Man crushed by "flying cow"

Need good lights and really good reflexes travelling the northern bitumen at night - or you can slow down ... a lot!

Years ago I saw the results of a car hitting a horse.
The car went under the horse and the horse peeled the roof back like a can opener but unfortunately it took the occupants with it.

The increasing numbers of camels in the desert is of some concern but usually speed is way down and don't travel that country at night.

Tragic, but livestock (station and wild) on roads at night through much of Australia is common and can be a major hazard. Some years ago we spent a few days camping at Coral Bay (back before it got over populated) and the campers next to us went to Exmouth for the day and decided to go out for dinner before returning. We were concerned when they were not back as it got dark, and then very late, as we had made the same trip but decided to return before dark, skipping the idea of dining out even though it was our wedding anniversary. They had met so many black cattle on the road as well as horses, and the couple were both nervous wrecks. We never travel at night in station country, Nullabor or the like. Coming back towards Balladonia last year, there was a dead camel on the road's edge - must have been hit by a road train overnight.

Many years ago when I was living in Townsville a woman was killed when the car driven by her husband hit a horse on Herveys Range Rd. If I remember correct the coppers estimated the car's speed about 130 kph. The impact put the horse through the windscreen with the wife (front seat passenger) taking the full brunt of the horse - it was very messy.

Despite lapses, I try never to travel at night. It's easier to become lost, and your chances of hitting an animal skyrocket.
I once drove over 100K at night at 20km/h, steering with one hand and playing the spotlight across from side to side. Longest trip to the Isa I've ever done. Wildlife everywhere in plague proportions. Just as we hit the tar, wife and kids woke up and asked if we were there yet ! Never again, I hope.

Years ago in the very early 70's the old man used to put the family (2A & 4K) in the Kingswood, hire a 6 berth caravan and drive outback, breaking camp early one morning in western Qld we had only gone about 5 k when we came across a Zephr (sp) sedan stopped in the middle of the road at the end of a good set of skid marks.
The car had hit a big black beast and the front of the car had cut it open and it had slid up across the bonnet and through the windscreen into the passenger compartment.
The driver was trapped and had been for about 6 hours he reckoned, sitting in his seat with cow guts all round him nearly to window height, he was unhurt except for massive bruising and lots of little nicks from the safety glass windscreen bleep tering. It took three of us to shift the cow guts off him and he couldn't stand as he had gone numb from the waist down.
It took us days to get the smell off our skin, we all had a wash and a change of clothes straight away!

Is a bad and dangerous thing and I still can not believe in this day and age we still drive through unfenced properties on major Highway let alone miner roads..

I don't think cows fly, you just brake there legs off and they roll on to the roof, same as all tall two and four legged things..

Richard

Met a guy in Broken Hill last year. He was visiting from the USA to follow the Outback Challenge. He had brought his car over and intended to do a bit of touring for a year or so after the Challenge.

He had an infrared camera on his roof rack as defence against hitting wildlife at night. When I mentioned that the bull bar took care of most of the 'roos out that way, he said he wasn't so much worried about animals but the alcohol affected mexicans who staggard about the highways in southern Cal and New Mexico.

This type of thread makes me think he was on to something.

Duncs

Came close to hitting a cow on two occasions, once near Moranbah just after lunch!
The other just south of Clareview on the Bruce Hwy, this time at night and the cow was walking up the enbankment toward the road. Both times scared the preverbial out of me. Saw the result of an emu sharing the front seat of a 2WD Hilux with a client once, about 100 odd stiches if I remember correctly

It's not only the larger ones that you have to worry about,. I've seen the results of cars & 4x4s v wombat & pig several times. Not pretty.

We were up there at Easter, and travelled that road from Minilya road house towards Coral Bay. We left the road house just before sunset and within 15 minutes I was down to a nervous 60 klm/h with all lights blazing and driving up the centre of the road.

We eventually made it to a 24 hour rest area, and it amazed me how many small cars with no spot lights or roo bars pulled in well into the night.

I poked my head out the window of the Jayco at about dawn and there were little cars parked up for a sleep that weren't there when I went to bed, and that was late!

Roos you can usually see, unless they hop out in front of you, but those big black cows are hard to spot.