night driving and kangaroos

ck11 · 21-05-2005, 09:56 PM

hey guys

me and my mates are planning a trip to broken hill (from sydney) later in june sometime. Prb is we want to drive at night (leave sydney around 4pm) but are concerned a bit about the kangaroos out that way especially late in the night :togo: .I just thought id get some much appreciated input from you guys on whether it is even worth considering or the risk is too great. Thanks heaps for the help

MotherNatureVer2 · 21-05-2005, 10:15 PM

Matey ........... Yes you can drive at night ......... but make sure you have adequate lights ....... by that I mean spotties & decent ones.

Roos are not sole creatures & trust me when I tell you that wheres thers one theres at LEAST another one or twenty ..........

The roos out that way are HUGE to say the least ... They will start just after or even through the Mountains & contnue right through ..............

They are normally in pockets, by that I mean you may go 100k's withuot seeing one ... then you will get 300k's of constant roos ...... this could be virca verca too .......

My best suggestion is that as you are obviously not used to driving in these conditions ....... leave Sydney at about 4am ........ you will be travelling most of the worst parts in daylight & be bloody careful if your making it a 1 day trip up ........... a break overnight would be the best bet ;) Do it in 2 days & remember ........ Dusk & Dawn are the worst times for them ............

MITCHAY · 21-05-2005, 10:26 PM

Mate get your brakes checked before you go. Having to stop and realize they are shit wont help at all. Kangaroos are bastards and dont give a shit if your comming or not. Travel a bit slower paying close attention to sides of the roads and if traffic is non exist stick to the middle. If you see a kangaroo up ahead dude slow down right away not continue at the same speed. Ive slowed down before and they just come out on the road quick as a flash and have only just had enough time to stop so id hate to imagine what would happen if i was goin faster. A little slower and longer will always be better than a large repair bill.

**Peuty** · 21-05-2005, 10:49 PM

Both great tips there MN and Mitchay.

Heed their advice and you should have a safe trip.

Kryton · 21-05-2005, 10:54 PM

id go the spotties as suggested, but now would be a good time to start researching the various products on the market that are designed to scare the animals away when your car is coming.
i dont know how effective they are but there are ones such as ShooRoo and others that make a high pitch whistle that are designed to scare the creatures away.
even if they arent totally effective they may just make that life or death difference.....to you.

ck11 · 21-05-2005, 10:57 PM

thanks so much guys (damn the response and help in thse forums is better than anything else), yeah thanks mothernature might stay overnight at dubbo or something and break the trip up and thanks mitchay will definitely be slowing down. Feel like a total fool now after driving to bathurst at night at more than recommended speeds

: , some of us city guys really have no clue (bit more clued up now). Thanks so much

MissUnderstood · 21-05-2005, 10:58 PM

I am all for the shooroo, I swear it works, I was doing alot of travel between Qld and North West Vic, lots of people were hitting roo's and I was lucky enough to never hit one.
( On those trips )
But I had a shooroo and lots of spotties. I also noticed they can sometimes jump across the rd and like a flash jump back, they are tricky little suckers and you have to be aware.
Also if they are jumping across the rd, your lights will stun/blind them and they can stop dead in their tracks, normally in the middle of the rd.

Good luck and I hope you have a safe trip.

MITCHAY · 21-05-2005, 11:07 PM

I dont know if it applys much in other cities but i live in canberra and you can be on a main road and kangaroos will be there. Lucky though for the big street lights which help a bit. Ive hit 2 in one street same time frame. Once i was goin a bit fast and my mate says look out for kangaroos. Im like nah man it be alright then one comes outta no where. Slammed on brakes no lockup (ABS) just hit it and made it fly. No damage thankfully. Also i continued driving and was stopped for some kangaroos. I wasnt even driving and this big mofo jumped into my mirror, but it just clicked back in towards the car as they are designed to do. Doesnt take much to hit one just a slight moment of inattention.

smciner1 · 21-05-2005, 11:29 PM

Watch out for them at 2:00 am around Seymore, just ask Jeff.....

:

Rodp · 22-05-2005, 07:38 AM

My sister lives in an area where there's literally millions of roos and particularly after rain they love to congregate around roads (and there's really only 1 road where she lives on her farm). If you're driving at night, have a navigator scanning the horizon for their eyes. The light will reflect into their eyes and back out well before they're in range. They'll also look at you coming, they're just real stupid when it comes to evasive action so you can slow down when you see the 'lights in their eyes'.

We were travelling at ~110kph at 2am in the morning and the (experienced) navigator was picking them up a good 30 seconds before we were passing them.

Lukeyson · 22-05-2005, 08:59 AM

yes, get a Shuroo

outback_ute · 22-05-2005, 09:48 AM

A few years ago I drove from Mildura to Broken Hill after dark, there were hundreds of roos, they gather on the side of the road because it is warmer and the grass grows on the verges due to water runoff. In the end I was travelling at 70km/h and braking for/dodging roos every few minutes.

conordec · 22-05-2005, 07:05 PM

don't drive at night if you can avoid it, BH is a shocker after dark for roos.

**Full Noise** · 22-05-2005, 08:23 PM

Look out for silly old buggers in caravans, some of them jump out as fast as kangaroos.

Cheers, Danny

MotherNatureVer2 · 22-05-2005, 08:59 PM

Im not overly fond of the shooroo stuff & mostly those cheaparse varieties that you can get cheaply ...... all of them are only recomended for speeds of 80ks to be effective ......

If your stayin in Dubbo send me a PM ..... there are a few of us out this way .... we might even be able to make a mini meet or something ;) ..... Yes of couse I will stay in Dubbo overnight too cause I aint battling the roos to get home :P

XA-Coupe · 22-05-2005, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smciner1

Watch out for them at 2:00 am around Seymore, just ask Jeff.....

:

the wall at calder fixed the damage ..

:

smciner1 · 22-05-2005, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XA Coupe

the wall at calder fixed the damage ..

:

That was the other side.

MotherNatureVer2 · 22-05-2005, 09:12 PM

Hahahaahahha at XA & Smciner1 bwhahahahahaahaaha

Ohhhhhh another point to remember ..... NEVER swerve ...... NEVER !!!!!!!!!!! that will lead you to be upended quicker than you can say what the hell happened ............

MITCHAY · 22-05-2005, 09:15 PM

If you hit one and it aint dead be sure to get out and kick the shit outta it for all the damage it caused lol.

22-05-2005, 09:15 PM

Which shooroo is most effective? The single shot or do you need the pump action?

MotherNatureVer2 · 22-05-2005, 09:19 PM

Pump action sounds good to me :P

MITCHAY · 22-05-2005, 09:20 PM

M60 sounds good to me

:

smciner1 · 22-05-2005, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

If you hit one and it aint dead be sure to get out and kick the shit outta it for all the damage it caused lol.

Trust me, we would have if we could have found it!

:

MITCHAY · 22-05-2005, 09:36 PM

Lol did has anyone seen that episode of pizza when paulie kicks the shit outta the kangaroo.

"Hey toula its like skippy"

Oh that was funny as hell.

sfr rob · 22-05-2005, 10:05 PM

hey mate...
I used to tour in a band frequently, i drove from melbourne to byron bay about 6 months ago with the boys.... in a tarago. now we had SOOOO MANY near misses on that trip it made up the the hundred other times we traveled with nothing happening.

anywho.... i think if a roo jumps out at ya.. hit the anchors but DO NOT SWERVE!!!!! makes shit happen quick!
On the other hand if a wombat decided to stroll out infront of your vehicle, do everything you can possibly do to get out of IT'S way! they can turn you over those buggers!

:alien2:

FNQracing · 22-05-2005, 10:59 PM

A few have suggested good lights. They can help, but from my experience, good lights just means you get a better view of them hitting your car.

Roo's come out from nowhere, often in herds, and are totally unpredictable.

Tote · 23-05-2005, 12:04 PM

Sydney to the hill is a pretty big ask in one day, make sure you have multiple drivers, I'd also suggest the idea of leaving at 4am, at least you've got most of the trip during the day. I used to do a lot of Km out there and driving at night is no picnic especially if you're not in something that you can hit roos with and not damage too much. Like MN said, run the buggers over, DONT swerve or you'll be another statistic. You may want to calculate your driving time past Nyngan at 80 Km/h to give you a more realistic trip time, Nyngan - Broken Hill ~ 590 Km = a bit over 7 hours. Fuel is a bit limited at night too so bear that in mind too, 24 hours fuel should be available at Cobar and Willcannia but I'd ring and make sure first, you can probably wake someone up at Emmdale for fuel as well(for a price).
Regards,
Tote

ck11 · 23-05-2005, 08:17 PM

thanks so much guys, some awesome tips. definitely reconsidering the night drive, cause we would be doing it in a new civic and there is no way in hell you would want to hit a kangaroo with that :MrT_anim:

SVR73 · 23-05-2005, 08:57 PM

Just before going through cobar both ways at night is a terrible spot for roo's, I know I've hit one there. Didn't do much damage though, only a fist sized dent
On my last trip to the gold coast via broken hill (did 6 trips in 12 months) there were huge cows on the side of the road at night near gilgandra and we also saw goats.

Watch yourself. Try and get to nyngan, nevertire area at daylight that way it will be mid day or a little earlier when getting to cobar.

JADED6 · 24-05-2005, 02:34 AM

I would buy a few packets of the shoo-roo things & have about a dozen along the bumper. The reason they say they only "work" up to 80km p/h is that if you're going any faster, by the time the roo hears the sound - you've hit it. Still not such a bad idea though (just remember they're speed rated)
I hate that they bounce all over the place, they can be beside your car and in 1 hop, be infront of it.
I've had a cow do the same thing & had to go on to the wrong side of the road to avoid it. (would have chose the grass on the left if there was on coming traffic)
have fun!