Mb willys jeep safety

[Little Jo]

Hi All

Some time ago I discussed how nervous I was driving my 1942 MB Willys Jeep on the highway and Freeway. Mainly due to the fact that I was driving at a much slower pace than cars and semi trailers. After giving this some thought I suggested using an Amber Rotating Light at the rear of the Jeep so that traffic coming up behind me would be warned that I was travelling at a much reduced speed. I believe this will also assist me when driving on hilly country roads near my home. I have made up some brackets and purchased the light, all up cost $18 metal and fittings plus $43 for the light. I can use the light above the Jeep on on the side. Cheap security and who knows it could save me grief.

Cheers

Tony

[Dinty]

G'day All,
I did something similar back in 2003, when I towed one of my S2A 88"GS Land Rover to Corowa on a 'A' frame, I could control the rotating beacon from inside my 110, I can't post pix in here to show the set up, but it was effective on the F3 & Hume hwy, only one clown tried to get between the 2 Land Rovers and that was in sydney somewhere on the way home, cheers Dennis

[Little Jo]

Hi Dinty

I am glad to know there are others out there who believe in safety first. There is nothing more frightening then seeing a Semi bearing down on you and seeing nothing but Bull Bar and Radiator in your mirrors.

Cheers

Tony

[Ian Fawbert]

Hi Tony,

Another suggestion, which I and a few others here in sydney (Home of idiot drivers!) have done has been to buy one of the LED red flashing lights bike riders use. The one with 4 or 5 flashing/fixed functions, is about 4 inches long and bolts by a hose clamp type set up to a piece of pipe on the bike- conveniently the best piece of pipe to use on the jeep is one of the rear grab handles!

This works very well and can be seen from along distance. As i tend to do alot of country driving for long distances at times of the year in the jeep, including travelling at dawn and dusk on both highway and fast country roads, i have found this to be a great safety measure (plus it fits very easily in the glove or tool box when not in use!). I think they are about $15>$20 each.

One step further, a mate has put the white version of it (bike riders headlight type thing) on to the tie rod arm on the front of the jeep- as a measure to make the front of the vehicle stand out if worried about your headlights brightness or in addition to it.

Cheers,
Ian.

[Ryan]

Hi Tony, I reckon it's a good idea and could very well help avoid a nasty accident. At the very least it save you from idiot drivers sitting on your bumper waiting for you to speed up to 100kph.
I travel the hamilton hwy to work each day and even though I travel at 100kph ( the legal limit ) I still get tailgated and over-taken by around a third of drivers.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Tony, a very good idea.
Although it is officially not allowed here, I have heard in practice the police think it is a good idea too.
I have also seen Jeeps fitted with those yellow breakdown vests fitted over the spare wheel. Anything goes to be more visible!

[Little Jo]

Ian - Ryan and Hanno

Thanks guys for your comments. there are some good ideas coming up there. I am glad to know my fellow MLU's are also safety concious. In the end it is our own safety that comes first and after spending so much time on restoring our historical vehicles we do not want to see them end up as scrap metal.

Hanno no problems with Police here re safety measures and I note in Singapore all commercial vehicles have an Amber light on the roof of their vehicles which activate when the vehicle reaches the speed limit so police can see who is speeding.

Cheers

Tony

[Euan McDonald]

Tony, In Victoria we need a permit from Vic Roads to operate a orange light as it becomes condition of rego. Its also illlegal to run a flashing red LED bike light on the rear of a vehicle. You may wish to check with your local authorities before you are booked for doing what you think is the safe thing.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

... I have also seen Jeeps fitted with those yellow breakdown vests fitted over the spare wheel. Anything goes to be more visible!

It works! When I flat towed (OK bad idea after all) my M38A1 Jeep from Oshawa to Ottawa, Ontario a distance of about 300 old fashioned miles, I put a yellow safety vest on the spare. The tow vehicle tail lights were slaved to magnetic tail lights on the Jeep. When I saw another vehicle come up behind, I flicked on the 4-way flashers to encourage them to change lanes. That worked when the amount of traffic was low; on the 401 Highway I just pi$$ed off a couple miles of traffic by being fractionally slower. FWIW, parts of 401 are rated as the busiest highways in Canada connecting Montreal and Toronto.

Your yellow flashing light would be called a 'whoopie light' if attached to a NATO convoy vehicle.

[Little Jo]

Hi Guys

I took the jeep out for a spin through some country towns and country roads today. I stuck to around 35 Mph and had the Rotating lights working. I passed 3 Police Patrols all OK. Most drivers gave me a wave and smile when passing. The only negative was a couple of "Children" on "P" plates gave me a few blasts of the horn as I was to slow for them, I pulled over to let them pass and for my thanks I received a long horn blast and they gave me the standard "Finger". They probably did not know what I was driving as they were still in their nappies.

Cheers

Tony

[Keith Brooker]

I know its not a jeep but there is one in the photos. When going to Holland we put a rotating light on the roof of the Humber, helps the convoy with one in the front and one at the back. my wife drives the Humber in Holland as she is Dutch. Wrong side of the road for me . There is a minimum speed limit on the dutch motorways 60 Kph so we try to keep to the side roads.
Keith

[Lauren Child]

Has anyone found a source of amber rotating beacons that run on 6 Volts? I've been pondering one of these as a good idea, but everywhere I look they are 12/24 Volt only.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi All

I've used a magnetic based rotating amber light for convoying and traveling on high speed roads when it could not be avoided.

As all my trucks have retained 6 volt systems I just replaced the 12 bulb with a 6 volt bulb (brightest one that would fit the base) and it works pretty good though is a little slower revolving. Got another unit at a flea market that had a two step drive using an idler pulley. Changed the bulb on that one and repositioned the drive belt to cut out the idler pulley it spins a little faster.

Cheers Phil

[Little Jo]

Hi All

When I first put my thoughts on safety first on as a thread I did not think it would create any interest and I am pleased to see my fellow MLU's also think safety first when driving their precious restored vehicles on public roads. There have been some very interesting alternatives to the Rotating Lights come up and used by some members.

Cheers

Tony

[Hans Mulder]

A nice option for carriers is the magnetic tow light kit. I've got a setup that clips onto the battery poles and has a 4-way flasher relay to both. Easy to pull off when you get to where you are going.

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by Euan McDonald

Tony, In Victoria we need a permit from Vic Roads to operate a orange light as it becomes condition of rego. Its also illlegal to run a flashing red LED bike light on the rear of a vehicle. You may wish to check with your local authorities before you are booked for doing what you think is the safe thing.

Typical of our backward Govt.

It only took us 30 years of negotiating with Vicroads and the police to get LHD classic cars legal on the road . The VMVC initiated the changes in the late 1970's , the VMVC eventually got special LHD dispensation, but the other clubs became jealous and this set the ball rolling for all to have LHD legal Mike