Hit A Kanagroo Last Night...

[Samon]

Hey Guys,

Well i was coming home from visiting a friend last night in Tocumwal (NSW, just over the border for those not aware) and was told to come via Seymour and Yea because "it would be a more interesting drive". Anyway, came through Seymour, cruising down the Goulburn Valley Highway at 100 clicks when i come round a bend and see a medium sized kangaroo sitting in the middle of my lane! I hit the brakes and swerved onto the other side of the road (it was about 1:30am by this time, no cars coming the other way luckily... actually hadn't seen another car for about 30 minutes ), but i think skippy got startled and followed the headlights because he jumped the same way. Anyway i'd say i hit him at about 80 km's, with him mid-bounce, as he went flying to the side and i pulled up to a stop.

I got out of the car and took a quick look at the damage... there was an almost-dead skippy laying in the middle of the road, blood poring out and hiddeous gurgling sounds coming from his nose, and there was my car... the impact was on the left-hand side of the car, i had no headlight (totally smashed to tiny pieces... didnt even resemble any form of headlight), my bonnet was crushed into what appeared to be a kind of zig-zag modern art-form, and there was water pouring out from under engine. I quickly got back into the car, turned around and pulled off the road onto the shoulder. I turned the car off and got my mate who was travelling with me to help me wrench open the bonnet. I noticed that my grill was gone... found that laying down the road smashed in 2 pieces, and my radiator was quite badly damaged (water and steam pouring out everywhere). The fan had been pushed into the radiator and was broken. My airbox and intake snorkel thing were broken, and my bumper was a bit stoved in at the top. Clearly I was not going to be driving home.

I rang the RACV, who after 10 minutes on hold informed me that because I'm not insured with them and only have roadside assistance, there was nothing they could do. They gave me the number of Seymour Towing and that was it. As i was finishing up i heard the noise of an engine in the background, so i flicked my headlights back on and turned on the hazards. I was still writing down the number for the towing company when i say headlights pulling up behind me. I then noticed that they were blue and red...

I got out and spoke to the Cop, explained what had happened, and that i had just been on the phone to the RACV and was about to organize a tow. The Cop asked about the kangaroo, and after taking a look at it put it out of it's misery and pain. They proceeded to do an incident report, asked me what i was doing there, what speed i was doing, whether i was wearing my seatbelt or not, whether i had been drinking or not, what happened, etc (asked similar questions of my passenger too). They then breathalysed me (hadn't had a drop) and took down my license details.

The other cop was nice enough to organize the tow truck for me and everything! I got the guy's details and thanked them for all of their help. They drove off and we waited for the tow truck to come. about 30 minutes later a guy from Seymour Towing arrived, and we loaded my car onto his tray-truck and off we went. Took the car back to Seymour and then got my parents to pick me up from there (just over an hour from my place at that time of night... about 2:30am ).

I just want to say what an awesome experience I had with the police... they were very friendly and helpful. I was actually a little surprised at one thing... I was out in the middle of nowhere, sitting off the side of the road with my hazards on and a crumpled bonnet, yet four cars passed us while waiting for the tow truck and not one stopped to see if we where okay. Shame on you people!

I tried to call Just Car Insurance today but got a message telling me they were closed over Christmas, and to call back later. I'll most likely have to wait until the new year for the assessor to have a look at it and then need it to be towed back to Melbourne to be repaired.

Over all I'm just happy that neither of us was injured (much more than i can say for my car or the kangaroo) and that I hit the roo where I did... a little higher and it could have gone through the windscreen, a little lower and it would have gone under the car. I'm a little annoyed it was so dark and i couldn't get any pics to post up, but I'm sure I'll be able to see it before it is repaired.

Edited January 4, 2007 by Samon

[West]

I'm glad that you're ok and hope your car is insure too so it can be fix without you have to spend more money on Christmas.

I feel the pain of the Roo, poor fella, what is he doing in the middle of the road like that .

[Samon]

I'm glad that you're ok and hope your car is insure too so it can be fix without you have to spend more money on Christmas.

I feel the pain of the Roo, poor fella, what is he doing in the middle of the road like that .

Yeah my car is insured... but i mean it was the roo's fault... his insurance should pay!

The cop told me that the drought brings the roos out onto the road... when it does rain it drains off the road and so the grass at the edges of the road is the greenest. The roos come out to graze and get startled by the cars... poor things.

[Al]

Glad to here you're ok.

I also had an experiance with a roo in my company car. Driving down a small hwy, just off the Hume, with a red bull in one hand, going to my first job, at 5am. All of a sudden a huge roo hops out in front, pressed brakes, felt ass end getting loose, and in an instant told myself that i would rather hit a roo than a tree on either side of the road. Lifted off the brakes and just heard a thump, i just clipped it's tail, absolutely no damage to my car and i dare say the roo, as their tails are pretty damn strong. All i saw was the mark where the tail had wiped off the dirt on the car. Got the addrenalin pumping though

All the best with the repair.

[KamikazeR33]

ud b suprised at how different country cops are to city cops hey

[Al]

ud b suprised at how different country cops are to city cops hey

That's bullshit.

I reakon city cops would do the same thing.

[Samon]

That's bullshit.

I reakon city cops would do the same thing.

I've been pulled over a few times, usually get breath-tested and they look at the car... check for a turbo (I'm on P Plates...), check tires, etc, and drive off... the last time i got pulled over the guy acted all nice and friendly but then filed an EPA report for my loud exhaust

I think they'd have to be a pretty nasty bloke to check for power-weight or defects when they can see a dead kangaroo lying down the road and your car all smashed up. lol I'd just say I couldn't open the bonnet

I'm not really sure of the difference in country vs city cops, but these guys seemed a lot more laid back and friendly than some of the city guys i've met. Probably just depends on who you get. I'm sure there's some tight country cops out there too!

[VL-TRBO-RB20]

u should of called Jar up and stayed at his place he lives in seymore!!!

[Jamezilla]

Glad you're OK - I hit skippy a few years ago in my Civic. Didn't work out too well for either party. Nearly hit a wombat once in the GT-R too - would have been like running into a tree stump. Hooray for brembos!

[illitirate.is.me]

ahhh; crap Sam

I loved your car; and now its like a sardine can.

and what a bugger over Christmas; defiantly in the Christmas spirit.

well, i hope everything feats better for you then the roo.

hahahaha, go check the premium now, now mine will be less then yours lol.

btw; when you say the cop put him out of his misery you mean ...

anyway, bugga to hear about that, if you need to get it back from semore dads got a tralor down at work, but ya better work out something soon coz we're going away for christmas.

anyway; im sure i will see you around.

Cya

Christopher

[dezz]

I've been pulled over a few times, usually get breath-tested and they look at the car... check for a turbo (I'm on P Plates...), check tires, etc, and drive off... the last time i got pulled over the guy acted all nice and friendly but then filed an EPA report for my loud exhaust

I think they'd have to be a pretty nasty bloke to check for power-weight or defects when they can see a dead kangaroo lying down the road and your car all smashed up. lol I'd just say I couldn't open the bonnet

I'm not really sure of the difference in country vs city cops, but these guys seemed a lot more laid back and friendly than some of the city guys i've met. Probably just depends on who you get. I'm sure there's some tight country cops out there too!

I don't think we can compare police officers here...They didnt pull you over because you're a p-plater driving a skyline....they stopped because your car was destroyed and sitting on the side of the road....with a dead kangaroo a few meters away...they weren't going to charge you with street racing...

I hit a wombat in my dads AU company car back when he had that....Was on the way to warnambool at night, when I saw a wombat in the middle of the road....tried beeping and flashing lights etc, then swerved, just as it walked right into the front bar....no damage to the car, so it might not have been killed...those things are pretty tough

[Samon]

Alright, a little update... not much of a development... but anyway

Got a call from my insurance company today, they are gonna tow it back from Seymour today to a panel shop near me to get it assessed. Has anyone had any experience or heard anything about Baywood Panels in Bayswater (good or bad feedback appreciated)? I have the option of taking it somewhere else, but need to let them know by the end of today, otherwise that is where they are going to take it. I might try and go in there tomorrow and see if i can snoop around and take a few pics of the damage

[Modena]

Poor kangaroo

Glad you are ok though. A car can be fixed but lives cant be returned...

[Ruffels]

hmm good to hear your okay!

its an interesting thing on what to do when your confronted with a roo... i find the best possible thing is not to swerve... but just to brake as hard as possible and loose as much speed as possible... as you found the hard way kanga's get nervous and just start hopping all over the road... but when your put in that situation you dont really have alot of time to think what the best plan of attack is.. your instincts to just try and miss the kangaroo kick in!

anyways cars can be fixed, and your ok so thats what matters really!

Edited December 28, 2006 by Ruffels

[AcoustiK]

I heard the best thing is to either turn off the headlights and go to the next lane as it wouldnt startle them anymore and they'll wont move (only if its like not impossible to see and u have some distance), OR flash ur highbeams + honk ur horns heaps to make it run off like mad...

[Samon]

Well I went down to the panel-beaters where it is going to be repaired, and took a couple of photos. Unfortunately they really don't do it justice... but you get the idea.

The first photo looked much worse in real life... you could see a lot more broken/smashed/bent bits The radiator is pushed all the way back onto the motor, breaking the thermatic fan on it's way. there is nothing left of the headlight, the airbox is broken, and of course the quarterpanel is bent as is the bonnet. There was actually no damage to the bumper (except where the chains from the tow truck scraped the bottom edge and scratched the paint )

As for what to do when you see a roo, in this situation i really had no time to react. I came around the bend and had maybe 2 seconds before the roo hit the front of the car. I was certainly not about to turn off my lights (not a light in sight) and i didn't have time to get onto the horn. I probably would have been better to just mash that brake pedal and keep on straight, but as you say, instinct just kicks in!

Edited December 28, 2006 by Samon

[saff_cossie]

Car looks a mess mate

One tip I was given with a roo is never to brake. This is specific to heavy braking as it dips the nose of the car and could scoop the roo up which could come through your windscreen. I wouldnt fancy one of them in the car kicking away trying to get out! Obviously if there is time to safely brake, ignore the above! I am not condoning mowing down native creatures intentionally.

[hender]

Ouch bad luck man. But never serve to miss an animal. I knew a guy 2 years above me in school who died serving to miss an animal. He served clipped the side of the roo and hit a tree.

i'd rather take the damage than risk losing complete control of meh car. but i geuss if there was no trees or anything i suppose its ok...

[O-Y-K-B]

Ouch bad luck man. But never serve to miss an animal. I knew a guy 2 years above me in school who died serving to miss an animal. He served clipped the side of the roo and hit a tree.

i'd rather take the damage than risk losing complete control of meh car. but i geuss if there was no trees or anything i suppose its ok...

yeh same thing happened to a guy i no

sorry to hear bout the car mate

[Samon]

Well I got a call from the insurance company today... $6000 worth of damage... all covered under insurance of course (but with a $1800 excess ) and i should have my car back in three weeks