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It was all about Style . Safety wasn't mentioned outside of Corporate offices closed doors
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In the video, watch how the A pillar crumples. This is important on TF trucks. Scary, and not much that can be done to prevent it. Also important but not shown is how the hood can be driven into the cab, breaking off the hinge and slicing away at anything in the path. The solution was to put crumple zones in the hood supports and pins in the back of the hood. AD and TF cab attaching fasteners are strong but rusty metal, and / or poor repairs can cause separation so I'd consider a safety cable at the cab mount. Solid OE steering column attached to frame can become Vlad the Impaler if frame folds up or if driver slams forward. That huge, old wheel keeps the chest from hitting the column as easily. Splitting the column and installing a collapsing lower half could allow upper half to be moved by your torso in a crash. Frame is a pair of solid and relatively straight rails for AD and TF trucks. With thinking, a person could create a series of V cuts in a C channel frame to create areas of deflection so some energy from head on collision is absorbed and direction of motion of vehicle is changed. Replacing stock rails with boxes makes frame stronger but also does little to reduce energy transferred in an impact. A series of V cuts placed along corners of the boxed rails can help. Doors are too close to driver to do anything other than transfer impact. Supporting steel inside the door can help deflect side impact crash energy away from driver or passenger and into cab. Of course the door to frame area was never intended to remain intact in a crash so give attention to how to keep the door from pushing into the cab. Door post style latches were designed so door would stay latched even if length of door decreased during side impact. OE technology in 47-59 was not built for this crash.
Lots of other thoughts and ideas out there... maybe this is a good thread to collect a few?