Parade Queen

[jhall299]

My niece is going to be a queen in an upcoming parade and asked if I would drive her in my Boxster. Is it safe for someone to sit between the roll bars on the closed top?

Jon

[Moose]

You mean with the top down and collapsed behind the seats and the lid closed on top of it? I'd say the answer is a flat "NO." Car wasn't designed to be driven like that. She'll go right off the trunk lid with the slightest acceleration. Explain that one to your insurance company.

Also, the sheet metal on our Boxsters is not that thick. I can't imagine sitting or leaning on any part of it that wasn't meant to be sat on. Even by a 100 pound beauty queen.

My advice to your niece: ride in the seat with a seat belt on.

[Q-Ship986]

Strictly speaking, it is not safe to ride anywhere else but in the seat with the belt fastened.

That said, I think if you remove the wind deflectors (the vented ones within the hoops and obviously the lexan center) and add a few well placed towels or a pillow, I don't see a structural reason why a person whose behind can fit between the roll bars couldn't sit there. On the horizontal portion of the roll bar, mind you--not the canvas-covered roof behind it; I highly doubt the roof could support any such load.

I presume the parade will be at a walking pace, on closed roads, and that you're a steady driver who can smoothly accel/decel (hope you have a tiptronic for this). She should have one hand firmly grasping a roll bar at all times. Fashioning a supportive belt between the roll bars is also advisable.

A person could be fatally or otherwise seriously injured from a fall from a moving vehicle, even at a snail's pace. With the proper precautions, though, you and your niece could enjoy a fine slice of Americana. Congrats.

--Brian

Edited October 4, 2005 by Q-Ship986

[adsach]

Echoing the lawyerly disclaimer of Q-ship, I couldn't recommend anything except belted into a NHTSA approved factory seat.

- - -

Personally, I would buy a folding stadium chair from your local university similar to this design: http://www.niu.edu/HSC/E-commerce/Bookstor...nir/chair.shtml

I would put a matching beach towel under the chair to prevent the canvas top from scuffing and place the chair on the canvas top. I would strap the chair to the windscreen free roll hoops on each side with a long flat nylon strap similar to the chair straps and threaded around the seat back.

Sitting on the roll hoop would be best for the car, but uncomfortable for your niece, and probably impractical for more that 4-5 blocks. (She'd be better off perched on a bar stool with the passenger seat removed.) I'd go for sitting facing forward on the folded canvas top.

THERE IS A RISK OF DAMAGE to the top, but since I have a hairline crack in my rear window, and 'watermarks' in the canvas I would take the risk.

THERE IS A RISK OF DAMAGE to your niece. Considering the exposure of sitting at eye level there is also a risk of damage to her reputation unless her garments are chosen wisely.

These are risks I would take, what you do is entirely up to you.

[DeAd-EyE]

I too would like to echo the saftey warnings of those much more cautious and better planning individuals before me.

i have however driven someone in a parade in one of those new mazda miatas with the two roll humps and since you will be at parade pace you probably wont be on the throttle at all (just getting the car rolling under momentum). Just make sure she's hanging on tight with one hand and not waving with both.

Once again for litigation reasons....health and saftey warnings prohibid riding anywhere other than in the car blah blah blah no doghnuts, no drifting, no 0-100-0 tests etc.

and last but not least, congratulations to your neice, she must be thrilled :).

[Tool Pants]

How does a post from October 2, 2005, come back to life?

Anyway, I took this picture on October 15, 2005, at the ALMS event at Laguna Seca.

Warning, the owner was watching the race from the Porsche corral. Not driving or riding in it while it was moving.

[986Jim]

Ghost Ride your whip!!!