BS: Hitting an animal with your car

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: GREEN WELLIES
Date: 20 May 09 - 03:56 AM

Hi Tam, it took over 12 months to get to court and to be honest we just couldn't face dragging the whole thing up again, but it made the local press and I still see people who knew of the accident or were caught up in the traffic tailbacks.

Its a busy road through our village and the Police closed the road both ways for most of the day. So at least more people were made aware of how carefully you need to drive around horses.

The village hall committee planted daffodils on the grass verge where the accident happened and they are a permanent reminder.

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: JennieG
Date: 20 May 09 - 08:33 AM

A few years ago, in the wee small hours coming home after a gig a few hours away, my son hit a wombat. Now any Ozzie knows hitting a wombat is like hitting a rock. The score was wombat 1, Stephen's little blue car nil, and $1500 worth of damage.

To the car, not the wombat.

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: Rowan
Date: 20 May 09 - 07:19 PM

As JennieG says, avoid wombats at all cost. I've commented elsewhere on one that was hit by a Landrover and ended up under the back diff. The vehicle had to be jacked to lift it clear of the wombat, which promptly ran into the bush; the diff was cracked.

As it happens, I pick up my nice "new" Subaru from the panel beaters today. Two months after I got it I was going to SES training and going gently past the local TSR (Travelling Stock Reserve; a place where stock may be rested overnight in a piece of fenced bush) where, because I had seen the occasional kangaroo, I had kept to a moderate pace. This meant that. whe said macropod jumped into my path from behind some shrubs (kangaroos are notorious for changing direction randomly, often right into the path of danger) I slammed the brakes on (ABS is wonderful), which gave it enough time to aim itself right at my headlight. It scored, right at the junction of the maximum number of panels, roughly $5k worth.

I checked it (being a founder of the local WIRES group I always check marsupial "roadkill" that looks recent, as you can often recover young from a dead mother's pouch and hand raise it; it's also a good move to remove the animal from the road so that scavengers (eagles, crows and quadripeds) that arrive aren't also at risk of becoming roadkill.

Never a welcome moment, and the worst one I came across was a Big Red on the Stuart Highway, some hundreds of km from anywhere, let alone known WIRES volunteers. It had been killed during the night but had a joey young enough to be attached to the teat (meaning I'd have to have the special milk formula for that species at that stage of development) still trying to get whatever life was left from Mum. Putting it out of its misery with a tyre lever was the only way, but I had to wait until a passing coach full of tourists was out of sight.

Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: Neil D
Date: 21 May 09 - 01:43 AM

While riding with a friend of mine one night a skunk amble into our path. My friend tried valiently to lock it up in time, but alas we felt the bump as our tire ran over the poor creature. it must have been the shock of the moment, because my fairky intelligent friend then said something that we have NEVER let her live down... " Maybe I just ran over it's head and it wil be ok..." She didn't, it was not.

                                     Christina

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: meself
Date: 21 May 09 - 10:56 AM

Now I know a few people for whom that would not be an unreasonable speculation, but no animals ...

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: GUEST,Jack Campin
Date: 21 May 09 - 12:48 PM

The worst driver I have ever known is a doctor, who spent some time practicing in rural East Africa. He acquired the nickname "the doctor who brings meat" from the number of times he managed to hit something edible (usually an antelope) when out doing house calls - he'd out the roadkill on the roofrack. Once he got an impala, enough to feed a whole village.

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: topical tom
Date: 22 May 09 - 12:45 PM

Wesley S: The very same happened to me. I know what you're going through but we can only hope that the dog was very slightly injured.
My wife and I once hit and killed a young deer, perhaps one year old, and killed it instantly. We were fortunately unhurt. These episodes are always unnerving and stay in one's memory forever. Just remember that it WAS an accident and you acted as you had to.

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: Wesley S
Date: 22 May 09 - 01:06 PM

I can only imagine how awful it would be to hit another person - even a child - with your car. I'd probably just walk or ride the bus after that.

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: topical tom
Date: 22 May 09 - 01:37 PM

Those who live in deer country are probably aware of deer whistles. They come in pairs and one is attached to each front side of the vehicle. They are supposed to emit a sound which repels deer. Some swear by them and it appears to me that deer may be on the side of the road but will not cross. Having said this, a large doe crossed the road in front of our car the other night but, in fairness, we had slowed and stopped the car when this happened. The whistles would have been rendered useless. Anyway, they are inexpensive and it can't hurt to install them on a car.

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: Lox
Date: 22 May 09 - 08:16 PM

A friend of mine told me a story recently.

He was driving back from the country to the city when he hit a deer and nearly killed it.

Next, he stopped the car, opened the door and pushed the deer out.




ta daaa ...

Subject: RE: BS: Hitting an animal with your car
From: Rowan
Date: 23 May 09 - 02:34 AM

Lox, my father built roads in outback South Australia and told me of how a car he was following slowed to avoid hitting a Plains Red kangaroo; these are quite large (can stand 6'). It cannoned into the passenger side of the car and came through the side window; the driver just baled out without even stopping, as the kangaroo then panicked and leapt about with great strength inside the car trying to escape. There wasn't a straight panel left on the car, which was a write-off, even though it hadn't hit anything before it came to a stop off the road.

Kangaroos can be a bit of a problem.

Cheers, Rowan