What to do if an animal jumps across the road in front of you.

After just getting back from a 3 day country ride was amazed by the amount of dead Kangaroos and Womats on the side of the road. Must admit in my 33 years of country driving and riding have been lucky or observant enough so far in not hitting anything larger than a bird and being able to emergency brake in time to stop before hitting or at least given them enough time to continue across my path for a close call, any swerve or maneuver should be minimal and controlled.

One thing to bear in mind when an animal does do something unpredictable in your path is not perform a panicked wild steering maneuver like the truck driver did in this '50s B grader.

[video=youtube;bQwIT7m0428]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQwIT7m0428[/video]

Anyone got any other suggestions or tips that may help newer riders in animal avoidance ?

 

The trouble with Roos is that you never know which way their going to go. I avoid riding at night because of this. Wombats just dart across the road (incidentally, I usually check out downed Wombats as they sometimes have live Joey's & a WIRES contact is most probably somewhere in the area) I had a female rider friend get taken out by an Emu some years ago. I was coming home from Queensland to the Central Coast with a friend & as we peeled round a corner there was a bloody big dead roo in the middle of road, he went right & went left & both ended up on the gravel, lots of Sphincter pucker that time.
As for not doing a panic maneuver? Depends on how much time.

 

Nice Picture! Love it! Am I a twisted individual? Don't answer.

 

Poor owl...They are nice raptors.

 

wild turkeys and deer here and the worst thing to hit a moose-your going to be in deep shit if you tangle with a moose-bears too. Turkeys really piss me off-they try to get me every time. I have ducked a few times with turkeys, owls around too-I did hit a pigen in NYC once bounced off my face shield. Coiuld mount a machine gun to clear away the wild life.:chaingun::chaingun:

 

Wow! We have the occasional deer here. Nothing like all those roos. I think I've seen an owl once. The worst by far is the cell phone equipped homo sapien.

 

Depends on the size of the hazard. If it's too small I just brace for impact and run them over, if it's too big I do what it takes to avoid them.
Luckily I don't have too many issues with wild life in my neck of the woods. I have killed quite a few rabbits, possums, snakes, bobcats and birds, but the animals in their cars using cell phones, computers, reading, eating or any other form of distraction are the ones causing me to find quite a few bite marks on my seat.

 

Every place has it's wildlife. Once on one dark and stormy night I almost hit a Sasquatch. Fortunately I didn't lock up the rear wheel. He or she (hard to tell since they all look alike) had right of way at the pedestrian crossing.

OK dudes from OZ, what are those roos doing in the road? What does a big one weigh?

A guy I know here from OZ had a riddle. " Why did the Salty cross the road?"

Lunch.

 

I had a fairly big full retard dog run out and lay down right in front of me one night the first week I got my VFR. Luckily I was just rounding a corner from a stop and had the presence of mind to gas it, had no problem rolling over him with the front tire and he was able to scramble out of the way of the rear.

 

Had a mule deer jump from the woods next to the road in Montana, very close call, like sub 5 feet. I was going slow (35 or so) because the area is loaded with them and the woods come so close to the road. They are huge.

 

My father-in-law had a turkey buzzard fly though his windshield on his first solo flight in a small Grumman trainer!

Went right past his face, through the bulk head behind him and into the back of the plane. Lost his radio and had to land at a busy airport without it.

 

That must have smelled awful. Lucky it did not kill him. A buzzard to the face at 200mph....... That would leave a mark.

 

Glock makes a product that is extremely effective on these.

 

I have barely missed several birds at night time on the freeway commuting home. Probably owls I suspect. Hit a couple possum (stupid animals). My thinking is to not swerve for the smaller animals. My life is more important to me than theirs. But the larger animals are another story. I just missed hitting some big jesus thing in the Red Rock Canyon outside Vegas a few years ago. Came running out form my right side and I missed it by probably 2 feet or so. It was dark. Have no idea what it was but it did cause a reaction from my rectal muscles.

 

That is insane. Ya want to make sure you don't hit that damned bird.

 

We have not yet heard from the SA dudes.

 

I was riding a back road when a chicken ran out in front of me. I moved over but i guess he was suicidal. Why did the chicken cross the road? To get cut in half by my front tire!

 

Proving that roadkill really does taste like chicken.

 

To get away from Peter Griffin ?

 

To provide inspirtation for motorcycle graphics.