Moose hit by car, bummer...

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Status
Not open for further replies.

Warm_in_NH

Minister of Fire
Dec 17, 2013
1,193
central NH or N.E. CT.
Saw a moose hit, I mean whacked, taken out at the knees and rolled onto the hood of a car today, while standing 50' away on a job on the side of a 30 mph road.
The guy took a corner and cranked it up fast, heard, then the brakes / tires chirping, rapid slow down, looked up just in time to see the moose rolling on to and off of the hood, 75 feet away.
Horrible sight, big beast, 750# easy, big but not "huge", rolling onto the ground, trying to stand a couple times, but falling, in a panic, seeing us, seeing the jeep, legs folding, knowing it has to go or it dies, but not knowing it's legs are busted and it's already dead.
The elegant clutz manages to get it's crooked feet under itself and stagger off the road and back into the woods where it came from, well enough to get out of sight, but shaky enough to know that it won't be long for this world.
The guy was lucky. The beast is paying the price for a lucky guys ignorance, be careful and drive safe. For yourself and others.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sloeffle
He is lucky . . . I've seen two moose collisions in my home town . . . and Unity, Maine is not exactly a hotbed of activity for moose.

In one the father driving the mini van had the moose end up in his lap . . . but no one (other than the moose) was seriously injured.

In the other call the guy driving a Jetta was going into shock and had head trauma . . . ended up air lifting him to the hospital after cutting him out of the car.

A friend up in the County had a friend of his wife die . . . sadly she was on her way for a wedding rehearsal or party for his bride to be when she crashed into a moose . . . or rather the moose crashed into her.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flyingcow
http://www.wmur.com/news/car-suffers-extensive-damage-after-striking-moose/32909550

[Hearth.com] Moose hit by car, bummer...

This one was a town away a couple weeks ago. Guy was lucky to survive.
 
I was out for a walk last week at the end of my road. I saw two long black skid marks and pile of sand in the other lane. When moose get hit and the bleed out on road the town sometimes needs to sand the road as there is so much blood. Back when they were at their peak, there were 7 moose killed at the end of my road, two years in a row. Heading out around dawn or dusk in my area is downright dangerous this time of year. When I go paddling or hiking over in Western Maine I will usually see 10 to 20 moose on RT 16 north of Berlin NH over to Rangeley Maine, the sides of the road are covered with trampled mud pits where the moose hang out and then get active around dawn or dusk.

On a lot of cars, the impact at the bumper height is not hard enough to set off the air bags. I do see a of cars and small SUVs parked at the local wrecker lot every season.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flyingcow
Damn swamp donkeys. The flatlanders all exclaim how beautiful and majestic and...till they get one on their lap. Coming home the other day and there was a car stopped in the highway on a blind corner taking pics of one. I hope they puckered up as much as I did when I went by at 70mph.I am glad the other lane was open, it would have been a mess.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flyingcow
Brake for Moose. It could save your life. This warning is no joke!

They're really tall, when a car hits them it cuts them off at knee height. And the full weight of their bodies is swept up and over the hood of your car and onto its roof with all the rules of physics in play! And they land on top of you!

Too many people have no idea how big they really are (bigger than a horse). And too many people have no clue how they "operate". They graze along roads (in search of the minerals road salt residue provides in plenty) and they have NO fear of automobiles because in their world cars are no threat.

Watch for Moose!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1kzwoman
I like to watch moose and squirrel.That's about as close as I get to them.
(broken link removed to http://www.wavsource.com/snds_2015-05-17_7234963463096348/tv/bullwinkle/moose_and_squirrel2.wav)
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
Their predator response is to stand there and kick at the predator, it might work for wolves, but not so good for cars.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Warm_in_NH
If the moose get any longer they'll start taking out semis! ;lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: flyingcow
There are couple of semis in the area that have grille guards that look like the came from a mad max movie.

A secretary at my old employer was rural carrier in a particularly moose thick area (for folks who know northern NH, thirteen mile woods and Errol), she totaled three trucks and had numerous deer hits. Her boyfriend started making up stick on moose and deer sticker for the front door like bomber pilots do.
 
They do not need a longer moose season here, they are having population decrease problems.

I feel for the poor bahstid. They are tough, and he probably suffered many hours or days.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bag of hammers
Our area does not have a lot of moose - east and north is their turf. A few years back had one stray in this area so I knew it was around. Coming home in the dark during a snow storm and caught the flash of eyes a ways off. Slow down for the deer I think but wait... deer aren't as tall as the road signs:eek: Dang moose standing in the road. With my little car, I would have taken him out low and possibly got a leg through the windshield or the bulk of the weight on the roof.

One advantage to our area is that you don't usually have to go far to find someone with a rifle to put them out of their misery.
 
New Hampshire has very limited moose hunting opportunities. The licenses are given out by a lottery and are geographically distributed. Its also illegal to hunt from roads so unfortunately the moose that hang out along the roads are the least likely to get shot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flyingcow
We have stretches of highway with "moose detectors" (solar powered motion sensors) along the edges of the right-of-way. The flat swampy areas where they come out 2 or 3 at a time sometimes. Been pretty quiet last year or so but night driving is always a good time to slow down and be extra cautious.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Warm_in_NH
We have stretches of highway with "moose detectors" (solar powered motion sensors) along the edges of the right-of-way. The flat swampy areas where they come out 2 or 3 at a time sometimes. Been pretty quiet last year or so but night driving is always a good time to slow down and be extra cautious.

What a neat idea ... not likely coming to Northwestern Ontario any time soon though:(

Edit: Failed pilot project from Newfoundland/Labrador...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...being-removed-not-effective-for-n-l-1.2951688
 
Last edited:
What a neat idea ... not likely coming to Northwestern Ontario any time soon though:(

Edit: Failed pilot project from Newfoundland/Labrador...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...being-removed-not-effective-for-n-l-1.2951688
Looks like solar was a bad design idea there. Not much good if they have no juice. Where we are someone actually stole all the solar panels off the light posts the first year they went in. I think the panels are welded on now. I dunno if there are any stats on collisions since they were set up but they do light up on a regular basis.
 
Curious to see the report on the failure of the sensors .... system or area used and what can be done to correct it.
 
On the front of the truck is what we call a "moose bumper". They work well. My other truck i hit a 6/700lb cow at 65mph. Ruined the bumper but saved the trucks front end. Plus i was bale to stay under control. When i hit deer, just stop and clean the mess off and keep on riding.

Moose are bad creatures, especially at night. Can't see them until its too late. And i have some off road lights on the bumper as well. Over in Wildo's area of Jackman, rte 201 is called moose alley. Unreal stretch for moose. Luckily the crazy quebec truckers take more than their fair share running thru there.
 

Attachments

  • [Hearth.com] Moose hit by car, bummer...
    704026_602634776422974_1430587733_o.webp
    128 KB · Views: 264
RT 201 through Jackman is somewhat infamous for a real bad mix of Canadian drivers on vacation heading to Old Orchard Beach flying down the road at far higher than the speed limit running into moose.

A major supplier logging and other trailers is Manac, their logo is flying moose, sort of looks like the Pegasus logo for the old gas stations.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flyingcow
You are both spot on although the moose population crash has made driving a little less white knuckle the last few years. I haven't hit one in almost eight years(record)

"Flying Frogs" is what we call them.

Manac is a sister company to CANAM steel. Marcel is a great guy to work for he takes good care of his employees.
 
I didn't know you have moose in Washington or is that the only one?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.