Re: Don't let them wreck your car

With that caption, it really ought to be a deer in the photo.

(Running over rodents usually doesn't cause any sort of car damage.)

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plawrence
(Running over rodents usually doesn't cause any sort of car damage.)

But trying to avoid running them over sometimes does.

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eeek

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plawrence
(Running over rodents usually doesn't cause any sort of car damage.)

But trying to avoid running them over sometimes does.

I won't make any evasive maneuvers when I'm driving to avoid running over a rodent. The most I'll try to do is slow down carefully if there's no vehicle following me. But I'll never serve to try to get out of its way. If I go over it, c'est la vie.

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A marmot and a bear would be good too. Two weeks ago just west of Olmsted Pt a marmot went across the road in front of the car and thankfully my teenage son learned early the fine art of not hitting animals with a car and was able to safely swerve and miss it by a few inches. Ten minutes later a bear ran in front of the car and he was able to slow down enough to miss the bear too. Good reasons to always drive the speed limit.

Good job! Yes, just going the speed limit (which seems slow to too many people) I think it's 25 mph in Yosemite, saves hundreds of animals every year-especially Bears. Most bears are killed on Yosemite roads by people driving over the speed limit. We had a bear run right in front of the car! We were traveling downhill, toward Tenaya Lake, when she ran right in front of the car. Luckily didn't even have to break. I let the other cars pile up behind me with angry faces sometimes.

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sierrawild
I think it's 25 mph in Yosemite,

The speed limit varies throughout the park. Never over 45, though, I believe. Everyone should pay attention to the special zones and slower speeds. I really get annoyed with the speeders through Crane Flat. Owls, folks. Owls. I've taken squirrels out, really really really do not want to hurt an owl.

The speed limits also vary with time of year, for example the 25 MPH area in Tuolumne Meadows has been 35 MPH when the Tioga Road has been open and the campground hasn't. The signs get changed accordingly - one needs to watch. And you're right, the highest is 45 MPH.

One of the "dead bear" signs from this year is posted just outside the entrance to the Wawona campground.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/17/2015 07:50PM by ttilley.

We used to have a green SUV and one year driving to Tahoe a owl flew into the side of the car just north of Bridgeport where there was a field with cattle and it fell into the field. . We stopped that car and just when I went to climb over the fence to see if it was OK, I got charged by a bull. Happy ending to the story, I got away from the fence before the bull got there and the owl eventually flew away.

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parklover
We used to have a green SUV and one year driving to Tahoe a owl flew into the side of the car just north of Bridgeport where there was a field with cattle and it fell into the field. . We stopped that car and just when I went to climb over the fence to see if it was OK, I got charged by a bull. Happy ending to the story, I got away from the fence before the bull got there and the owl eventually flew away.

Is there a YouTube video of this entire incident by any chance? If so, I want to watch it!
I have two different green SUVs (my favorite color), so now you have me wondering: should I be worried about owls flying into them?

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PineCone

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parklover
We used to have a green SUV and one year driving to Tahoe a owl flew into the side of the car just north of Bridgeport where there was a field with cattle and it fell into the field. . We stopped that car and just when I went to climb over the fence to see if it was OK, I got charged by a bull. Happy ending to the story, I got away from the fence before the bull got there and the owl eventually flew away.

Is there a YouTube video of this entire incident by any chance? If so, I want to watch it!
I have two different green SUVs (my favorite color), so now you have me wondering: should I be worried about owls flying into them?

This was in the late 1980's way before YouTube and the video camera we had was in the back of the car. The car was the same color as the grass in the field and it was getting dark so we must have blended in. We have had a bird almost fly into a white car so I don't think it matters much.

I think I would have a mental breakdown if I hit a bear. Hitting a squirrel is painful enough for me but to hit a bear or a deer would be horrible. I was six years old when my mom hit a buck and I never have forgotten the sound of it's body hitting the car.

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parklover
I think I would have a mental breakdown if I hit a bear.

I've done it and I was below the speed limit. In fact I was in a long line of cars, the bear just tried to dash through the line. The thud was sickening.

Oh no. I am glad that my son has quick reflexes but doesn't panic. Last year in Wyoming he was driving when a pickup drove past us and a ladder swung off the top of it and he noticed it fast enough that he swerved just in time to keep the ladder from going through our windshield. My husband and I would not have reacted in time.

Trouble is . . .we don't want them wrecking our car but I hate hearing the crunch under the tires of even the fleabag squirrels! However missing a critter of any kind at a slow speed probably also will allow you to miss oncoming traffic which in Yosemite is basically an issue no matter where you are in the park in a vehicle.

No one was coming our way so swerving for the marmot wasn't a problem. The bear was a fast runner so just slowing down worked.