Avoiding animals on the Road

[The Big J]

I have been riding a lot lately and am now pretty used to some strange things coming around the corner. The thing that still gives me the shits is animals like birds, rodents, even dogs who need to get out of my way. The problem is, sometimes I pick them up when I can't safely stop. They run out of long grass or are eating road kill around a blind corner etc.

The only thing I have hit is a chicken. It was a strange moment. The chicken lived, lucky bastard seemed to bounce off the front tire.

What have you hit and do you have a strategy for avoiding these? The problem with swerving as I see it is if they run into your path. I generally run a line away from where they are and brake as much as I can. I can't work out a sure-fire option though. Not in NZ but in the States/Canada deer strike seems to kill a lot of riders.

Any other advice or experiences? Anyone hit anything larger than a chicken?

[99TLS]

ran over all sorts of things but the one that sticks in my mind is a cat that ran in front of my bike at night , didnt see it til it was too late and ran over it and felt its back brake under the bike :blank: turned around and then went and found its owner , not much i could do but pick up cat and put on roadside

[Trudes]

Puts the shits up me too. They are just so unpredictable, like birds that fly across your path and almost into you at times. Small animals scare me, but its the big ones like cows, sheep and pedestrians that you really have to be concerned with smacking into I think. My motto on the back roads is "expect the unexpected and don't go faster than you can stop". (That's why I'm a nanna)

[bell]

I have been riding a lot lately and am now pretty used to some strange things coming around the corner. The thing that still gives me the shits is animals like birds, rodents, even dogs who need to get out of my way. The problem is, sometimes I pick them up when I can't safely stop. They run out of long grass or are eating road kill around a blind corner etc.

The only thing I have hit is a chicken. It was a strange moment. The chicken lived, lucky bastard seemed to bounce off the front tire.

What have you hit and do you have a strategy for avoiding these? The problem with swerving as I see it is if they run into your path. I generally run a line away from where they are and brake as much as I can. I can't work out a sure-fire option though. Not in NZ but in the States/Canada deer strike seems to kill a lot of riders.

Any other advice or experiences? Anyone hit anything larger than a chicken?

Know thy enemy.

If you can reasonably predict the behaviour of your, er, "target" then you're in a better position to react correctly.

For example, birds flying across your path don't tend to move around like a rabbit or hare might - they generally keep flying on a consistent trajectory.

Kangaroos on the other hand, are extremely unpredictable. That Western Red might be able to do 70km/h for a short burst (alongside your vehicle and then suddenly across in front of you), weigh up to 90kgs and stand up to 2 metres tall.

Deer vs rider (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwBaot8xSnw). It's quite impressive.

[T.W.R]

Puts the shits up me too. They are just so unpredictable, like birds that fly across your path and almost into you at times. Small animals scare me, but its the big ones like cows, sheep and pedestrians that you really have to be concerned with smacking into I think. My motto on the back roads is "expect the unexpected and don't go faster than you can stop". (That's why I'm a nanna)

Too true:cool:

Had close encounters with most smaller animals over the years but the one that sticks out most was a bird strike or more aptly explosion :lol: riding along a country road many years ago a magpie flew out through a hedge and across the road at axle height a got diced up by my front wheel, it basically exploded like someone had ripped a pillow apart :lol: always remember looking in the mirrors and seeing a cloud of feathers behind me, the mess on the engine block & header pipes was a different story :sick:

[banditrider]

Hit: at least 4 birds (feathered variety), also killed a lot of bugs - not sure if that counts...

Extreme close calls: 3 calves (at once), bull (don't think I would have won that one, goolies left dent in tank after ferocious braking/avoiding manouver), sheep, turkeys, hawks.

Other stuff avoided: emu, goats, horse, possums, rabbits/hares, dogs, cats, ducks, wallabys, hedgehogs and all above.

Also, slipped & slid around on possum & hedgie carcasses...

[dogsnbikes]

had a close call with a wood pigeon which looked awesome on the video when replayed

but always encounting stock and sheep on the road

[Unforgiven]

Had plenty of things running around the road while Ive been riding, managed to dodge them though. I did run over a possums tail one night, that was a bit close for me.

[675trippy]

had to ditch my old sporty one day or i was headed for a big mess with a horse not too much damage but sure put the shits up me. the scariest tho was a sheep darting out in front of me while exceeding the sound barrier no reaction time whatsoever thankfully it pulled it's head back at the last moment.

[Goblin]

I've hit plenty of small birds but lucky no large ones. One night i ran over a large possum and with a 16" front wheel it was a case of hang on tight! I've also run over a large hare and a few rabbits. The best one was in town when my sister was on the back. We went past some of my old school mates and I turned around to wave at them just as a big fat black labrador ran out in front of us. We bowled right over top of it and Maria's feet went up to my armpits and all the footpegs folded up and I somehow jammed my finger between the grip and the tank but we stayed on! The dog carried on like nothing had happened. If my sister hadn't been on the back I would have fallen off for sure.

[iwilde]

Check this crazy bastard deer out! Repost police give me a break.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=629_1187712839

[Wiki Drifter]

ran over all sorts of things but the one that sticks in my mind is a cat that ran in front of my bike at night , didnt see it til it was too late and ran over it and felt its back brake under the bike :blank: turned around and then went and found its owner , not much i could do but pick up cat and put on roadside

It wasn't a ginger cat was it? :weep::weep::weep:

[MD]

"Avoiding animals on the road" - most of us try really hard to avoid pigs :Police:

(sorry, I thought this was another cop bashing thread :oi-grr: )

[surfchick]

a gazziliion near misses w birds and one strike

scooped a hare up-over the front wheel, smashed into my jacket then up and clunked onto my helmet

was just on-dark coming back down sh16

i'd do almost anything to not hit these critters, but sometimes there's no time...

[Chrislost]

on my CBR400 i nailed a possum.
my friend who wa following me said it did about 5 flips hit the road and ran about 3m then stopped.
all it did was give me a bit of a head shake.

[banditrider]

scooped a hare up-over the front wheel, smashed into my jacket then up and clunked onto my helmet


Can relate to that. A mate toasted a possum & flicked bits of it all over me. When I stopped at the next garage there were bits of possum meat all over my jacket & bike!

[99TLS]

It wasn't a ginger cat was it? :weep::weep::weep:

:no: twas grey tabby :no:

[dino3310]

dodged a dog once think it was a lab,ended up in a drain did the end over end after hitting the culvert,that was 20 years ago havent hit anything
since(touch wood)

[Tonka]

Went for a ride on Thursday just gone, and was cruising down Pikowai Straights (between Matata and Te Puke - BOP) and saw what looked to be something moving on the road. As I got closer realised it was a bird of sorts (thought it was a Hawke initially) so backed off. It must have heard me approaching then it flew off....which I thought was ok but then ( realised it was a freggin huge duck) started heading back in my direction...:blink:. I then started moving towards the center line and the duck turned suddenly and started flying in the same direction I was travelling. My friend following behind me said he could see it all and started laughing his head off!! The bloody duck flew beside me for around 20-30m and it was that close I could have reached across and touched it! It then veered off to the left....perhaps it mistook me as a duck??:chase:

[Ocean1]

I'd had my very first brand new store-bought bike, (an XL175) for two whole days. My brother finally managed to talk me into letting him take it for a blat around the block. The neighbour's attack mop/ground hound escaped under their fence and launched itself at the front wheel. Blood, bent forks, smashed headlight etc. Not happy, would have had to take it out on the brother if he hadn't broken his arm.

Have hit some livestock myself, all small beasties though. Did have a strange encounter with a weird late night mass migration of frogs across a country road years ago... bloody slippery little fuckers.

This is a good story about small fuzzy vehicular impediments:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showpost.php?p=28185&postcount=1

[boomer]

I've hit plenty of small birds
Me too..


but lucky no large ones.
thats also my philosophy!!

:whistle:

[boomer]

perhaps it mistook me as a duck??:chase:

A moa perhaps, but not a duck! :blip:

[Puddlejumper]

Been hit in the helmet once by a bird, that nearly took me off the road.
In the country, scanning and looking ahead, being aware of your surroundings is your best defence. Checking for hazards and slowing if necessary before encountering them. ( Course unexpected things do happen even so. )
In the city I think the best advice is don't try to avoid it. Cats and dogs are the main culprits here. Dogs will chase motorbikes. Most will angle out and run at your back tyre. if you suddenly brake, swerve etc then it is more likely to misjudge and run into you. Also, sudden swerving, panic braking is more likely to have you off the bike whether you hit it or not. I just keep to my line and speed, try to be ready for a collision if the worst comes to the worst and hope. Have only hit one dog ever, when I started riding. ( killed it, ran over its head ) and that was because it gave me a shit of a fright running out at me, I braked hard and it went under my front wheel. I stayed up but I think I would have missed it if I hadn't braked. BTW, there is nothing worse than the expression on the face of a kid when she sees her dead pet. I wish her family had kept it under better control.

[The Big J]

Well it sounds like we are better at hitting animals, not avoiding them!

I can agree about the dogs, some can be pretty intimidating but I figure the dogs that get too close probably got too close to someone else already. If you keep your head up and keep looking through the corner its not too much opf a problem (I still hate it on gravel though).

Sometimes what you can't predict is frustrating. Said chicken incident happened when chicken ran to right side of road, disappeared from vision and then plunged straight left into the tire.

[dino3310]

hate it when the visors up bee flies in fucken ouch

[Goblin]

hate it when the visors up bee flies in fucken ouchOr how about having your visor closed and seeing a wasp crawling around the inside??:crazy:

[scracha]

Had a deer jump out in front of me in Scotland. Bizzarrely enough t was in a very urban area and not the Trossachs (my regular playground....a smidgeon better than the coro loop).

Around here there's lots of cows, sheep, horses and goats to avoid as they have this stupid law that lets fowk put animals on the verges and use teeny wee electric fences to stop them going on the road.

[Dave-]

i tooted at a pack (yes a pack) of chickens on the side of the road on my way out to ruapuna today, they moved pretty quick fast.

[919honda]

Hit a pheasant and smashed a headlight [$210] on the 900 hornet.Also years ago a sheep dog jumped out and had a go at my mates bike, drifted back into my Triumph 6T and bent the brake lever at right angles.

[Mom]

Pukeko's are bastards! I hate them!

[klingon]

Pukeko's are bastards! I hate them!

I agree.. they have absolutely no road sense! They really must be one of the most stupid animals out there. :bash:

[Zuki Bandit]

You could always just be friends with the critters!:Punk:

[1vanvan1]

I have had this fucking dog chase me down the road at like 30-40kmph. Somehow got of its owners lesh as set about chasing me. It was lucky not to be hit my an on coming car. Worst thing is my friend wasnt home i went to visit so i rode back past and i was met by the old prick standing on the side of the road who pulled the fingers shook his fists and yelled abuse at me. I hadnt done anything wrong. I felt like hitting him. Prick. Maybe he should by a better leash.

[Huntaway]

A cocky once observed to me that a sheep will invariably run back to its flock, even if that is right across your path. I have noted over time it is good advice, but not infallible.

[Wannabiker]

Hmmm havent had occasion to hit anything on the bike...and ride to avoid it. I have seen a hawk go through a Hiace van window (toughened, not laminated glass one), and end up in the back seat, and a pig take out the front suspension of a truck. You must not underestimate the amount of damage a large animal in your path will do. The old defensive driving course gave the following: Drive at a speed that you can stop in the length of lane visible to you on a 2 lane road, and half the length of lane visible to you on a single lane road. This should give ample time to identify hazards and react to them. ...so on a straight clear road.....

[klingon]

Mummy duck and all her babies walked out in front of me today. Actually 'walked' is the wrong word... more like 'strolled'. I had to stop completely to let them all get across because there was quite a trail of them. The car coming the other way stopped too and we both had a good laugh.

So there I was sitting in the middle of the road laughing while keeping an eye on my mirrors, and some guy comes speeding around the corner (about 100 metres behind me) loses control and comes around sideways on the wrong side of the road. I was never in any danger, but if the car on the other side of the road had kept going, he definitely would have collected them.

So the ducks saved them! Yay for ducks! :Punk::love:

Next time an animal steps out in front of you, pay attention. It might be trying to tell you something. :msn-wink:

[Ocean1]

Ha, baby ducks... once watched as a half dozen of the little buggers got run over by a Group A racecar doing about 140 kph. Thought most of 'em would be toast but none got squashed, they all appeared out the back and immediately shot up about 6ft in the air in the updraught. All toddled off to the side of the track and followed mum.

[Rhino]

As some others have said, trying to dodge a small animal, or frantic braking is likely to leave you in deep doo-doo.

Many years ago I read an article on this subject in a bike mag and the advice was to keep upright and a constanat speed. If the cat/dog is going to arrive at a point in space at the same time as you and your bike, the suggestion was to accelerate hard, to lighten the front wheel. At least if you then hit the animal, you have a good chance of getting the wheel over it. Once the front wheel is over the rear will tend to take care of itself.

I know that sounds harsh, but I have followed that advice with both a cat and a dog, and managed to stay upright on both occasions. Not nice, as I am an animal lover, but necessary at the time. :(

[Chocky]

I was on secnic dr west auck a few years back and was doing under the speed limit for a change when I saw a dobberman walking down toward me on the other side of the road, I saw it notice me and start to walk into the road. 'no probs' I thought 'it will run out to me and then alongside and bark at the wheels' I knocked about 10kph off my speed and then the pice of shit desided it wanted to get to the other side of the road:shit: I got it dead(sic) center and it was a case of ground sky ground sky ground sky.......I was in the gutter with ppl all around me telling me an ambo had been called. 3 ribs, dislocated shoulder, twisted ankel. and my bike? :bye:
It was going to be a 4 min ride and I had made it half way up my road in jeans and a T-shirt when I turned around and put my gear on:innocent:
ALLWAYS WEAR YOUR LEATHER

[H00dz]

Be Prepared!!!

Up this way "bunting possums" is a call of duty (There freekin' everywhere):niceone:

This is all good if ya "caging it".... however makes for some interesting times on two wheels Especially when you come throttling round the bend and there a whole friggin Family of possums Or Pukekos OR Paradise Ducks crossin......Why do they always cross on the corners?

Anyway my Philsophy is theres something round everycorner coz up here.... there normally is......interestingly i find that "Flat possums" are even more treacherous AND Don't even get me started bout night riding !!!