Plate bumper responsibility...

First off, my truck is my daily driver and I also use it for work which causes me to drive all throughout most of Southern California throughout the day in all kinds of traffic and areas. I also have a @Pelfreybilt bumper installed and I love it. As I've experienced a few close calls with people cutting me off in traffic, a thought occurred to me that I believe is worth sharing. I fantasized about plowing into the BMW that cut me off in traffic today just so I could knock the latte out of one hand or the cell phone out of his other. Whether he knows it or not, I know I could do massive damage to his car while perhaps barely scratching the powdercoat on my plate bumper (nothing a little spray paint can't fix). It made me think about the responsibility we have as owners of these trucks outfitted with armor to be better drivers. While it's fun to say that "people better get out of my way", we should also consider that we could really do some damage to other cars and potentially hurt people in car accidents. I think we should realize that with these bumpers we are also installing the power to affect people's lives in a huge way. I've been the victim of another driver's stupidity before (motorcycle accident) and that jackass probably doesn't think twice about me today, but every time it gets cold and my broken bones start to ache I can't help but see his stupid face and think about how my life has changed. I don't mean to rant, but please just watch out for eachother.

That is all...

 

I think that ever since I got steel bumpers, that I've been a much more cautious driver. I tapped a BMW with my rear bumper backing out of a spot when I misjudged my size and I caused 4 grand in damage at .5 mph... Definitely makes you want to be a bit more careful.

 

This is my concern with armor. I worry if insurance will try to fight claims if we have modded body armor that caused more damage than the actual car that they insured with of stock

 

I agree with the sentiment. The flip side of this is having a plate bumper attached securely to the frame of the truck with little yield. A simple collision could be transmitted to the frame of the truck potentially causing more serious damage that the stock bumper set up.

 

This exact thought comes to my mind quite frequently OP. You aren't alone and I feel a huge burden in responsibility to drive more cautiously to not only avoid hitting other people, but also to prevent injury or possibly something worse to the other drivers out there.

 

Definitely a concern. That being said, I recently was in an accident. Because I had my plate bumper the majority of the damage went into the vehicle in front of me. Insurance will have to pay to fix it. It was an old ford ranger. Had my truck not be equipped with the plate bumper I think the bed of his truck would have won against all the plastic on the front of a stock tacoma.

Even if his truck was considered a total loss I think the damage to my front end would have been more in costs than to replace his entire vehicle. Not like this in every case but in mine I bet the insurance was glad.


That said it was an idiot mistake on my part and I definitely agree that extra caution is needed.

 

I haven't gotten my Pelfreybilt yet and won't for a couple months still. But I think about this daily.

I was backing my DCLB beast out of a tight parking space yesterday and was thinking about what the corner of the Pelfreybilt would do if I scraped it along the back edge of a car while backing out.

The reality is any modifcation to the vehicle changes the dynamics to some degree. In a major impact you might see less damage top side (the bumper may have scratches) but that energy does pass through the frame. So it could cause major frame damage without having the "crumple zone" front plastic bumper setup.

But, since your impact is all steel (bumper and frame) the damage you'd do to someone else's vehicle could be incredible.

However, low impacts like deer would probably cause very little, if any, damage to your vehicle - meanwhile causing severe trauma to said deer.

My hope would be that the big plate steel bumper would make OTHERS think twice about cutting me off for their own sake. I know I certainly notice big trucks with steel bumpers and stay away from them. But, that's because I'm smart enough to pay attention to things like that instead of being absorbed in my own selfish world.

 

I should add that only one thing prevents vehicle collisions. Paying attention. When my father taught me to drive one thing resonated with me that has stuck forever. Assume that everyone else on the road is an idiot, will run the stop light/sign, won't signal their intent to turn, etc. If you assume every vehicle on the road may present a threat you'll nearly always be prepared to deal with that threat if and when it occurs. I'm not talking paranoia. But when I approach an intersection I assume the car approaching the stop sign from a side street isn't going to stop and prepare myself to take evasive action if need be. Can't tell you how many times I've changed lanes to avoid someone who stopped beyond the stop sign itself.

 

My father had the same advice: "everyone is an idiot". But he also added that "you're not driving a car, you're aiming a weapon". Well I have since upgraded and reinforced my "weapon" and I do my best not to hurt people. I think we look out for other modded trucks because it is something that we are involved with personally, but some people just don't get it. Plate bumpers and lightbars all staring them down in their rearview mirrors might as well be a "Baby on board" sticker.

 

I agree. Driving my motorcycle is what really taught me to drive defensively. Doing so has kept me accident free on my motorcycle and my car for going on 10 years. Avoided tons of fender benders by always checking my rear mirror when coming to a stop, especially in heavy traffic.

 

My humble 5-lug slug saw the addition of armor front and rear this past summer. It doesn't see the off-road - ever - except to drag and drop an ATV as a toy-hauler on the weekends, and commuting in a very dense, over-capacity inter-urban weekday trial by fire. My primary concern, was my own safety, in an environment filled with idiot risk-takers and the generally clueless. After a series of near-misses, I'd had enough, and the armor went on. My peace of mind in the case of an eventuality (accident free since '99), semi-restored.

I am not an aggressive driver, nor passive/incompetent. I am an assertive, yet defensive driver. The armor visibly reminds me to keep a bit of distance back. I have noted an improvement in behavior of aggressive motorists diving for a 3/4 spot in front of me, in congested areas. I haven't been love-tapped from the rear since the addition of the rear bumper and hi-viz cautionary tape.. something is working.

In the end, given an accident scenario, it's me and my brittle bones that i've got concern for first. Sorry for your luck.

 

Reviving this only because the new year is upon us and I hope everyone stays safe out there tonight.

 

Bumping this for the holidays. Stay safe out there guys. Designate a driver and get home safe.

 

Never saw this post before...thanks for bumping it O.P. It's an interesting perspective

 

Nice bump-up - Two years down the road, i still have the armor - I am collision free, and i am happy with the results of the armor giving more aggressive drivers a moment's pause before they've gone ahead and done something stupid.

Be safe, everyone.

 

I think most people are forgetting something kind of important with regards to modern Tacoma "bumpers".

That plastic thing in front of your trucks is NOT the bumper, it's simply a piece of plastic meant to look nice and provide some aerodynamics. The bumper is that metal thing behind that piece of plastic.

So, while an aftermarket bumper prevents damage to what otherwise would have been a thin piece of plastic, the car you are hitting is STILL being impacted by a large, mostly incompressible, metal object: your truck.

Mostly what aftermarket bumpers provide is protection from damage to YOUR vehicle. The added weight from a plate bumper is not even 2% of the overall weight of the truck. The weight (i.e. inertia) of your vehicle is what causes the most damage to the other vehicle.

So, if you want to prevent people from getting hurt from you hitting them, you have 2 choices:

1) don't hit them
2) drive a smaller car

 

I support background checks for bumpers.

 

"Assault bumpers"

 

It's not just plate bumpers, it's just the nature of german cars too. I got backed into at .5 mph in my previous car by a honda pilot and it caused 11k in damage to my c55 amg.

 

at low speeds, the other car is going to get more damage

at high speeds, you with the plate bumper are more likely to die, not the
guy you are hitting. your crumple and energy absorbing zones are more compromised
than the one you are smashing. their crumple zones will work correctly.

up to a point and yes you can invent scenarios to argue this...

but

in general

No one is getting out of either one without busted bones or cuts,

but....that is how it's going down. slow, them.... fast, you.
maybe