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Re: Oh deer

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 7:13 am
by waremark
Swedish instructors said that hitting elk was a major cause of fatalities. Apparently they average half a ton. They said that this was a main justification for a national 90 kph limit on SCW roads.

Re: Oh deer

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 7:24 am
by Horse
Partly, the problem is not mass but stature. Elk, best described as 'a cow on stilts', typically impact body > windscreen :(

Re: Oh deer

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 12:33 pm
by sussex2
waremark wrote:Swedish instructors said that hitting elk was a major cause of fatalities. Apparently they average half a ton. They said that this was a main justification for a national 90 kph limit on SCW roads.


I once had a Saab99 that had previousyl been owned by the Swedish post office (right hand driver so as to reach road side post boxes)there were stamps and loose change under the carpets, and the crest on the doors.
On topic the drivers (right hand) side sun visor was covered in a large picture of a Elk and warnings as to how to avoid them.
That was the reason why Saabs of the day had extra strengthening in the screen area.

Re: Oh deer

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 12:37 pm
by Horse
And the famous 'Elk swerve', which caught out the A class Merc.

Albeit it was alleged that the magazine concern mucked about with tyre pressures, for dramatic effect . . .

Re: Oh deer

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 3:34 pm
by Astraist
I see a lot of this "elk swerve", although again the obstacle in question tends to be a deer or camel, which isn't much better.

Part of the problme with completing such a maneuver safely is that the decision time for evasive steering is longer than the reaction time for braking. Those drivers wot prefer to swerve suddenly around obstructions, normally take some time to decide whether to veer left or right.

The problem is mitigated if the driver tries to brake as hard as possible to wipe off as much speed as posible, even if the stopping power clearly isn't going to suffice.

Brakes make time to decide where to swerve. Brakes reduce speed to allow to swerve there and brakes reduce speed to allow failing to swerve there be a well survivable option.

With ABS in most vehicles nowadays it also does not disable the driver's ability to steer and is actually better from a driveability standpoint than doing the elk-maneuver with the car simply in overrun.

Re: Oh deer

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 5:53 pm
by akirk
Agreed - when I did some work with a coach on a track looking at stopping and swerving etc. it was amazing how well the car managed the stop / swerve combination - modern cars - and this one was 14 years old - are very competent...

Alasdair

Re: Oh deer

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 8:18 pm
by angus
Now if only a member of IAM's "management" was on here......

Re: Oh deer

Posted: Tue May 10, 2016 8:45 pm
by Astraist
To do what? clean the innards of the deer they would have hit? :lol: ;)

Re: Oh deer

Posted: Wed May 11, 2016 12:34 am
by Imsensible
Astraist wrote:To do what? clean the innards of the deer they would have hit? :lol: ;)


We could always ask them to put on a deer costume and walk down the road...

Re: Oh deer

Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:46 am
by Pontoneer
jont- wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36101069/student-hits-a-deer-on-his-driving-test-but-still-passes


I presume the examiner didn’t ask him to perform an emergency stop after that happening .