[Rachelsdad]

Just some quick thoughts:

Brakes: I learned to drive in my '63 Bonneville, back when she had manual brakes and no 8-lugs, when "standing" on the brake pedal was a regular occurrence, the first stop guaranteed, the second (after shoes and drums were hot), not so much, and after that...well...let's just say that increased stopping distance was a necessity.

Now, I have 8-lugs and power assist (correct single master; please no admonitions - I am aware that a single master cylinder provides no redundancy and accept that risk). I have no problem stopping her, but I do need a day or so to adjust from my daily driver, a 2006 Cadillac STS-V, with those humongous Brembo calipers all around.

Driving habits (mine): I don't drive (anything) now (at the age of 65) like I did when I was 16 (you know, when all of us knew everything and had life figured out). I particularly don't drive the Bonneville like I drive my STS-V. I love the Bonneville (the STS-V, too, in a different way), and while I have her insured for a reasonable amount, I don't equate that to the pricelessness of keeping her as she is, or the potential impossibility of finding various parts in the event of disaster. In short, I drive the Bonneville like an old man (I try not to annoy other drivers), with my head on a swivel, and not in any hurry to get into the left lane of the highway. I also have a realistic view as to other drivers on the road: they're real people, too, with lives and loved ones, and they deserve to stay alive and unharmed (particularly unharmed by me, as I am somewhat in control of that).

Driving habits (others): I think with the advent of video games and an entire generation which has now been raised on them, some kids (under 30) get out on the roads thinking that GTA is a real thing, and Tokyo Drift should be the norm. They bob amd weave through traffic in their little rice burners without a care, assuming that everyone else on the road is just an NPC (non-playing character, for those of us over 30), and the worst that can ever happen is we get "bumped" off the road and are taken out of the game.

The moral of the story? Yes, we can drive these cars on today's roads. We just need to take extra care, and not expect a 60-year-old car to respond to our every whim like a modern vehicle - or worse, a video game simulation. There is no forgiveness for our slower response times as we age, and only we can compensate for that by driving like the adults in the room.

Glad to read that the driver survived, but this should serve as a wake up call to many. He will never get that car back - the one he restored by himself. That - and the loss of that beautiful piece of history - us the real tragedy.

Drive safely everyone.