Totally cool episode! I am from Newfoundland, and we get a lot of Moose too. I have a two-fer for a followup show: 1. Try a larger vehicle, like a pickup truck - a way more likely vehicle to be driving where most moose would be wandering. I remember driving with a friend from 'round the bay, and he said if he yells "moose" I'd better be ducking, as he would already be on the floor.
This same fellow *claims* to have ridden his 'crotch rocket' motorcycle around two moose, before darting under a third.
There, Jamie... drive that one by remote control! ;-)
I had a concern of the moose mayhem, alaska episode. I drive an 84 k5 blazer, if i were to hit the moose, would it be better for me to speed up or slow down, given the height of the truck, just curious, let me know.
I'm not saying it definitely would, but do you think if the legs are attached to the moose it would make a difference? The legs they used on the show were super floppy and the wooden ones broke away. I would think if the legs were solidly attached it may make a difference.
About the moose myth, i figured most people knew already that if you are about to hit a moose, you don't. The ditch is always preferable to hitting a moose because they crush the top of the car.
About the moose myth. The dummy moose that the Mythbusters created had wooden legs. They just shattered on impact. Judging from some deer accident footages I have seen, I don't think that a real moose legs would just dis-integrate like that. Having said that, at high speed maybe the real moose legs will act like a pole stick, catapulting the moose over the car. Just a thought!!!
Originally posted by kaushikagrawal: About the moose myth. The dummy moose that the Mythbusters created had wooden legs. They just shattered on impact. Judging from some deer accident footages I have seen, I don't think that a real moose legs would just dis-integrate like that. Having said that, at high speed maybe the real moose legs will act like a pole stick, catapulting the moose over the car. Just a thought!!!
dude i've seen deer carcus up close. deer bone does not hold up real weel to impact. texas highways have a lot of dead deer.
I went to college in maine, and in order to drive the college owned vehicles we had to take a little class, which included how to hit a moose and maybe not die. They told us to brake, but if hitting the moose was inevitable you're supposed to take your foot off the brake a split second before you hit it. The theory behind this is that when the brake is applied to the car, the front end of the car is lower and acts as a scoop, lifting the moose onto the windshield and into the passenger compartment. By taking your foot off the brake the front end is higher, and may be able to hit the moose high enough up in its center of gravity that it would just be knocked over. I'm not sure how well this would work in a sedan, but in the minivans and 15-passenger death traps the college let us drive it might make a difference.
i got a problem with the manner the myth was conducted. the idea wasn't to just increase the car's acceleration, but to lift the front of the car. being attached to the cable, the front of the car was not able to rise as it would when one slams on the gas. the added height to the front of the car would help, not humanely though, push the animal away from the car or help propel it over the car. it works on deer! something i was unlucky enough to bare witness to.
I agree with most ppl here that the legs have alot to do with it. I, personally, hit a cow with a 85 Cutlass. I hit the cow in the south end with the center of my car running 55 mph. The result was my hood was caved in, the radiator and fan had become one, but the windshield was untouched. I ended up with a hoof indention in the back right corner of my roof and the cow landed in the ditch a good 5 feet from the shoulder of the road when it had been standing in the center of my lane.
I lived in Anchorage for three years up until this past fall. Saw plenty of moose on the side of the road and been in many traffic jams because someone just hit one and their is only one highway going in and out of Anchorage. Many of my former co-workers had said that your airbag will not go off if you hit a moose because the legs aren't big enough for the sensors to detect. You should try to bust that one. And, would it make a difference since the airbag is supposed to protect you from the forward motion of a car accident?
The speed does matter when driving in an area with potentially a lot of moose accidents. I grew up in such an area in Europe and what we did was to drive fast but not for the purpose of that the moose would clear the car if we hit it but for the reason that we wouldn't hit it to begin with. During the time of year when there is no snow the moose is most likely to be on the side of the actual road eating or licking the salt that accumulate there from the winter salt application. If you drive fast enough, like 80+ the mooose will not react and move before your already passed it. If your driving slower you have a 50-50 chance of the moose moving into the road way or into the woods. I have personal experince that this is the way it is. I was driving one night and saw something in the corner of my eye and thus turned my head and stared a moose in the eye through my side window. Since I was going 80-90 mph I passed before the moose hit me, and he was probably more scared than me. If the moose is already standing on the roadway the only thing to do is honk your horn (will scare him of the road), step on your break and as your getting close to impact lay down below the dashboard and hold the wheel steady with your left hand. Yea you might pray as well. If there is no impact in a few seconds pull your self up and keep driving, the moose decided to save it self by getting out of the way in the last second. Been there, done that too. On an icy road and again driving fast. The only trace of the incident was a pool of urin on the road from the moose. I guess he got more scared than me that time as well since my seat was dry :-) Drive safe, and keep busting the myth. --Anders
Great episode. I have one thing to add for this myth. It pertains to deer instead of moose which might make this a different myth but I heard that if you are about to hit a deer, do not adjust your speed (assuming that you are traveling at highway speed) until you are just about to hit the deer then put the accelerator on the floor. Apparently this only works on front wheel drive cars. The idea is that by heavily accelerating at the last second is that this will raise the front end of the vehicle further off of the ground. So instead of the front end hitting the legs of the deer sending the heavy body into the windshield, you might raise the car enough to allow the front of the car to make impact with the body of the animal, thus an impact that may have a higher survivability rate. With a moose this most likely would not work given the average height a moose's body is off of the ground. But great episode.
Might I just add that you guy's, and gal's at Mythbusters have the greatest job in the world.
Alright Folks take this if you will. I just finished watching the Alaska Myth special, and I have lived in Alaska for 15 YEARS!!! Just to give you my personal opinion and experiences. Hitting a moose in any way is bad. If it's a truck, an SUV, a car, A SEMI, all bad.
Now I would love to see an ammendment episode using some of these other vehicles to include full size trucks, SUV's, vans, sports cars. Now I know this is an expensive list but it would definitely silence any questions about the reality of this myth.
Now for you folks with the legs questions, if anything the legs they had helped the car, The more reigid and strong the leg is, the more damage it will cause trust me. And as for the size of the moose, I have seen moose much larger than the proportions they used, so toss that into the equation and...dang.
If any of you have anymore AK (that's the correct abbr. for Alaska) questions or disbelief about the overall results. Go ahead and ask, but I support all of the Mythbusters team findings given the materials they used.
On a close subject . there was a deer hit by a bmw on the autobon in germany...the deer was hit at high rate of speed and was sucked into the grill of the car causing no damage to the cab or exterior of the car (other than the grill).so it may be possible to speed up enough to avoid a fatality with a moose by speeding up .if u are in a larger vehical(like a truck).which was not tested in your show.after all most of the vehicals in alaska are larger vehicals.
After having lived in Anchorage , Alaska for 7 years & seen many accidents & people killed by moose & car accidents The Alaskan moose myth was not a very good test ! First of all it was tested on dry asphalt & not the snow & ice in Anchorage ! I have avoided many accidents & there is an art to it that you learn quickly to survive there !! You do not want to ever hit a moose head on at highway speeds if possible but rather with the rear quarter panel or rear end of the vehicle ! You simple turn the wheel a small amount & then jam on the brake just before impact & you will spin around & be away from the moose . When you take the drivers license test in Alaska you are asked several questions about driving on icy roads & how to control a vehicle. If you do not pass these questions then you get no license !! If you simply jamed on the brakes without turning the wheel you are going to die when the moose comes thru the windshield as this is how most people die !! However if you turn yorself away from a direct head on collision then you stand a much better chance of survival!! You practice this move in any of the empty lots in the Winter months & it saves your life, plain & simple fact.
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