Hitting a Moose

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/moose-alaska-adventure/

by quickfox • 4 years ago

73 62 4 years ago

outsideonline.com

gvb• 4 years ago

"What Happens When You Actually Hit a Moose? Volvo Has a Moose-Strike Test for That." (2018)

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a22604428/what-happens...

hourago• 4 years ago

It makes a lot of sense. To drive around Sweden at night is a scary experience.

As you drive thru the dark road deer look at you from the sides, that ones are not the problem as one can see them. After several hours you pass a big dead male moose on the side of the road. Its big antlers are covered with yellow police ribbon that turns bright as your car illuminates it. You think that you are lucky to have not been there when it decided to cross, someone else got that unlucky surprise. You feel even more uneasy for the rest of the trip.

eesmith• 4 years ago

Did they get the idea from Saab? https://www.saabplanet.com/frontal-collision-of-saab-and-moo...

In order to reduce the number of injuries caused by passenger cars colliding with moose – Saab engineers have designed a Moose Test – Unique in Industry. This research and subsequent changes in Saab cars design – have saved many lives on the roads

I was told the Saab 900s were designed to handle moose collisions.

bombcar• 4 years ago

Deer cause enough damage, and they're tiny compared to a moose.

I'd much rather be bit by a møøse than hit a møøse.

ghaff• 4 years ago

It's not just their mass and general size. Moose have very long legs so, in a collision, a lot of the front car parts designed to absorb energy can end up largely passing under the bulk of the moose and upper structure offers relatively little protection.

chewbacha2• 4 years ago

A full-grown bull moose can run up to 35 mph. So, unless you are traveling faster than that, I don’t think it makes a difference who hits who. ;)

hobs• 4 years ago

Having seen a moose truck through five foot deep snow like it wasn't even there I can attest being hit by a moose is a one way ticket to your maker.

cwillu• 4 years ago

Now imagine what that moose could do if it was an _educated_ moose?

https://globalnews.ca/news/8349864/moose-saskatoon-school/

Zak• 4 years ago

The grandparent comment says "be bit by a moose", so that's a slightly different scenario. Of course if it's biting out of fear or aggression, it's also likely to knock you down and stomp on you, and you probably wouldn't rather have that. It's not rare for moose to kill people that way.

As for collisions, the highway the author was driving on has a speed limit of 55 or 65 MPH in most areas, and people often treat speed limits as suggestions. I had a near miss with a moose on the same highway, after which I would suggest taking the speed limit seriously.

brudgers2• 4 years ago

A Møøse once bit my sister.

tartoran• 4 years ago

Ouch. Did she require serious medical care?

franksvalli• 4 years ago

It's definitely no joke! When I hiked half the Appalachian Trail and eventually made it to Maine, a shuttle driver that came out to pick us up from a nearby hostel talked about how he'd lost several friends to car accidents due to moose collisions. He was intensely interested in arriving back at the hostel before dark.

He also had some sort of decoration made out of moose scat decoration hanging from the rearview mirror and was also trying to convince us passengers of the many uses of moose scats - skin remedies, even ingestion. But that's another story!

hammock• 4 years ago

Sadly the moose pop in Maine has declined by like 70% or something due to the proliferation of winter tick

Waterluvian3• 4 years ago

“The winch was rated to handle the moose’s weight—roughly 1,500 pounds”

Permit me on this wonderful Saturday morning to be tangentially pedantic.

I imagine the true “weight” of dragging a moose across the ground is a lot more than 1500lbs by probably many multiples?

kache_2• 4 years ago

The guy nearly died man give him a break lmao

is_true• 4 years ago

Are you saying that he should've bought a lighter winch and a pair of wheels?

rolph7• 4 years ago

heavier winch about 2ton or he should have gut n cut it into quarters right there

peteradio• 4 years ago

I don't need to be able to lift 200 lbs to pull 200 lbs...

Waterluvian3• 4 years ago

Yeah… I’m not actually sure what the right numbers would be.

I have to imagine that dragging 1500lbs across rough terrain and up out of a ditch might have a peak load greater than 1500lbs?

nkrisc2• 4 years ago

It’s been a while since high school physics, so I may be way off, but you only need to overcome the static friction of the object and surface.

It’s the reason I can push a large piece of furniture across a floor even though I could never lift it myself.

Waterluvian3• 4 years ago

I think you’re right and my intuition is way off.

Now I’m curious if the load is ever going to be greater than a dead lift, assuming no edge cases like being blocked behind a boulder. Ie. Just general ground friction and some incline plane angle less than 90deg.

jameshart2• 4 years ago

Valid for a spherical moose on a smooth plane with constant coefficient of friction, sure.

But an object dragged across a real surface will catch on things, and the force to overcome that is going to depend on the breaking strain of the objects and the elastic coefficients required to deform them.

That’s the reason that even a winch rated to the weight of your sofa can’t pull it through a doorway that’s too small for it.

HyperSane• 4 years ago

The weight the winch has to pull is the weight of the moose multiplied by the coefficient of static friction between the moose and road. This will be less than one so the weight the winch has to handle is less than the weight of the moose.

kache_2• 4 years ago

People don't realize how truly massive moose are. They are literal alien monsters that tower over. First time I saw one I was shocked. They just step over fences like they aren't even there.

jesse__• 4 years ago

I drove by a small female in a large 1 ton dodge last year and she was still 2 or 3 feet taller than the cab of the truck. They're huuuuge!

112358132134552• 4 years ago

people also don't realize how massive and deadly are cars, until they walk or ride a bike along the road borders

rasterdog• 4 years ago

I was enjoying the beginning of this article so I wanted to save it as a PDF for review later when I would be off-grid BUT NOEP CANNOT so goodbye

hairofadog• 4 years ago

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l4cu3y4e243q9q9/Moose.pdf?dl=0

112358132134552• 4 years ago

step 1: open devtools

step 2: figure out the navbar is the problem

step 3: kill it (select the <header>, and press Delete)

step 4: Ctrl+P

deliciousturkey• 4 years ago

Modern cars are much better with moose crashes. A couple of years ago I was in driving back from grocery store, just south of Sodankylä in northern Finland, during the darkest times of winter, when the car in front of me crashed into a moose. The moose bounced multiple meters into the air from the windshield of the car in front of me, and I needed to do the typical evasive maneuver (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_test) to avoid the flying moose. I'd estimate that the crash happened with speed of around 40-50 km/h.

The person driving the car in front of me survived unscathed, without any injury. The car (2010's VW Passat) very likely was a loss though. This just tells how good modern cars are with these kinds of crashes.

In Finland there are about 1000-2000 moose crashes every year, but only around 1-4 people die from them.

rolph7• 4 years ago

Alaskan moose stand about 7 feet tall at the shoulder when mature, alot of that is just long legs, but a complete bull moose can easily be 3/4 ton.

most collisions with cars end up clipping the legs out under it and the moose goes straight through the windshield at whatever speed you were moving.

for those reasons and others large trucks are the rule, and cars are a risk.

moose here are mostly crepuscular, active during dawn and dusk, and chillin in between. they are very hard to spot except for eyes reflecting light [catlike]

Its common to have high intensity long throw LED lights[i call'em moose blasters] mounted on your rig so you have a chance to see them, and have time to react.

there is a list here of experiences that you must compleate, to be considered, a seasoned skookum alaskan, moose collision is one of them.

jcadam4• 4 years ago

I've lived in Alaska (Kenai Peninsula) about 18 months now. Haven't hit a moose yet (knocks on wood). Have had to brake a little hard a couple times in my F-150, though.

There are "scoreboards" along some stretches of the highway showing the number of moose killed so far in a year.

I see a few people driving Priuses. I don't think they'll last very long.

rolph7• 4 years ago

yup theyre along the whole highway, the article was a little out of date,though the moose isnt yours if its a road kill, its state property [the state claims ownership of moose but shirks stewardship] and its ?donated? in someway to food security solutions [giveaways to people who have insecure/no food supply]

its an offence to just take roadkill moose. its also an offence to allow it to spoil by not reporting it.

Scoundreller• 4 years ago

At least in Alaska you probably don’t salt the roads. In places that do, the road actually baits deer and moose.

And sometimes go for the salt on your vehicle:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/worl...

rolph7• 4 years ago

just the gravel dust, attracts them, if there really salt deprived they will lick the road, you can really tell who uses salt in thier drivway or not as well, and you have to be carefull about it if a moose gets hit or becomes a behavioural problem, you can get fined for wildlife attractant, if they put 2n2 together.

0x38B2• 4 years ago

Roads tend to be clear of snow, making for easier walking for moose in wintertime. I read that in deep-snow years, moose may get annoyed if you make them leave the road or trail.

I was skate skiing on Anchorage's Coastal Trail when I came upon a moose in the trail. I was going to go by him, but as I approached he turned and made a heavy step in my direction. I waited for him to leave.

jwilk• 4 years ago

Non-AMP link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/world/canada/canada-moose...

dghughes2• 4 years ago

I live in the only Canadian province that doesn't have moose, or bears, or deer, or any large animals other farm animals. Even skunks were imported (and escaped) as a cheaper replacement for fox fur. We don't have the experience of being aware of large animals on rural roads. Most times it is known if a cow or a horse is on the loose.

When I travel to neighbouring provinces I am nervous driving on the highway. Especially in the fall when it starts to get dark early or the sun is low on the horizon longer. I've seen moose on the side of the road with their dark brown velvety fur. Females and juveniles are the worst since no antlers makes for a stealthy profile, males still have antlers until mid-winter.

It's such perfect camouflage even when lit by car headlights. Car headlights are made to look forward not to the side. Often a moose just appears out of nowhere the few times I have been lucky to miss one the few times I am on the road in areas with moose.

Let's just say I'm glad we don't have to worry about such things here.

racl101• 4 years ago

Don't bury the lede. What province is that?

mgsouth• 4 years ago

I'm guessing Prince Edward Island.

dghughes2• 4 years ago

Sorry, yes as mentioned below Prince Edward Island aka PEI.

We in PEI along with the Northwest Territories NWT also don't border any other nation.

BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Yukon all border the USA.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a border with Greenland/Denmark, France.

Nunavut borders Greenland/Denmark.

chrsig• 4 years ago

Growing up in rural New England, every now and then we'd have some moose wandering through. One jumped over my dads car, leaving a pretty significant dent. Moose walked away unphased.

The thing to know about moose: they don't give a fuck. they're a goddamn moose, and they'll go where they please and be there for as long as they like. The fuck you gonna do about it?

And when you're stopped in the middle of the road waiting for the moose to deign to let you by, you just keep reminding yourself of that little fact, and remember how to be patient.

dreamcompiler• 4 years ago

When we camped in our RV at a park in western Wyoming we couldn't open our door one morning. I kept pushing on the door but it wouldn't move. Turned out there were 3 or 4 moose cows with their calves just outside and one cow was leaning against the door and she wouldn't move.

Finally I got the bright idea to dangle a carrot through a crack in the door. She took it and moved away so we could exit.

Those were some smart moose.

0x38B2• 4 years ago

You've described moose attitudes perfectly. Was walking the other night and stopped to pull some birch bark off a dead tree. The bark made a loud ripping noise, and as it came off I heard something big and heavy stand up in the dark forest. I knew there was a moose around by the chewed off ends of shrubs I'd seen the day before, but I didn't know he was that close...

rojobuffalo• 4 years ago

a guy won an Ignobel prize this year for his moose crash test dummy paper https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A673... . one of his suggestions if you're suddenly about to hit a moose, steer towards the rear. since the moose will move forward you have a better chance if you veer your car towards its rear end.

refurb• 4 years ago

I knew a guy who hunted moose up in Canada.

To give you a sense of their size, if you field prep one (remove the innards, cut off the limbs), each quarter of the animal weighs over 200 lbs. You either hunt with 3 other people who can haul out a 200 lb quarter or you bring an ATV with a trailer.

They are massive animals.

Hitting a Moose

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