Sammy Davis Jr.'s accident

[snopes]

Comment: Have you ever heard that Sammy Davis Jr lost his eye (in a car accident in
1954 on Route 66) to the Spinner Knob on his steering wheel ?
I teach Traffic School in Hollywood, and we get
many famous show business types like Raquel Welch, Jay-Lo, Robert Blake,
etc., and many insiders.
But no one had ever heard of the Sammy Davis Jr. story when one student
brought it up.
I am also obsessed with those Steering Wheel knobs. They are considered
dangerous and are illegal to use in many states, yet here in California
they are available at any auto supply shop.

[Bug Muldoon]

Channel Four's Notorious Cars feature claims he lost it on "a piece of ornamental chrome that was sticking out of the centre of (the wheel)". Perhaps someone has images of the interior of these cars, to see if there was an ornament as standard or if it was an addition by Davis?

It being in the center, if this article is correct, would mean it wasn't a steering aid.

[Not_Done_Living]

Note that just because hasrdware is available to apply to a vehicle, it does not make it LEGAL.

It may be legal on a SHOW vehicle, but not street legal.

Originally Posted by Not_Done_Living

Note that just because hasrdware is available to apply to a vehicle, it does not make it LEGAL.

It may be legal on a SHOW vehicle, but not street legal.

Undercarriage illumination and grill lights (a la Knight Rider) are some examples sold around here.

[Hans Off]

Originally Posted by snopes

I am also obsessed with those Steering Wheel knobs. They are considered
dangerous and are illegal to use in many states, yet here in California
they are available at any auto supply shop.

What's one of them things then?

[STF]

My dad got a steering knob in Georgia, but it was with a doctor's orders due to his partial paralysis. They're illegal here AFAIK.

[Hans Off]

How do disabled drivers manage in reagons where steering knobs are illegal then?

That seems very strange to me!

Originally Posted by Hans Off

How do disabled drivers manage in reagons where steering knobs are illegal then?

That seems very strange to me!

I'm sure if there was a medical reason requiring the use of a spinner (steering wheel knob) the person would be able to get a dispensation for its' use if there is not already something on the books allowing it.

[Ali Infree]

In the old days of the United States Automobile Club (USAC) running American open-wheel racing (Indy 500 and others, as well as sprint cars, midgets, etc.) there was a driver who had lost a hand in an accident. His car was fitted with a steering knob, and he had a glove with a matching socket.
I can't remember his name, anyone else know who I am talking about?

Back on topic: It's amazing all the neato things they put in cars in 1950s till about 1966: sharp things like toggle switches, pointy controls for the radio, etc.
Anyone have any examples of a sharp steering wheel ornament as mentioned above?

Ali "ouch, ouch, ouch" Infree

[STF]

Originally Posted by JD65

I'm sure if there was a medical reason requiring the use of a spinner (steering wheel knob) the person would be able to get a dispensation for its' use if there is not already something on the books allowing it.

That's basically what I was trying to say. He had one although it would be illegal for me to have one.

Originally Posted by Ali Infree

In the old days of the United States Automobile Club (USAC) running American open-wheel racing (Indy 500 and others, as well as sprint cars, midgets, etc.) there was a driver who had lost a hand in an accident. His car was fitted with a steering knob, and he had a glove with a matching socket.
I can't remember his name, anyone else know who I am talking about?

Back on topic: It's amazing all the neato things they put in cars in 1950s till about 1966: sharp things like toggle switches, pointy controls for the radio, etc.
Anyone have any examples of a sharp steering wheel ornament as mentioned above?

Ali "ouch, ouch, ouch" Infree

Not sure if it's the same guy, but Jim Hurtibise was involved in a fire where his hands were severely burned. When told he would lose the use of his hands, but they could shape his hands into a permanent position, he asked them to "Make them fit a steering wheel."

http://www.jeff-pearl.com/past/profile.php?f=hurtibise

The link is closest I could find to the elementary school book I had read in the 70's.

[Just Jocko]

Originally Posted by Hans Off

What's one of them things then?

This. As already stated, they were popular in the 50s, but fell out of use, probably because they were rathr dangerous in an accident. Probably why they're called "suicide knobs" in the link.

[Just Jocko]

AFA the OP, I found a picture of the steering wheel of a 53 Cadillac convertible and it showed they had the open steering wheel -- the kind where there's an outer ring and then a center knob-style horn with 3 bands connecting the two in a sort of Y pattern. Because that kind of steering wheel was more of a bowl shape than what we have now, I'm guessing that the horn actually stood up quite a bit from the center of the wheel (think of a bowl with a doorknob sitting in the middle -- it wasn't quite that high, but about half that, I believe). It would be quite enough, I would think, if he hit his eye directly on it, to completely crush the eye.

And now I'm squicked out. Ick, ick, ick!

[Hans Off]

Originally Posted by Just Jocko

This. As already stated, they were popular in the 50s, but fell out of use, probably because they were rathr dangerous in an accident. Probably why they're called "suicide knobs" in the link.

Ahh all related to you 'merkins phobia of seatbelts then!

[hoitoider]

Talk about seat belts - I remember as a little kid those old style home delivery milk trucks had a steering knob. The driver drove standing up & it had no door! (I think there was a flip down seat & a chain to put across the opening)

[Ali Infree]

JD65 wrote:

[Not sure if it's the same guy, but Jim Hurtibise was involved in a fire where his hands were severely burned. When told he would lose the use of his hands, but they could shape his hands into a permanent position, he asked them to "Make them fit a steering wheel."

I remember Hurtibise and that story, the driver I remember had no hand at all.

Just Jocko wrote:

Because that kind of steering wheel was more of a bowl shape than what we have now, I'm guessing that the horn actually stood up quite a bit from the center of the wheel (think of a bowl with a doorknob sitting in the middle -- it wasn't quite that high, but about half that, I believe). It would be quite enough, I would think, if he hit his eye directly on it, to completely crush the eye.

That makes a lot of sense, but ouch, ouch, ouch!!


Ali "and ouch again" Infree

I'm currently reading "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach. In the chapter called "Dead Man Driving", she says,
"From a safety standpoint, it would have been better to skip steering wheels entirely and install a pair of rudderlike handles on either side of the driver's seat, as was done in the "Survival Car," a traveling demo car built by the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in the early 1960's to show the workd how to build cars that save lives (and reduce in surance company payouts). Safety did not sell automobiles in the sixites, style did, and the Survival Car failed to change the world."

also, "Steering wheel columns up through the sixties were narrow, sometimes only six or seven inches in diameter," which made them the perfect instrument for impaling the aorta and/or heart.

And there's a quote from a safety researcher who recalls "We had a guy take a tree head-on and there was the N from the steering wheel - the car was a Nash - imprinted in the center of his chest."

I imagine the spinner just adds to the danger, especially in the sixties or so - but, I'm also wondering if there should have been MORE damage to Sammy than just damaging his eye.

Just speculating... this book puts you in a mood.....

[nancyfancypants]

Originally Posted by csel

I imagine the spinner just adds to the danger, especially in the sixties or so - but, I'm also wondering if there should have been MORE damage to Sammy than just damaging his eye.

If only Sammy had worn a seatbelt, huh? Actually, he almost died in the accident; the eye was simply the obvious permanent damage.