Move out of the central valley. No, seriously. There's so many open roads and crumbling country roads that are somewhat dangerous because people go 60+ on them often and they aren't made to go that quick (potholes, sharp turns, levies, erosion, etc.). Even around town people drive stupid. We had a few intersections outside of Tracy that were known to be deadly. People didn't stop because they would assume no one was coming the other way, views obstructed by orchard and blam! Someone dies.
My dad lives out near I-5 for a bit and he told me the drivers were scary, he had to be super careful at night driving. And he'd also been a big-rig driver for 35 years so he'd seen it all.
Sadly you are right about the valley! I know things aren't any different up north in your neighborhood either. Seems as if the valley drivers are a unique blend of 'oblivious & batshit crazy'.
I've been involved in three accidents in or around Modesto since getting my license at 16. All three times I was rear-ended by guys driving pickups. All three were directly attributed to shitty driving habits such as following too closely and trying to beat a left hand turn light.
The crazy things I see on the road these days — give me great pause. I drive defensively at all times, but that only goes so far. My vision and reflexes are only going to deteriorate as time marches on. At some point in life, my number might get called and no amount of defensive driving or quick reflexes will make a difference. This is why lately, I have been giving more thought as to how I can improve my odds during & after a collision.
From what I've gathered by everyone's responses in this thread; a full roll-cage is doable and will most likely improve your odds of survival in a roll-over event — when used in conjunction with things like a helmet and multi-point harnesses. However, time, cost and usability all become major factors in choosing to modify your truck this way. In other words, it's just not practical in a real-world everyday situation.
Considering both how unlikely a person is to even be in a rollover and just how severe it would likely be, makes me feel that my time & money could be better utilized elsewhere to achieve equal or better results.
In summary, I think a good defensive driving course in conjunction with a properly maintained brake system & other safety related things like tires, seat-belts, suspension and lights — would go a long way to improving a persons odds of either avoiding a collision or walking away from it.
