I rear ended another vehicle in my '63 C10 at speed back in 1981. I was in the number 1 lane of a 4 lane (2 each way with a center turn lane) road when a guy pulled out of the parking lot on my right, crossed the number 2 lane, put one wheel in the turn lane and stopped, blocking my lane, leaving me nowhere to go and barely enough time to hit the brakes before I hit the rear, driver's side corner.
I flew forward (no seat belt) and took the steering wheel in the forehead and across the ribs. I was unconcous long enough to allow witnesses to call the cops and medical responders. Most of the next 24 hours were a blur with only a few memories of rational thought.
It didn't kill me, but I got scrambled a bit. No broken bones or ribs, just bruising and stiff/sore muscles.
I was ok, but the truck was totaled. I bought it back from the insurance company and rebuilt it. I drove that truck for another 6 years before I sold it.
Bottom line, that steering wheel was large enough to distribute the impact to a wide area, thus reducing the impact at any one point.
I did not made any changes to the steering column in my '63, but I did add seat belts. That was also one of the first upgrades I did to my current '62 C10. That incident made me a firm believer in seat belts.
