I loved the episode but I am in agreement with most everyone else, follow up with a bigger vehicle that is more likely to be in the rural areas where most deer and moose are hit.

2 years ago I was driving my 1999 GMC Yukon from Mobile, AL to Tuscaloosa, AL (ROLL TIDE!!) at approx. 2:30 A.M., a 70-80lb white-tail doe ran out in front of me(I had even slowed down to 55mph because it was 25 degrees F outside and I knew the deer would be on the move.) Having always heard to ACCELERATE, I did and actually ran OVER the deer. The only damage was the plastic winch cover on my brush guard shattered. ( I have pictures of my truck and the deer if you need proof).
brabn003@bama.ua.edu
Let me know!

quote:

Originally posted by comonoyeaha:
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.

I agree. I'm sure the moose would still destroy a car, but the legs they used for the demo were a bad comparison! Real Moose legs probably weigh 3 to 4 X what those wooden ones did and they would be alot more sturdy! I think they need to revisit this myth.

quote:

Originally posted by Honk1303:
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 have to say I agree with the weight difference as well. Everyone on here has valid points. From the make of the vehicles to the legs of the Moose. I definately feel we should have Jaime and Adam revisit this one LOL.

A lot of misinformation being spread here. An impact with a deer is nothing like hitting a moose. A moose weighs 4x a deer??? Who are you kidding; try 6-9x more then a grown deer. An average full grown buck deer can weigh about 200-250 lbs. That cute doe you saw browsing in the field weighs about 150 lbs. An average full grown bull moose can weigh 1400-1800 lbs (or more).

I live in Maine. I am a firefighter/paramedic and work for a fire/rescue service. I have worked more then a couple of car/moose accidents. I also hunt and am very familiar with deer and moose, having had many up close encounters.

The cars on I-95 here travel 65-70 mph (on the mild side) and I have yet to see one, where when the moose is hit square on, doesnt end up looking like the sedans they crashed on the show.

Changing the legs in the test wont make a difference. All moose when hit square have the legs chopped out from under them, very similar to the wood legs on the show. All sedan impacts I have seen, either have hood impacts and then onto the roof, or many just into the windshield and A posts and then crush the roof. The greater the speed, the more the damage.

Moose have poor vision when blinded by headlights at night and tend to stand in place rather then move. During the day many of them many of them react as you saw the wild ones did on the show... they have no fear (including traffic). If they move on, it is at their own pace. We had a moose family living the area between my home and some local farms. It was nothing to the bull moose to walk through the cow pasture fencing with regularity. It was purely an annoyance to the moose.

Even full size trucks and SUV's take the hit off the hood, and then the moose careens off the windshield + A posts and crushes the roof, when hit square. If hitting a moose is inevitable, aim for the hind quarters, brake (decelerate), and duck as much as possible to avoid the crush/impact. You want to survive a moose accident, then drive a semi (maybe a fullsize Hummer).

Moose vs Auto, why the episode did this wrong.
The moose' legs do NOT just crumble off as the boards did.
///end

I think it should be redone after you google some images on moose vs auto, most the time if its a truck its a sudden stop, a car it does roll but not very far.

Thanks

In Australia we don't have moose but we definitely have kangaroos. We have always been told that if you have no way to avoid said animal to SPEED UP - because (as horrible as it might sound) if you do not kill it, it will be stuck in your windscreens and KICK until it (or you) is dead. I wonder if that is a factor in this myth?

Wouldnt trucks and SUVs that have 4WD be more common in alaska? There could be a difference in the results if you used somthing like that instead of Sedans and Camrys?

It seems that the best option would be to vear towards the rear of the moose. If you can manage to hit the moose in the hine quarter, then you would spin him around and he would't fly up on the roof.

for moose mayhemcochranchristopher@sbcglobal.net in alaska you shold try a pick up truck. Because who would a car where it is all snow.

In the slow motion video the legs were knocked away as the moose just hung there. If the legs were attached I assume they would have broken, but still put some high speed rotation to the body. And maybe cause it to gain a bit of altitude.
Also, the brake and throttle test were not accurate. IF the car was braking and speeding up under its own power, the nose of the car would ride and fall. With the cable attached the tow vehicle still controlled the pitch of the car. A hit on the gas would have hit the legs higher on thicker partsof the lags and caused it to spin or lift differently. I love the show. But nothing was busted on this one.

I am thoroughly disappointed in the Alaska Special of Mythbusters. None if the myths were true Alaskan myths. I think the myths they did should have been from Alaskans. I've lived in Alaska my whole entire breathing life, and never heard anything about someone throwing dynamite on a frozen lake and a dog fetching it. I enjoy the show, but for the Alaska special I think they thought of shotty myths...except for the cabin fever myth, that was alright. Just my opinion.
Back to the moose though. I really don't think the wooden legs made much of a difference really. They did the job for what they were intended for. Secondly...yes, trucks and SUV's should have been tested. But seriously who in the right mind would accelerate at a moose in front of them. If I did that then I wouldn't hear the end of it from my friends telling me what a dumbaxx I am for doing that. For deer I might understand, but considering how tall moose are, it wouldn't matter. I believe they should have contacted some authority on what's the average size of moose hit in Alaska, and what's the average vehicle. Them being Mythbusters, I thought they would have done that.

The young interns forgot to meet one condition.They didn't run the tests in Alaska where the roads are snow or ice covered and the tire traction would affect your speed and how you hit the moose. SO to me they failed to demonstrate the myth properly. But if they redo it in San Franciso on a winter day, now that would be running a true test.But we all know San Francisco never would receive that much snow. So back to Alaska as the song goes kids.

quote:

Originally posted by buck8:
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.

Agreed. You never want to hit a moose head on at any speed. No matter what the moose is landing on top of the passanger compartment. You have two options:

1.) Duck! Lay as flat as you can even if you have to lay over on the passanger seat.

2.) Turn and break! Either the tires will break loose and you'll go into a spin, hopefully hitting the moose with a different part of the vehicle (rather than head on), or the tires will hold traction and you'll end up in the ditch.

Never hit the moose head on, and the faster you go the more likely the accident will be fatal.

I remember reading somewhere some goof in a Camaro in New York actually sped up when he hit a moose...who does that seriously. What kind of sane Alaskan would do this.

Just watched the Alaska special again. This idea may be difficult to do, but is has been on my mind for a few hours now. I am a truck driver, and once was told by another driver about a trip into Maine. He said he saw a bull moose on the highway during mating season, and blew his air horn. This enraged the moose so much, he charged the truck, and destroyed the front end. The only thing remaining was the engine and frame rail. I am more curious about the moose charging at the sound of the horn, more than what was destroyed.

you guys shouldve tried a convertible to see what difference that makes, i know there wouldnt be a lot of convertibles in alaska, but there are.

Next time you folks are driving down the highway at 55 or 65 mph "STOMP" on the gas.

Unless you're driving a 500 horsepower muscle car, you aren't going to feel the "hood lift" or much acceleration at all. The average car just doesn't have that kind of response.

Not only that, hitting it faster will only cause more damage as the Mythbusters have shown.

Slow down, or swerve for a glancing blow. Hitting it head on, and speeding up is just foolish.

Hey Adam & Jamie
Remember when you were testing "cabin fever" and you saw the yeti outside. Well I thought Jamie's reaction was totally not worth sending the yeti to Jamie's cabin but I LOVED when the yeti came to Adam and he hid in the bathroom like he forgot that yetis aren't real. I was laughing so hard that I almost had to go in the bathroom myself.

I am currently watching the Alaskan episode - I love the idea of this myth. While I was watching the setup, though, I thought of something - they are testing the myth in SAN FRANSISCO, when the idea is for northern areas, like Alaska. Excuse me if they are testing in Alaska, i'm not watching it anymore, had to leave room to post this. They should test it in Alaska due to weather conditions like snow, and changes in traction, as well as the interior of the car will be colder unless the heat is turned on. Even still, it may be colder. The road may be slicker and provide a faster/slower ride than suggested in the mith. I suggest that they re-test the myth in Alaskan conditions.

As a 36 year old, 25 year Alaskan, I've seen more then a few car/moose accidents. Heck, more then one winter we were on the "road kill" list and got our winters meat from such an accident. I've been in one rig that hit a moose (it actually walked between the truck and trailer) and have had many near misses. I've got one trucking friend that has hit half a dozen or so. He finally quit buying new hoods for his Kenworth and bought a very nice "moose catcher". One thing I'll tell you is that though there are lots of cars in Alaska, there are far more trucks/SUV's. Try that test again with something like my truck--a Ford F-250 Super Duty 4x4. ((And NO you can't use my truck--I love my truck!)). I'm sure you will find that the extra height makes a BIG difference in what happens. I'm not about to say there will be less DAMAGE, but that moose isn't going to be in your lap either.