Blackthree4me: Tell me a little about your buggy before the crash

Trent: I bought the car from a friends father who had it sitting in a barn. I didn't do any upgrades to it. It was very well built by Welch fun cars of Murray, Utah. It was on a stock shortened pan with an el Lobo style body. It had four wheel disk brakes with turning brakes and a line lock. The motor was a built 1835 with dual 34 mm Dellorto carbs, remote oil cooler, remote oil filter, and was linked to a three rib bus box.

blackthree4me: What was the time line of events that lead up to the crash ?

Trent: The evening started with me picking up a friend. I'd had the buggy for about 6 months, and ever since I bought it she was hounding me to let her drive it. Tonight I was in a really good mood and decided I would be nice and let her take it for a spin. We left her apartment to go get something to eat. It was about 9:15 pm at this time.  We came to an intersection where there is a hill. We were heading west and about to go down the hill when the light tuned yellow. She, being an aggressive driver decided to try to get through it. But, unfortunately for us there was a couple coming up the hill and trying to turn left that didn't see us at all. They turned in front of us and of course we ran right into them.

blackthree4me: How fast were you going?

Trent: We were traveling about 30-35 mph at the time and I'm sure they were doing about the same. That's really all I remember except for some small bits and pieces for the next week or so.

Blackthree4me: Did you suffer any injuries?

Trent:  I suffered a broken jaw, knocked out 3 teeth, one was able to be reinserted, very painful by the way, and I also shattered my L4 vertebra, even more painful. I had to have a metal cylinder, 2 metal rods and 4 screws installed in my back as well as a metal plate in my jaw.

Blackthree4me: Yikes, that sounds bad, I'm glad you are here to tell us about this. Was the driver, your friend hurt as well?

Trent: My friend, the driver, broke her jaw and lost about 6 teeth to the steering wheel.

Blackthree4me: What do you think caused your injuries?

Trent: I believe that my broken back was caused because of the extreme pressure when I folded over my lap belt. My jaw was broken by my head hitting the dash and the windshield. My friends jaw was broken from the steering wheel.

Blackthree4me: How would you change your next buggy to better protect you and your occupants better in a crash?

Trent: To make a buggy safer I would suggest at least having a shoulder belt as well as a lap belt. I'm currently building a Baja bug and it will have 5 point harnesses and a full cage from the front beam to the rear frame horns with my seats and belts tied into the cage as well.

We as buggy enthusiasts should make our cars safety it priority one. During the 1960s and 70s many a family must have suffered a terrible loss due to driving abilities (or lack thereof) and to some extent the nature of the dune buggy. It's a speedy fun loving car, sometimes driven beyond its intended purpose and or capabilities. What if we could do just three things to make it safer, you know, just in case? I admit, I overdrive mine sometimes, how about you? 

While browsing the net I came across a fellow buggier, Trent. Trent had the unthinkable happen having his buggy totaled and suffering massive injuries to himself and the driver. Below is my interview with Trent. Hopefully we, as a community, can learn from his misfortunes as well as make our cars safer for all of us to enjoy for years to come.

enjoy

blackthree4me

I want to personally thank Trent and his friend for letting me share there story with all of us in the buggy world. It must be some kind of miracle that you are alive and well and able to tell us you're story.

I hope everyone that reads this gets the warning loud and clear from someone that has seen first hand how an under prepared buggy and  inattentive drivers can be detrimental to all of our health

Be safe out there and happy buggying.

THANKS!

blackthree4me