Not a Near Miss but a Near Hit

[alans1100]

Hi,

It's not all ways the nut behind the wheel you have to look out for but wildlife as well.

On Wednesday 14th Feb we had nothing better to do so we went for a ride to see dad. From Peterborough SA to Berri SA which is about 270kms. So far so good but on the return trip we had a little excitement.

Between Morgan and Burra I just saw one dead 'roo and missed that ok. A few km's up the road a 'roo came out of nowhere on the left.  By the time I saw it I was on it and the front wheel just missed it's tail as I went passed it. Only doing 110kms at the time. Not exactly my idea of fun, but it could have been much worse.

And they say things happen in three's.

Well the third 'roo was within 20kms of home casually hopping along the fence line. As soon as I saw it I moved right over to RH side of road til I passed it.

To make matters worse my spotlights had a hissy fit and never worked other wise I might have seen that second 'roo a little earlier. I checked the fuses and wiring etc and all seemed ok. Tried them out and they worked so maybe a loose connection somewhere.

Oh! just out of interest... A Near Miss is actually a hit. A Near Hit is a miss. Think about it.

Alan

[Down Under]

Roo numbers are getting really bad around my neck of the woods.  Almost make riding after dark too unsafe.  If your not dodging live ones your dodging road kill!  Saying that, when I did a trip to Longreach last Sept, I've never seen so many dead roos on the road between Cunnamulla and Charleville.....no way you'd catch me out there after sunset! 

[terrydj]

This time last year just North of Orbost in Victoria heading North, I hit a Roo on the bike. Two came out from the left right beside the bike and I clipped the second one. Just a wobble and I looked in the mirror to see a Roo down. So I turns around and heads back. I had hit it and broken its rear leg. So I puts the Roo out of its missery and headed off. Just think its one of those things that happens???
By the way, I had two of them Shoo Roo things on the bike, but I think they are the African ones, as I havn't seen an Elephant, Rhinoceros, Lion or Giraffe on the road in my travells but still see heaps of Bloody Roos

[Couch]

We never ride at night here on the Tasman Peninsula . Unfortunately there's far too much wildlife on our country roads, Kangaroos, Wallabies, Possums, Paddymelons and the worst of all, Wombats , some of them quite large. Hitting one of them would be like hitting a Mack truck! Seen a few decent Tiger Snakes recently now the warmer weather's with us. Next month is the time to be careful as they become more aggressive during their mating season. Not too much worry if you're on the bike though..........just go around them .

[Shaun]

Yeah, growing up in the country, I never even liked taking a car out at dusk, let alone a bike.

We have more unpredictable wildlife around dusk and nighttime in Sydney though.

[Couch]

Particularly around Kings Cross!!

Yeah, growing up in the country, I never even liked taking a car out at dusk, let alone a bike.

We have more unpredictable wildlife around dusk and nighttime in Sydney though.

[West Aussie Glen]

When living in the Pilbara I drove with two Cibie Super Oscar Spotlights and two Cibie Super Oscar Drving lights and even with those 4 travelling much over 80 kph was running a risk of hitting a roo.

[alans1100]

When living in the Pilbara I drove with two Cibie Super Oscar Spotlights and two Cibie Super Oscar Drving lights and even with those 4 travelling much over 80 kph was running a risk of hitting a roo.

I never rode up there at night unless it was on the way home from work or I couldn't avoid it and kept speed to 80kph. Even in Karratha it wasn't unusual to see a small roo or two in the middle of the road. At night cows/bulls where a little more scary but rarely crossed the road if they where feeding.

The other night was a rare time of return as I usually like to do that part of the return trip before it gets dark.

[Couch]

Some time back we had a rider who was down from NSW with a couple of mates and they decided to ride to the Ghost Tour at Port Arthur on this particular night :). Knowing that there was lots of wildlife at night they thought they'd be ok if they took it really slow.
Well they were travelling through Taranna, not far from here, and sitting on about 50 kph, one of them was placed directly behind a vehicle, believing that would be a fairly safe place to be ...................next thing he knew a kangaroo/large wallaby jumped straight in front of him, he didn't even get time to hit the brakes. He went straight over the handlebars and hit the deck face first . When we got to him (ambulance) he still had his helmet on and was in heaps of pain. Fortunately for him he was wearing a full face helmet as when we removed it I noticed the visor had deep gouges through it. I remember thinking at the time that if it had been an open face helmet then his face would have been in a real mess. After cutting his almost new leather jacket from him, much to his dismay , we determined that he'd broken his collarbone as well as a few other non life threatening injuries. With a smashed up bike and a trip to hospital it sort of stuffed up his holliday somewhat :(..................you won't find this little turkey riding around here at night no way!

[Diesel]

I ALWAYS consider my speed and wildlife and the time of day. I KNOW some are unavoidable. A lot of my LD riding involvs pre-dawn starts, and I always consider the game of road-train kangaroo bowling that goes on the night before (and each night) and am very weary about big carcasses that haven't beeen cleared from the road yet. Then, when it gets lighter, the blackbirds and others become a (less) hazard whilst they feed on the road kill, and don't want to move until the last second.     

Must admit, I'm scared of the first time I rround a bend and there is a bull or camel in the middle of the road! I guess that is what 'riding to the conditions' means.

Geez! Who'd be into this motorcycling mayhem then eh?