Recently pulled off to the side of a rural road near our house in Michigan to help a turtle that was crossing the road. A car approached so I stepped onto the shoulder to allow the car to pass, he passed me and then ran over the turtle, bummer!
This One Leaves Me Speechless!
- Thread starter dockmurgw
- Start date
LVSteve
Member
On I-40 just outside Flagstaff we came up on an Elk that had been hit, I assume by something large judging by the mess. Elk are BIG, if you hit one at speed in a regular truck or SUV, it will likely total your vehicle.
Used to occasionally hit a box turtle when I was a kid mowing grass with a gas powered push motor in Virginia. Always felt bad, but, whatcha gonna do?
Last edited:
DWalt
Member
When I was a kid, I shot a box turtle with my .22. I never forgave myself for doing that, never did it again.
15 years ago the Spousal Unit and I were driving back home (SW Missouri) from Wyoming. Somewhere in central Nebraska in the early afternoon out in the middle of nowhere in rolling prairie, no house in sight for miles ( and you could see for lots of miles in all directions at this location ) we came to a stretch of the state highway where there were hundreds of flattened jackrabbit carcasses for a 150 yard stretch. Rabbit intact bodies; and other pieces of rabbit meat, bones, and fur everywhere. Many of the carcasses were within a foot or two of each other, and some were even touching in groups of two or three.
From the condition of the carcasses it looked like it must have happened the night before. Since there was no traffic we stopped and walked around thru the carnage in amazement, wondering what the Hell had been going on? Then I remembered hearing years before that sometimes large numbers of jackrabbits will decide to move as a group to a different location, but I could not remember what the motivation was for them to do so. Maybe predators? Drought?
I took pictures, but somehow lost the digital card during a move shortly thereafter before I could get it’s contents loaded onto the computer, sadly.
Who knows, it may turn up in a box somewhere yet-I have a lot of stuff that has been packed away from that move that I still have not gone through entirely yet. Am missing an older Ruger Bearcat .22 revolver that was my daddy’s that I lost track of at the same time. It’s the gun I learned to be a good pistol shot with when I was a younger teenager. Would really like to find it again. Lots of sentimental value with that one.
Last edited:
What state?
Some years ago I was coming home from West Virginia and I hit one of the sacred animals, a groundhog (my ancestral home is Punxsutawney, PA). It busted one of my brake lines. Good thing that the brake master cylinder on the big Ford cars is divided, so I was able to limp the car home.
I went out to lunch with some friends and a well-known local man. About a week later he stopped on an overpass to help someone who had been in a wreck. A car came and bumped him off the bridge, he hit one of those big interstate signs while falling and cut his liver in two. He was beyond help. 9 out of 10 people might slow down, move over or stop, but ONE person will barrel through like nothing and that's all it takes.
Another weird one. One of our High School coaches got off the interstate onto the exit ramp, met a car coming the wrong way and killed him.
Another weird one. One of our High School coaches got off the interstate onto the exit ramp, met a car coming the wrong way and killed him.
^
I You right. See my post.
LVSteve
Member
Even a moderately sized animal can do a lot of damage. Guy in England I knew slightly hit a badger late one night. Windshield went red and the steering felt off. On inspecting the damage the next day he realized he was lucky that the suspension arm on that side had not disconnected.
gjgalligan
Member
From the limited info it sounds like the pickup driver was traveling too fast and/or failing to pay attention to his driving.
Granted, the old man should not have stopped on a freeway but all drivers are suppose to be driving safely.
Was at a wildlife area near Port Clinton, OH and saw a bunch of cars stopped on one of the access roads. Saw a Snapping Turtle crossing the road. I stopped, got out of my truck, picked up the turtle and moved it to a creek along side of the road.
Used to live in Central Oregon. Sagebrush and juniper trees all around. Except where the farms/ranches were. Lots of alfalfa grown there. The jackrabbits loved that alfalfa and they would "boom and bust" depending on the year. We lived on a gravel road that was about 3/4 of a mile long. When the jacks were in boom cycle, just driving that road, you'd hit several jacks per trip. Without trying to hit them, we got 17 one night. Never got one with a bow and arrow, even though I tried most days, but a car? Easy.
I’m not taking a tree or guardrail to avoid a turtle.
People don’t like it, but emergency services operating on roadways often block every lane because of the inconsiderate nut jobs wanting to pass going way over the speed limit. Safety is first, if you get hurt you can’t help anyone else
NM - it was west of Las Cruces 10 miles from the BP checkpoint.
I try to avoid hitting wildlife, but I also don't swerve if I am going very fast/
biku's story of the worms reminds me of when the grass hoppers are thick, They can make a mess of your windshield AND make the road slicker than snot. NEVER turn on your wipers as the smear will completely block out your vision. Can also plug up your radiator and cazause over heating.
Also reminds me of the game warden that stopped to get a rattlesnake off the road before someone ran over it. No good deed goes unpunished because he got bit.
biku's story of the worms reminds me of when the grass hoppers are thick, They can make a mess of your windshield AND make the road slicker than snot. NEVER turn on your wipers as the smear will completely block out your vision. Can also plug up your radiator and cazause over heating.
Also reminds me of the game warden that stopped to get a rattlesnake off the road before someone ran over it. No good deed goes unpunished because he got bit.
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2002
- Messages
- 708
- Reaction score
- 1,223
Hopefully, this animal lover’s family and friends can take comfort in the fact that, at 87, he died trying to help a helpless animal–something that was obviously very important to him.
Florida law requires you to Move Over a lane — when you can safely do so — for stopped law enforcement, emergency, sanitation, utility service vehicles, tow trucks or wreckers, maintenance or construction vehicles with displaying warning lights, and any disabled vehicle on the side of the road. If you can’t move over — or when on a two-lane road — slow to a speed that is 20 mph less than the posted speed limit.
Of course there are a lot of people who think that they are special and the law doesn’t apply to them.
This is what happened a couple of months ago. The SUV was going so fast, that he started to lose control and drive off the road;
Another Incident:
Florida law requires you to Move Over a lane — when you can safely do so — for stopped law enforcement, emergency, sanitation, utility service vehicles, tow trucks or wreckers, maintenance or construction vehicles with displaying warning lights, and any disabled vehicle on the side of the road. If you can’t move over — or when on a two-lane road — slow to a speed that is 20 mph less than the posted speed limit.
Of course there are a lot of people who think that they are special and the law doesn’t apply to them.
This is what happened a couple of months ago. The SUV was going so fast, that he started to lose control and drive off the road;
Another Incident:
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2023
- Messages
- 74
- Reaction score
- 183
I live here in northern Vermont, traffic will stop both ways to let a wild duck and ducklings cross. We were notified last week to watchout for turtles.
Sad story.
Sad story.
I too try and avoid animals while driving.
However, one little bunny got back at me, big time.
I was driving a RV late at night on a pretty desolate part of the road, when I spotted the sweet, innocent, little bunny in the road.
I swerved to miss it but, as luck would have it, I either hit it or it decided to duck under the rig. Either way it made it right between the doolies (double set of rear tires). A one in a hundred shot.
The sudden racket, caused by the bang-banging of the bunny, trapped between the tires and going round and round in the wheel well, made a heck of a racket. Of course, since it was in the middle of the night, every body woke up, demanding to know what happened.
Fortunately, there was enough turnout space so I pulled over on the side of the road to see what happened..
Lets just say, while there was no bunny body, there were lots of bunny remains all over. I made it to civilization but needed to pull the tires and check for damage, wash the wheel well out and redo some sheet metal work before we could continue the trip.
However, one little bunny got back at me, big time.
I was driving a RV late at night on a pretty desolate part of the road, when I spotted the sweet, innocent, little bunny in the road.
I swerved to miss it but, as luck would have it, I either hit it or it decided to duck under the rig. Either way it made it right between the doolies (double set of rear tires). A one in a hundred shot.
The sudden racket, caused by the bang-banging of the bunny, trapped between the tires and going round and round in the wheel well, made a heck of a racket. Of course, since it was in the middle of the night, every body woke up, demanding to know what happened.
Fortunately, there was enough turnout space so I pulled over on the side of the road to see what happened..
Lets just say, while there was no bunny body, there were lots of bunny remains all over. I made it to civilization but needed to pull the tires and check for damage, wash the wheel well out and redo some sheet metal work before we could continue the trip.
