Bumper Thumper (minor automobile accident)
A “bumper thumper” is a minor automobile accident. A Lucky Strike cigarette advertisement in March 1957 featured invented names, and David Barton of the University of Illinois submitted “Bumper Thumper” (defined as “What is an absent-minded motorist?”). In November 1957, a newspaper comic strip called a car a “bumper thumper.” In August 1961, “bumper thumper” referred to the minor automobile accident itself.
Another term for a “bumper thumper” is a “fender bender.”
6 March 1957, Daily Northwestern (Evanston, IL), pg. 5, col. 2 ad:
WHAT IS AN ABSENT-MINDED MOTORIST?
Bumper Thumper
DAVID BARTON,
U. of ILLINOIS
(Lucky Strike cigarette ad—ed.)
10 November 1957, Denton (TX) Record Chronicle, “Etta Kett” comic strip, comic section, pg. ?:
HERE! GIVE THIS BUMPER THUMPER A GAS INJECTION WHILE I PHONE ETTA!
27 August 1961, Hutchinson (KS) News, “Centennial Gas War Makes Travelers Happy” by Jane Bauman, pg. 18, col. 5:
But up to Hamilton, Mo.—now on Highway 36, we haven’t seen a wreck—not even a bumper-thumper.
Google News Archive
24 July 1965, Portsmouth (NH) Times, pg. 10, col. 4:
Two Men Shaken Up
In Bumper-Thumper
Two men received apparently minor injuries Tuesday night in a traffic accident in New Boston.
Google News Archive
18 September 1967, Bryan (OH) Times, pg. 5, col. 2:
Minor Bumper-Thumper
A minor bumper-thumper occurring Friday morning was today’s lone traffic item listed on the police docket.
Google News Archive
19 October 1967, Bryan (OH)
Minor Bumper-Thumper
Is Lone Traffic Item
A minor bumper-thumper was the lone item occupying today’s traffic docket of the local police department.
13 May 1992, Boston (MA) Globe, “Ford on the road” by Michael Blowen, Living, pg. 42:
They’ve introduced phrases such as “gawker blocker,” “bumper thumper” and “stall ‘n’ crawl” to the vernacular.