I’m writing a short story about an 18 year old girl who lives in the North Georgia mountains.
If a 1960 Ford truck rolled three times off a mountain, would the windows break out in shards or stay in one piece with lots of cracks?
What kinds of guns would she have with her, shotgun, rifle, and/or hand gun? She hunted with her older brothers.
What kind of hand gun?
What kind of rifle?
When the truck stopped would the radio still play?
Would she try to bring the truck back up or not?
I got a lot of great answers on Facebook. Most were from my former students, now late 40’s and early 50’s. Most of those were from the girls and their daughters!
Why did I ask those questions there? Because I remembered some of my kids had rolled vehicles and lived to tell it!
I also knew they hunted and went mud boggin’! The boys, did, too!
Pink Fuzzy Slippers Authors 
If she hunted, I’d assume she’d have a rifle not a handgun. I don’t know about the windows but suspect you could either use or not use the radio still playing. Linda
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I wondered if she might need both.
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Ford went to safety glass in 1927: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company
Post accident investigation usually will find shattered inner and outer layers of glass, with the plastic memberane center intact unless pierced by an object, either from inside of the vehicle or outside of the vehicle. Roll over accidents might have shattered glass come free of the framing as integrity of glass no longer supports the glass on front and rear windshields, while fly windows break off as pivot point and retaining top mount simply breaks off. Door glass shatters and drops off inside the door or to the interior of the cab or exterior in roll over accidents.
As 1960 vint pickup trucks were void of seatbelts (lapbelts were available but an aftermarket safety feature with paddle buckle and thread-through loose lapbelt end. Occupant(s) would be banged up pretty good from steering column and simply rolling around the interior of the cab. Broken wrist(s), broken leg(s), broken arm(s), broken ribs, broken nose, head trauma injuries, common.
Most commonly found firearm would be a .22 LR (Long Rifle) caliber most likely of bolt action configuration as they are modestly priced, have very low recoil, and are renoun for functionability.
Radios, some work, others will not. Found that common. Reduced fire probability with OEM mechanical fuel pump that would cease working as engine shut down however, fuel flow to the carburetor and fuel tank integrity would be in question for probability of igniting. A barrel roll of vehicle three times, would require professional removal. A-Pillars generally were not all that strong and a single roll caused many to collapse. If doors were closed, that would add something to roll over integrity if, door mechanisms and locks were operational at the time of the accident. In some cases, doors would jam shut requiring occupant(s) to crawl out if possible, and most likely via rear windshield location.
Note: I am a retired (NYC) cop and was accident investigation qualified.
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LOVE the comments! I’m a writer and former teacher of kids who hunted in North Georgia and wrecked and rolled trucks and cars as teens and young adults. My character’s daddy had seat belts added. I wanted her to live through the accident. Some of my advice came from the boys I taught and some from the girls and their daughters. One even collects vintage trucks her daughters love! I have a vintage Mustang. I haven’t shot anything since my classes shooting a rifle at the ROTC range in college. Don’t ask!
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Yikes, MM! I wouldn’t have been able to answer your questions, but glad people responded to help you out.
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My former students knew from experience. Grin!
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1) 1960 truck, windows would shatter. Windows were not tempered until the 1980’s
2) If the truck rolled 3x, down a mountain sided, 1, the driver would not likely survive because of the lack of safety. No, 3 point seat belts, no airbags. And no breakaway steering column.
3) Radio would not work—antenna would be snapped off.
4) Most likely there would be a gun rack in the truck, but why??
5) If the truck rolled 3x, there wouldn’t be much of the cab to save. You could pull the truck up and use it for spare parts. You can google wreck videos on line. Hope this helped.
Georgie
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Thanks for your comments!
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I can’t wait to read this story and see how you weave all these details into your story.
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I’m still weaving!
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Reblogged this on Author M. J. Flournoy and commented:
How do you collect research for your stories? Here’s how one writer does it.
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