I told you so.



Grant summed it up nicely. More speed means more energy in the collision.

All the imagined loopholes as to why it's better to speed up came to naught.

New myth. Now that it's been on the show, nobody is going to ask them again.

I live in Alaska my whole life, and for the most part people here drive SUV's and trucks. To make this myth a little more Alaskan they should try using some larger vehicles. Although, if I saw a moose I would slow down DEFINATELY!

I'm glad atleast one post mentioned the idea that its the downward dive of the front-end during hard braking that may contribute to this "myth". And that it may be better to let off the brakes before the collision so the force is taken by the front of the car and not further back in the passenger area.

I'd think it would have been far more interesting if they had tested a truck with a tall front-end. It may have made a difference vs. the Taurus by keeping the front of the car higher and the body of the mouse from impacting the windshield/roof.

Alaskan Special was wonderful. However, they should have taken into account the usual icy conditions of Alaskan winter roads.

I live by Hatcher Pass and commute 50 miles every day to work. I've lived in Alaska since 1984. I have had several moose bolt out in front of me and been lucky enough to miss. It has always been without a passenger and I have always tried to steer so they would hit on the right side of the car and not squish me.

Moose normally don't die when they are hit. I can personally recall driving past several accidents where the moose landed either on top of the car or through the wind shield. When they land this way the moose thrashes and kills the occupants.

The problem with the show was when they hit the breaks they were still going to fast and went under the moose. To really kill the people in the car you have to come to an almost complete stop when you hit the moose so that it lands on the car.

When I think I am going to hit one - I aim for the part of the vehicle that will not kill me if I'm by myself or will not kill my wife or kids if I have passengers.

The only problem I see with this myth is the legs on the moose. The skin would hold the legs on the moose not just colapse like the wood ones built. I pretty sure if you have them mounted solidly on the moose like his legs really are it will propell him up over the car.

OK... so I like several others here heard a version of this myth... applied to DEER (not moose) growing up in the midwest.

Here's what I always heard...

Braking causes the front of the car to dip (because of the momentum of the vehicle). This dipping sweeps the feet of the deer out and lands him in your lap, through the windshield. This is both more deadly for you... and a slow bloody gruesome death for the deer.

On the other hand, acceleration causes the front end to rise, causing the vehicle to hit the body of the deer squarely. This is a "safer" accident by keeping the deer from being hurled at you through the front glass... and it is more likely to kill the deer upon impact (somewhat more humanely). [side note: If my physics memory serves me right, I think this would likely be most effective with a rear wheel drive vehicle]

Of course... option #1 is always AVOID THE CRASH! But deer move quite quickly and can leap out just in front of you, not giving you a chance to avoid them.

If this myth holds true for deer... it could be the origin of the related myth about moose (people generally assume them to be similar creatures)... but if the point is to try and hit it squarely in the body, then obviously the taller moose would negate the point.

p.s. - I also thought it was strange that they would do a "crash into moose in Alaska" myth and not try it with a pickup/SUV or some 4 wheel drive vehicle! Who drives a mid-size sedan all day on the snowy roads of Alaska?!?!

I heard a version of this myth from the south but it is a dear instead of am moose. the reason that it is better to speed up is because when you rappidly accelerate you shift the weight of the vehick to the rear whick temporary increaces the height of the vehicle. one question of the way they tested this myth, since the vehicle was dragged to a hicher speed, would the raise of the front end be greater if the vehicle accerated under its own power.

also in the southern version, the reason for stepping on the gas was to raise the from end and push the dear out of the way instead of throwing a heavy horned anumal into the winshield with shart horns and razor sharp hoves.

ps if you use a car with a low front end it wouldn't matter if you accelerate or brake when you hit a animal that large.

i live in a state where we must kill 50,000 deer in order keeping the population from reaching dangerous proportions. and i have hit 2 large male deer in mi lifetime and i did have a better result by accelerating at the last minute. (the transition from hard braking to hard accelerating caused a even larger increase in temp fromt end height. plus this can give the momentum to push animal out of my way. i was the same old ford ranger in both accidents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_test

SAABs do it.

u guys hit the make shift moose to bust whether speeding up or slowing down changes the out come the of the wreck but would the speed make a difference if you were to turn the car, or swerve?

As others have stated, I think that the physics have been effectively proven, and the legs are of little concern; the moose should be avoided at all costs. Some of my friends and family from the frozen North would agree with others that a pick up or suv would be a more likely vehicle than the small sedans, and coupes that were tested. I am really more concerned with the body armor that the vehicle possesses. What are the group's thoughts on a ranchhand or road armor full bumper replacement on a taller / heavier vehicle that impacts a moose? Being from Oklahoma, I know what the story is with deer: step on the gas! But a moose that is 7 feet tall at the shoulder is a different story. Just a thought.

now I could be wrong here... but they said that the make moose... was 600lbs... Well I wanted to check at the average weight and 600lb is a very small female... the big moose would be a male at close to about 1200 lbs... that is a huge difference... but all it would do by adding weight is destorying the car more!!!!

love the show!!!!! nice nice

Dustin

I would just like to mention that the honda CRX that was used to hit the moose was reevaluated a few years ago as one of the unsafest cars to be in in a crash of anysort.

Sorry but all honda civics and crx's from conception till about 96 are some of the worst cars to get into a wreck with cause they dont have the structer to withstand a wreck of any kind at speeds of 40mph or higher. If you get into a wreck at them speeds in these hondas theres a 85% chance your gonna die.

Dont beleave me, go to youtube.com and search for honda crash tests and see how bad it is.

But hay atleast where not driving cars made by the chinese. Its there new form of population control. You can also find them crash tests on youtube as well.

I would have to say for small vehicles like the first to 5th gen honda civics and first to 3rd gen crx's would not be a good car to test any crash tests with. Not gonna have results that will match with anyother car.

I think the all out crash test should be redone with the same car they were using for the other tests. Then you can get some viable results that may trickle down to other cars just by looking up crash test results that match the same car as used in the tests.

Sorry for this long winded first post but I fell this info should be known.

BTW I finally got to seen exploder explode! That thing cought air! That was awsome.

Nobody wants to meet a moose in the roadway, but if you do, how often does a moose stand in place waiting to see what your reaction will be? Moose like deer will often scramble to get out of your way. That affects how you will hit them, what damage will or will not be done and how well you survive the accident. Nobody in their right mind would want to hit one of these beasts square on.

I live in Maine and had the unfortunate luck of hitting two moose two weeks ago. My saving grace was the fact that of the three moose I found in the road, the two I hit where yearlings and I barely missed mom. I walked away with just some aches and pains and a cracked bumper as both moose went under my car. I didn't understand until last nights episode why the sheriff had asked me if I sped up or hit my brakes before hitting the moose. Speed up? Are people crazy?

Hmm..

Just a thought..but if you watch the slow-mo

When they accelerated the moose handed on the roof... it bounced up, but it didn't fly over, it landed on the roof.

Breaking cause the moose to hit the hood, and the windsheild..

So either its in your lap, or on your head...

quote:

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!!!

I completely agree. This is the first time I've been to this site but after seeing the Alaskan episode I had to get on and point out that with attached legs comparable to moose legs that also hold the weight of the moose could have significant effects on the way the moose was thrown. Also the moose only needed another foot or two to clear the top of the cars so having legs comparable to a real moose's could have resulted in a drastic change of data and the possibility that instead of the myth being busted it could have been ruled plausible.

quote:

Originally posted by Esd555:
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.

Yeah, they taught us the same thing during Drivers' Ed. class. It would probably make a good follow-up myth.

I don not think so if it is a car!!

I have heard something similar all my life about deer... But I think the Mythbusters had the wrong idea on this one... The point is NOT to accelerate and "throw the animal OVER the car." The point is to slow down as much as possible before impact, but then take your foot off the brake and hit the accelerator just before an unavoidable impact... The reason behind this is that when breaking, the front end of the car lowers, which make the animal go onto the hood and through the windshield... But when you punch the accelerator, the front end rises, giving you a better chance that the animal will go UNDERNEATH the car... THAT is the basis for this "Myth" that I have heard my entire life...

Niether braking or accelerating is the answer, I always get my car on to it's two side wheels to avoid critters.