Bristol Safety

[Claude]

Originally Posted by GBird

I have read a number of times in historical blurb about Bristols that 'no driver has ever been killed in a Bristol' .
George

In the mid 1990's I visited Tony Crook, who said that three people had been killed in Bristols, one of whom had a high speed encounter with a very large lorry and another drove off a cliff (into the sea if I recall correctly... where are my notes when I need them?).

However, from a statistical perspective, have a look at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publicati.../08/22103446/3 which states that in 2007 there were 2.6 million cars in Scotland and 282 fatalities. That is one fatality for every 9000 cars. If Bristol really has produced its maximum of three cars per week from 1946 through 2008 (about 3000 weeks) then they would have made 9000 cars. Three fatalities means that they are three times the Scottish national average. And if production is closer to half that, which the records would suggest, then Bristols are veritable death traps... either that or this demonstrates why statistics can be useless some times.

On p 144 of Bristol Cars and Engines, Setright writes "It was... a hideous accident that eventually forced the withdrawal of Sir George White from the partnership at the end of 1973. Some years earlier, when he was driving his V8 through the grounds at Filton, it was attacked by an irresponsibly driven laundry van. In the subsequent mechanical melée he was very badly hurt - in a lesser car he would have been killed, for the Bristol went clean through a brick wall and ended up against a stout tree..."

A few pages earlier, Setright writes "Actually Bristol do rather well in the manner of compliance with safety requirements both real and legislative - and the two are no means the same. ...As usual, the Bristol [411] was once again proved a very safe car. It is a fact that the authorities have known for years: when the Road Research Laboratory was running a traffic-hazards programme that involved some crashing, they went out and bought some old 401 and 403 Bristols, because these could be crashed four or five times - a much cheaper proposition than all the others, which were useless after one crash. No wonder MIRA was not entirely surprised when the 411 set new records for low internal decelerations in their test."

Anecdotally, Bristols are known for protecting their passengers. I attach a photograph of a 410 found in Virginia in the mid 1990's when I was North American registrar (when I had business trips I would identify Bristols in the neighbourhood, make up an ID sheet to paste on the window, and take a picture for the record). This particular car was reported to have slid off a mountain into the roof of a barn. Below is my record from the time:

3-95 Chris Elliot 804-678-7552 PO Box 46 Nassawadox VA 23413 E 804-442-7374 7194 Langkdorf Hwy Nassawadox VA 410 bought from man in Port Jervis, NY, car slid off a mountain and fell through the roof of a barn! RHD. Parts car only, seats gone, tailights gone, windshield broken, no engine, rear end OK, no steering wheel, dash mostly gone, parked outside exposed to the elements. ID 7413 Elliot Automotive (NAPA) Visit VA-USA 410 1968 Bare Parts RHD

Claude