The Etiquette of Bumping

The young driver may look confident behind the wheel of his Model T, but is he truly ready to take his vehicle to the streets? Does he have a bumper? Does he know the etiquette of bumping? —  “We must bump—statistics prove it—but more attention to bumper equipment will mean less trouble and decidedly more pleasure in the use of the motor vehicle.”

World peace, safety, profanity, high blood pressure and property protection depend on the etiquette with which motorists bump and get bumped. “If you must bump be courteous,” says the American Chain Company in a new booklet on the Etiquette of Bumping. “Etiquette requires bumpers on all cars—bumpers which will ward off without damage the head-on collision, the side hook, the under cut, the over reach and the fender crumpling body blow.” 

The naked car is barred. Not for it the companionship of the bumpered. The upbumpered bus must take its flopping fenders, its dented gas tank, its battered radiator, to the side streets, where two-fisted drivers seeking damages are unrestrained by the rules of bumper etiquette. Choose your bumper carefully. Insist on bumpers correct in every detail —height, length, curve and fittings. A deep-chested front bumper with at least five inches between its front and rear bars is recommended for protection from the joy-riding, gas house gang in a Sunday jam. 

A spring bar will absorb more shock than a rigid bar. Freaky designs attract attention but they don’t protect. A curved end on the bumper bar to deflect blows is also approved. That the bumper should be just long enough to protect fenders, and not so long as to hinder close work at the curbstone and in traffic, is another important rule of bumping etiquette. To avoid embarrassment in traffic bumps, select a bumper of right height—the standard approved by the Society of Automotive Engineers. Then bumpers on other cars met in traffic cannot slip over yours and cause damage. We must bump—statistics prove it—but more attention to bumper equipment will mean less trouble and decidedly more pleasure in the use of the motor vehicle. — The Stockton Independent, 1925

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia