November 19, 2007: Bear vs. Truck

[ZenGum]

Welcome Rusty!

Nice one Spud! Thats as much as I can bear.

I thought the paws were cute ... except for those giant claws! Whoah!

Nikolai, did you notice that big heavy crash bar on the truck? They're also highly effective against pedestrians. Also Clod's 2nd point holds - hit a deer and it comes over the bonnet and takes out the windscreen, hit a bear and you knock it to the ground. In Australia there is a similar situation with kangaroos which have no bloody road sense: they are often deflected off the 'roo bar and hit the windscreen. Some rural vehicles now sport 'roo bars that lean out at the top, designed to knock the 'roo downwards onto the road. SPLAT!

[SPUCK]

[quote=ZenGum;408838 They're also highly effective against pedestrians.[/QUOTE]

And Hugos and Volkswagens and Metros and Priuses and Miatas and motorcycles and ...

[Saphyre]

WHOA, that's a LOT of bear!
No witty repartee for me... just the obvious.
kthxbai

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

:
Nikolai, did you notice that big heavy crash bar on the truck? They're also highly effective against pedestrians. Also Clod's 2nd point holds - hit a deer and it comes over the bonnet and takes out the windscreen, hit a bear and you knock it to the ground.

Thanks Zen, I was going to point that out. We live in deer country. The other thing to note about that truck is that the crash bar, we call them brush guards, is actually a physical part of a non-standard bumper welded to the bumper, obviously made of heavy guage steel. Most average trucks have a brush guard that attaches to the under body and frame of the truck, so when you hit a deer or in this case a bear, the brush guard would fold back on the truck and cause significantly more damage. The average brush guards in the US run the gamit of quality and strength. Your point about the weight of the animal is a good one.

[ZenGum]

Hi Merc:
Rather than weight I was thinking more in terms of bears having a lower center of gravity than deer, and also of deer tending (I guess) to leap when they panic. Hence they'd flip over the bonnet more easily. Although I guess a bear might rear up to fight - imagine seeing THAT through your windscreen!