Woolly Jumpers

Returning home along the Balonne Highway today, about 60km West of Moonie, I came across this ute.

The damage is a consequence of an encounter (probably at or close to the 100km/hr limit) with this -

The roo, a big one, was about 200 metres up the road from where the ute finished up. I passed the tilt-tray, obviously on its way to complete the recovery, about 5 kms East.

They're bad at the moment, not numerous, but the ones you do see are very big. It's probably a consequence of a series of top seasons.

I've hit four in the last six years, but was lucky enough to be driving a Commodore with a bull bar the only time I hit one square on. Mostly, they've been glancing blows, smaller animals, or I've managed to come almost to a halt before the impact.

This was not the case above.

Modern vehicles, with east-west engines driving the front wheels will frequently not be immobilised because the cooling fan isn't attached to the front of the block, and doesn't chew its way through the radiator. Having said that, if you hit something this big at 100km/hr, you'd be lucky to be able to drive away.

I keep my eyes peeled, use the old infantry trick of scanning the whole time, and never swerve and brake simultaneously if I encounter one on the road.

Roos often jump towards, rather than away from the vehicle. I have no idea why. I have got to know where they are likely to appear - usually near water courses. Having said that, they can be anywhere.

You'll never hit a goat or a wild pig (in daylight), and I never drive at night.

Emus and sheep are stupid, but goats are smart. I've never seen a goat hit, but dead emus are spread all over the road.

Maybe some day, some bright spark will develop a roo-chasing device that actually works. I've seen Shu-Roos on the front of roo-damaged vehicles.