“A tree never hits an automobile except in self-defense”

“A tree never hits an automobile…except in self-defense” is a humorous one-line saying that has been printed on several posters. The saying was probably coined by Arnold H. Glasow (1905-1998), author of a book of many humorous sayings collectively titled Glasow’s Gloombusters (1995). Glasow was credited for this “Gloombuster” in November 1965.
 
“A tree never hits an automobile…except in self-defense” has been included in some literature on anti-DWI campaigns.
 
   
Answers.com
Q: Who is Arnold Glasgow?
A: He was my father-in-law. Arnold Henry Glasow (notice no second g in last name) was born in Fond-du-lac, Wisconsin in 1905, and died in Freeport, IL in 1998 at age 93. He graduated from Ripon College, and started his own business when he moved to Freeport just after the depression. His business was a humor magazine that he marketed to firms nationally, which firms would turn it into their “house organ” to send to their customers. He carried on this business for over 60 years, publishing his first book at age 92. The book is titled, “Glasow’s Gloombusters,” one of the many titles he put on his work during his career. He was cited frequently in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Chicago Tribune and many other major organs. He was a regular contributor to the humor sections of Reader’s Digest. Sixty years of productive work. Many attributions. A real American thinker, self-effacing and generous of spirit, he shunned the national spotlight.
 
14 November 1965, The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR),  “Television Gag Bag,” TV section, pg. 6, cols. 2-3:
Arnold Glasow offers these Gloombusters: (...) A tree never hits a car except in self-defense.
 
8 December 1965, Atchison (KS) Globe, pg. 13, col. 7:
A tree never hits a car except in self-defense.
 
Google Books
A Thousand Paths to Enlightenment
By David Baird
Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks
2000
Pg. 326:
A tree never hits an automobile except in self-defence.
   
Googel Books
I’m Not Your Friend, I’m Your Parent
By E. D. Hill
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc.
2008
Pg. 159
I received a funny kids-and-driving email, which illustrates that all female drivers seem to be alike! A tree never hits an automobile except in self-defense. —AUTHOR UNKNOWN
 
Baumgartner Law Firm
DWI Slogans That Work
On September 4, 2012, in DWI Campaigns, by admin
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A tree never hits an automobile…except in self-defense.