Your Driving tally??

Canis Lupus

Okay so I'm bored in work and the fanbelt thread elsewhere in the motoring topic got me thinking..

How many animals do u reckon u have mown down while driving? Personally i have removed 2 rabbits and nearly a dog from this planet. I have a mate who has no respect for animal life (or his car) he figures if an animal runs out in front of him then he is just helping darwinian survival of the fittest... he has killed numerous cats, dogs, rabbits, badgers and even a sheep once... oddly tho he has a strange fascination for hedgehogs and goes out of his way to pick em up and plonk em out of harms way. saying that he isnt a cold blooded killer... just when im driving ill do my utmost to avoid an animal... he wont.

So anyone got any interesting/funny stories to brighten my day up... in a morbid sort of way?

BrianD3

I've killed 2 rabbits, that's it. I clipped a cat with the floor of the car once but it was a very light hit and I saw the cat run away seemingly unharmed.

Of course, I've killed numerous small birds too but they don't really count as roadkill.

Also, there may be animals that I've killed that I don't know about Eg if a rabbit were to run out a foot in front on my back wheels I could kill him and never know

Anyway, not a bad tally seeing as I've been driving for 9 years and approx 200,000 miles. There are a lot of sick bastards out there who will go out of their way to run over an animal if they see one. Also, people driving far too fast on country roads who haven't time to react when an animal runs out is the reason for a lot of roadkill.

I have a mate who has no respect for animal life (or his car) he figures if an animal runs out in front of him then he is just helping darwinian survival of the fittest... he has killed numerous cats, dogs, rabbits, badgers and even a sheep once

Would he apply this same principle if he encountered a cow or horse on the road?

BrianD3

Canis Lupus

sorry forgot to mention birds... anything smaller than a pheasant doesnt count altho i killed one of them once.... i was turning the radio up and BANG!! there was a pheasant comedy style splayed right in front of my face on my windscreen for a brief second... i almost suffered heart failure it was such a shock.

unkel

Ah well if the birdies don't count my current score is a surprisingly low:

unkel 1 - hedgehogs 0

seamus

I *think* I've killed a squirrel, but I'm not sure. He was sitting on the left hand side of the road, about a foot from the edge and when I came along, he made a dart for the right hand side of the road. Right in front of my wheels. I say I'm not sure cos the possibility exists that he went between the wheels. I couldn't see anything moving in my mirror though. If he'd stayed where he was or gone left, he'd be fine....

Seth Brundle

1 * badger (kerr-bump)
1 * squirrel (grey, so its ok!)
countless mice
countless birds
do moths and flys count?

Canis Lupus

yeah small birds dont count... i live in the country and in the summer when yur travelling to work at 8am its carnage on the roads..... its actually quite horrible cos birds for almost solid 12 miles will burst out of the undergrowth to fly accross the road???!!! why i dunno... i reckon they are all daring one another... for every bird that flies accross there are prolly 10 more cheering him on

altho trying to pull a bird out of the radiator grill is gross...

Canis Lupus

kbannon wrote:

1 * badger (kerr-bump)
1 * squirrel (grey, so its ok!)
countless mice
countless birds
do moths and flys count?

LOL grey, so its ok! ah.. that made me smile. No mice, small birds etc.... altho if i allow moths and flies can u give me an accurate kill count

BrianD3

The number of animals you hit is very dependent on the type of driving you do. If you drive mainly at night and on country roads there's a good chance you'll wipe out a couple of badgers and foxes per year. If you drive in urban areas during the daytime you might never hit an animal in your entire driving "career".

BrianD3

Seth Brundle

BrianD3 wrote:

If you drive in urban areas during the daytime you might never hit an animal in your entire driving "career".

there is no excuse for not trying

KlodaX

does the car have to be actually moving for the kill to count?

I had a cat in the engine once. Just as I closed the door the neighbour kid knocked the window and warned me. Lucky cat.

Seth Brundle

KlodaX - was the cat killed?

Canis Lupus

KlodaX wrote:

does the car have to be actually moving for the kill to count?

our dog seriously concussed himself once by attempting to race under a parked tractor.... but then he wasnt that smart anyway.

Imposter

I've only killed a lickle birdee in just over 2 years but I've had two near run ins with deer. One was a baby one who thought it would be fun to follow it's brother across a road and the other was a larger specimen who thankfully decided to move at the last second.

K2

once took out two little bunnies, managed to avoid them with the car but saw them get mowed down in the rear view mirror by the canoe trailer I was pulling. Guess a rabbits foot ain't luckey after all!

_sheep

kbannon wrote:

KlodaX - was the cat killed?

He stated 'lucky cat' so i assume he meant lucky in a positive way ;]

mike65

Ignoring birds of which I've KO-ed a few, I ran down a dog, right in front the the young owners eyes.

This happened near Tipperary on the Kilmallock road one late afternoon in November. The dog was free and as I approached the property in question he/she ran out, there was a car comming against me so I had no choice but to maintain my course. The dog was knocked sideways and killed instantly (and cleanly thank God) the boy was only 8-10 and besides himself with shock and grief. That I could take, it was the attitude of his father that pissed me off. Basicly dis-interested in his sons best friend being killed in front of him. Maybe its a country thing. I felt bad of course but there really nothing I could do. Oh well...

Mike.

seamus

I nearly killed a dog on my way home today ironically enough. Both of us nearly became a perfectly average statistic - just around the corner from my house, I wasn't watching properly, dog hopped out in front of me, front tyre squeals, dog hops back on the path, I curse him and keep going. I checked my rear view mirror - his owners were doing nothing, didn't even look at the dog, and it was still going loopers right on the kerb.

It was a labrador - I wouldn't have come out of it too well, though he may have survived, as I would have hit him at 5-10mph tops.

Sometimes God likes to give us a little tap on the shoulder to remind us

impr0v

One king size badger sticks out in my mind, along with a few birds, which I hate killing. I hate running over anything small and innocent, it ruins the journey for me. Running over the badger almost ruined the journey more than usual for me, as I put the merc I was driving at the time into the ditch trying to avoid him, killing the suicidal idiot anyway. Minimal damage occured though, to the car, not him.

therecklessone

Canis Lupus wrote:

altho trying to pull a bird out of the radiator grill is gross...

Not the one I killed, he was perfectly preserved (just a wee bit of blood) but wedged deep...

BrianD3

I actually reckon that if somone has a high roadkill "tally", they're probably a sh1te driver generally. I've noticed that most of the people I know who regularly crash their cars are the same ones that tend to run over loads of animals. Hitting other road users and hitting animals are related because both are influenced by driving too fast for the conditions and poor observation/awareness/anticipation.

For example, I know a woman (SUV driver :rolleyes:) who has run over 3 cats in housing estates in the last year. She drives far too fast in these estates and has terrible observation - let's say a cat was on the footpath and ready to run out on the road she wouldn't notice it and when the cat does run out it's a big surprise, she hasn't time to react and runs over it. Or if a dog is walking across the road 100 yards ahead - because the driver is concentrating so hard on the road 3 yards in front of her windscreen she won't see it till the very LAST minute and will either have to slam on or will run it over.

In contrast, the people here on the Motors forum seem to be pretty good and safe drivers and have a relativley low roadkill tally, just as I would have predicted

BrianD3

Seth Brundle

_sheep wrote:

He stated 'lucky cat' so i assume he meant lucky in a positive way ;]

then it isn't roadkill!

Interceptor

Hmmm. Not sure if you animal-loving Boarders are going to be impressed, but if you must ask these questions.....

DT175 1 Rabbit
RD350 1 Sheepdog (nasty bang, dog tried to chase me - bike on me, in ditch)
RGV250 1 Pheasant (hit me in chest but I stayed on the bike) 1 Fox (Clonmel)
Renault4 1 labrador 3 cats 2 rabbits (labrador destroyed front of car and walked away)
Sierra 1 bat (small, hit windscreen@90mph)
Mondeo 1 bat (small, hit grille - smashed bat)
205GTI 1 bat (medium, big splat)
Civic 2 rabbits 1 chicken 1 crow (chicken exploded like a pillow)
Subaru 1 cat (cat killed instantly but squelched and GF woofed her cookies in footwell)
Prelude 1 badger, several rabbits, lots of small birds
Accord 1 cat (Leeson park)
Mini 2 cats (1 got stuck behind front bumper and I didn't notice for ages)
Mini - numerous small birds and a baby rabbit
Ford Transit - 1 badger and neighbours dog which I reversed over
Mazda 626 - millions of frogs during a rain-storm in rural Japan, very weird sensation driving on frog-carpet

I am not cold hearted and I like animals, but I have been driving for over twenty years and spent a lot of it at high speed on back roads. Curiously, I have never knowingly hit a hedgehog - I hope never to as they get a hard time from cars.

'ceptr

Pimp Ninja

Biggest item in 2 and a half years driving my car was a surprisingly large dragonfly. I never boothered washing the car for about 3 weeks after it and he was still stuck just under the front foglight.

I was on a motorbike for 3/4 odd years previous to this and the only thing I ever hit (other than the car that took me for a ride into the air and over its roof) was a rather large pidgeon. He did live to tell the tale, but I had a bit of a shock...

BrianD3

Not sure if you animal-loving Boarders are going to be impressed

Considering you've been driving for over twenty years, you don't have a particularly high tally and are not as prolific a killer as some. And remember that birds smaller than a pheasant and tiny stuff like bats, frogs, mice, rats, gerbils etc. don't count towards your total. Sorry.

BrianD3

Going Demented

A good few rabbits (why to they stop and stare at the lights?)
1 cat (jumped off a wall and wham, knew the owner )
3 Pigeons.
Then a few small things.

Can rolling over a hedgehog cause a puncture?

I live in the country, drive to the city for work. One day i was overtaken (i was doing the speed limit) by this manic in his car. Few minutes later i went around a turn and there was the car, stopped and badly damaged. It had hit a COW! Some cows got out on the road and he was travelling at such a speed around a turn he hadn't time to stop.

KlodaX

kbannon wrote:

KlodaX - was the cat killed?

The cat thanks you for your concern. Its fine... has 8 lives left.

Twas hanging around the car last night... I think its an adrenalin junkie .. likes living life to the edge.

Victor

One little old dear (not deer) had a lucky escape, she just stepped off the footpath 10 feet in front of my bike.

And I've swallowed some insects.

Canis Lupus

Going Demented wrote:

Can rolling over a hedgehog cause a puncture?

I live in the country, drive to the city for work. One day i was overtaken (i was doing the speed limit) by this manic in his car. Few minutes later i went around a turn and there was the car, stopped and badly damaged. It had hit a COW! Some cows got out on the road and he was travelling at such a speed around a turn he hadn't time to stop.

now id hate to hit a cow.... sweep the legs from under them and in they come through the windscreen...... and for the hedgehog question i dunno.... given that the spines are very sharp and strong (ive picked a few up over the years and been stuck when the damn things roll into a ball) i would assume it is possible but ive seen enough cars drive over broken bottles in my time and not seen a wheel punctured so maybe not

K2

I once nearly ran over the biggest frog I have ever seen, we are talking about the Barry White of Frogs here. It made me happy so see him in the mirror hopping on his way. Not having to clean green congealed slime the size of a 12" pizza off the car made me happy too

Seth Brundle

K2 wrote:

I once nearly ran over the biggest frog I have ever seen, we are talking about the Barry White of Frogs here.

so then it was a walrus?