I know people use convex mirrors so that they can see the blind zones but this distorts the distance that the car is at and can cause problems when switching lanes. On my pickup I have the flat mirrors and the convex mirrors on both sides.
Click to expand...

I use flat mirrors on my Town Sedan but I switched from 4" to 5" mirrors. You would be surprised how much better you can see and the don't look much different than original.

38198117186_bcdca06c2e_z.jpg


mhsprecher said:
Something I have thought about doing, but have not done which is putting some sort of reflectors on the SIDES of my car.
Click to expand...

I wrap the ends of my bumpers (the black spacers) with black reflective tape, it does not show in daylight and gives drivers from the side something to see (I hope).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07893925Y?tag=atomicindus08-20
 
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Can you post a close-up of the tape on the bumper?

Y-Blockhead said:
I use flat mirrors on my Town Sedan but I switched from 4" to 5" mirrors. You would be surprised how much better you can see and the don't look much different than original.

38198117186_bcdca06c2e_z.jpg




I wrap the ends of my bumpers (the black spacers) with black reflective tape, it does not show in daylight and gives drivers from the side something to see (I hope).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07893925Y?tag=atomicindus08-20
Click to expand...
 
mcgarrett said:
I posted this info on another thread discussing safely driving our Model A's and thought I would add it here...

Todays distracted drivers are a concern for all of us. I bought this emergency strobe and use it regularly. I can tell you that it is extremely bright and annoying to distracted drivers behind you!! It's rechargeable and uses strong magnets to attach to the car body...

https://www.amazon.com/BooYu-Operat...hargeable/dp/B0CTWT1MP3/?tag=atomicindus08-20


My wife was following me one day and told me how irritating it was to be behind me because of the extreme intensity of the light. It also has variable flash modes to help get attention. I highly recommend one of these for a little extra visibility. Inexpensive and helps other drivers see you!
Click to expand...


These strobes may seem like a good idea to make your car visible.

But from the description this system will do nothing but irritate other drivers.

1. Remember that one half of the people respond to irritation by turning into "road ragers", cutting in front of your car and slamming on brakes and throwing temper tantrums while driving.

2. Use of weapons during temper tantrums is another response.

3. These are not the kind of things that you need to have going on very close to your car.
 
2nd Update

  • Do not drive your Model "A" like you do your modern car! Have a 1930s driving mentality.
  • Leave extra space for breaking & for modern cars to cut in front of you.
  • Stay in the right side / slow traffic lane.
  • Your Model "A" should be able to sustain 50 MPH.
  • 2 taillights with bright incandescent or LED bulbs are a must have.
  • Turn signals are a must have. Hand signals are usually not recognized/understood by modern drivers.
  • When 1st at a traffic light, count to 3 & look both ways before going when the light turns green. Be aware of modern cars running through red lights. Look left and then right before going.
  • Outside mirrors on both sides of the vehicle are a must have. Orient the mirrors to look at blind spots. Consider concave mirrors, but be aware they distort distance & size.
  • Your vehicle should be able to skid all wheels in a straight line when braking hard.
  • A back window shade is a must have for night-time driving to prevent dangerous reflections on the windshield.
  • For nigh-time driving, upgrade the headlights to Halogens or LEDs. Also add red or amber reflectors and or reflective tape to the bumpers, luggage rack & on the edge molding of running boards.
 
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