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The Ford Fracture
This Model T Touring is
being crank started by a man dressed in jodhpurs
and riding boots. This horse associated dress is better seen in the
picture enlargement.
Physicians of the early 20th
century recognized new and varied forms of wrist
fractures. The backfire, Ford, or Chauffeur's fracture,
was "extremely common in these days of voluminous
traffic" according to Harold C. Edwards who
described 42 fractures sustained from the impact of the
downward swing of the automotive crank handle.
Before starting a Model T
with the hand crank, you had to retard the spark - an
action performed with a lever mounted on the steering
wheel. If you forgot, as some did, you stood a good chance of breaking your arm
or wrist if the engine "kicked back" as a result of
backfiring. Doctor's often called
this the 'Ford fracture.'
The crank handle should be
cupped in the palm, rather than grabbed with the thumb
over the top of the handle as the gentleman in the
photograph is doing. That is so that if the engine does
kick back, the rapid reverse motion of the crank will
throw your hand away from the handle, rather than
violently twisting the wrist. Most Model T Fords had the
choke operated by a wire emerging from the bottom of the
radiator where it could be operated with the left hand
while cranking the engine with the right hand. Most cars
sold after 1919 were equipped with electric starting
reducing the source of this accident.
Check here
to see the correct starting the procedure in
more detail.
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