Kangaroos

Jorgo85 · 10-03-2009, 10:40 PM

I'm currently working away in Boddington (WA) and drive to and from every week. The drive is up and down hills with loads of blind corners in WA's Jarrah Forest with a healthy population of roo's. Want I'm curious about is, if I were to clean up an adult western grey, will it set off the airbags, obstucting my view of the winding road? Would hate to wind up wrapped around a tree because of a roo. Average speed limit is 110km/h.

SM1DY · 10-03-2009, 10:45 PM

Mate at a 110km/h I'm pritty sure that a direct impact of an animal has the potential to set off the airbags. But who knows, some guy cleaned up a deer on the autobahn in his BMW and all it did was lodge itself inside the engine bay.

svo347 · 10-03-2009, 10:48 PM

On that road mate, im surprised you would even want to sit on 110.

**Peuty** · 10-03-2009, 10:51 PM

Wouldn't surprise me if it did, but wouldn't surprise me if it didn't either.

Might be a good idea to slow it down a bit, I know the limit is 110kph, but your reaction time won't be that good to avoid impact. Don't forget that at 110, you are travelling at around 30m/s.

Jorgo85 · 10-03-2009, 10:51 PM

I'm one of the good ones who tries to stick to the speed limit. I quite often get overtaken like I'm standing still.

svo347 · 10-03-2009, 11:09 PM

As bad as this sounds, im surprised more people havent been killed on that road, especially on friday and monday during construction.

plext · 10-03-2009, 11:34 PM

Really depends on how you hit them.

I've hit two kangaroos in my ute, both at circa 100km/h and the airbags are intact. I have seen people hit them at under 60km/h and have the bags deploy.

That did not set off the airbags. As can be seen, it was a good hit.

XRSIKS · 11-03-2009, 12:48 AM

Hit a Kangeroo on the Monaro highway exiting canberra, we were about 60km out of town, doing about 100km, then all of a sudden, KABOOM. thing jumped right in the middle of the road, no time to break. i wish i had pictures, Toyota Corola Wagon, 2003 model i think, but yeah, the whole front end needed to be replaced, was horrid.

these story's have me worried. I'm trying to convince a guy in queensland to sell me his car, if by some myrical he sais yes, i have to drive it down to canberra from queensland :P Many times i've done that drive, it's always scary, but in a 2007 GT i will be extra edgy :P

ratman · 11-03-2009, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S&BXR6

these story's have me worried. I'm trying to convince a guy in queensland to sell me his car, if by some myrical he sais yes, i have to drive it down to canberra from queensland :P Many times i've done that drive, it's always scary, but in a 2007 GT i will be extra edgy :P

My mum cleaned 1 up in her old RAV4, airbags didn't go off but it wasn't fully frontal and at a relatively low speed - 40km.

Mate, truck it down if you are that worried, remember, it could be worse, if u saw the local news today, we have them jumping thru bedroom windows here in the A.C.T.

XRSIKS · 11-03-2009, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratman

My mum cleaned 1 up in her old RAV4, airbags didn't go off but it wasn't fully frontal and at a relatively low speed - 40km.

Mate, truck it down if you are that worried, remember, it could be worse, if u saw the local news today, we have them jumping thru bedroom windows here in the A.C.T.

Rofl yeah i saw that on the news thismorning at work at 5am :P Crazy mofo dragged it out of the house by its head lol

Nah i cant afford to truck it down, and honestly i think i will enjoy the 13 hour drive with my mate by my side just cruising in my new GT *Fingers crossed* lol

Bushbasher · 11-03-2009, 08:25 AM

There's a few factors determining if the airbags deploy or not. A full on, dead centre hit at 110 with the roo down low will probably set them off; and stop you in your tracks. The same roo, in the same situation, if at the top of it's bound probably won't as the body mass will be mostly above bonnet line and you'll take out it's legs at the critical point at bumper level; mind you, you then run thew risk of wearing said roo in your lap if it comes through the windscreen. Equally, a 3/4 blow on the corner of the car won't set the bags off but will kill the light, bonnet, guard if down low and not so bad up high. There are many variations of this senario but you get the idea. My suggestion would be to get a roobar and also some of those cheap passive whistlers and stick them across the front of the car. I don't care what anyone says, as far as I'm concerned they work and have reduced my roo strike rate very significantly, and I drive Bathurst to Mudgee/Gulgong every night via Kandos carting mail and have only hit 1 roo in 6 months in the truck. My boss, on the other hand, has cleaned up about a dozen in the same time so just remember, you still have to drive defensively and be ready to hit the brakes and get out of the way when necessary, which my boss obviously doesn't.

Bushbasher

james22 · 11-03-2009, 01:49 PM

[QUOTE=plext] I have seen people hit them at under 60km/h and have the bags deploy.

QUOTE]

I'm sorry plext but that information is incorrect.

There are 3 things that are needed for airbag deployment in a new model car.

1. The airbag system only activates after you exceed 60kph.
So if you hit a tree at 50 in town, NO airbags.

2. The sensor in the bumperbar must detect a fairly whopping impact (not very technical lol I know) And you still must be doing over 60kph

3. The sensors under the seats, will detect the forward motion of your entire seat (as you hit the object, the car stops, but you still have momentum) These sensors detect the reef/pull on the seat.

When all 3 of these criteria are met. Speed, impact, seat sensor, then your airbag will deploy.

Feel free to correct me if i'm wrong

:

Allen · 11-03-2009, 02:23 PM

Airbags have been in Falcons since 1994, and even long in american cars. The criteria for new air bag systems are proberly vastly different to early airbag systems.

Plext could have been refering to any car equipped with airbags.

plext · 11-03-2009, 02:25 PM

I know that is supposedly the spec mate, but I have seen it happen.

Pointedly though, none of the vehicles were Falcons.

james22 · 11-03-2009, 03:01 PM

I got ya. Yeah i sort of realised i left a few holes in the post when i hit send lol.

**Professor Farnsworth** · 11-03-2009, 03:30 PM

i find it ridiculous that airbags would not deploy if hitting a brick wall at 59km/h.. where do you get this information from?

jasjul · 11-03-2009, 04:26 PM

Also a lot of the bigger ones will go straight up the bonnet and miss airbag sensors all together. There was an email getting around that showed a BF police car (South Oz I think), that had had its roof caved in and barely damaged the front of the car.

Coogs289 · 11-03-2009, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crackersINC

i find it ridiculous that airbags would not deploy if hitting a brick wall at 59km/h.. where do you get this information from?

i agree, how the hell does that work...

:

guy that was going 60 km/h - "yay, i'm alive!"
guy that was only going 59 km/h - dam that 1 kilometre..."

greenfoam · 11-03-2009, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crackersINC

i find it ridiculous that airbags would not deploy if hitting a brick wall at 59km/h.. where do you get this information from?

I agree :S 59kmh into a tree has a decent chance of killing you and if not then mess you up quite a bit

Allen · 11-03-2009, 04:46 PM

I was under the impression that the airbags are deployed based upon an accelerometer reading, not the speed of an impact.

I would say that the 60km/h is just an approximate velocity that will set off the airbags in a collision with a stationary inanimate object.

For example, if the airbags are only 'activated' after your own car reaches 60km/h, what would happen in the event of a head on collision, if you are doing 30km/h and the other car is doing 80km/h?

BlackLS · 11-03-2009, 04:47 PM

Airbag sensors work on G forces. Owners manual says they can deploy even with the keys out of the ignition.

Cookie-XR8 · 11-03-2009, 05:18 PM

my parents in 2004 brought a brand new xr6, the same month we moved to the country,

3 roo's in about 2 months, no air bag deploy tho, all at 100+ klms, and the car was wrecked every time, they sold it and brought a au ute with a cow catcher on the front,

get some shoo roos

greenfoam · 11-03-2009, 05:23 PM

I hit a big kangaroo with a impact speed of about 90km/h and although amazingly it didn't really damage the car, it went all the way under the car but just gave me a bent up number plate and broke the mounting clips on the bumper (but I had spares

). I only do 80 at the most in areas that have alot of kanagroos now

, that way you can slow down enough to be sure of not much damage if you do hit one

Bucknaked · 11-03-2009, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plext

Really depends on how you hit them.

I've hit two kangaroos in my ute, both at circa 100km/h and the airbags are intact. I have seen people hit them at under 60km/h and have the bags deploy.

That did not set off the airbags. As can be seen, it was a good hit.

No airbag deployment here either. This is a fair amount of impact, I would have thought they would have gone off. But the lower section is reasonably in tact, so maybe thats why.

NC1183 · 11-03-2009, 05:30 PM

Look where the impact was Bucky, it got the front edge of the bonnent, if it had have gotten the front bar dead-centre the 'bags would have gone off i bet.

XRSIKS · 11-03-2009, 05:31 PM

Holy Crap Bucknaked, that isnt yours is it? that's alot of damage.... what did you hit, Bigfoot?

Bucknaked · 11-03-2009, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NC1183

Look where the impact was Bucky, it got the front edge of the bonnent, if it had have gotten the front bar dead-centre the 'bags would have gone off i bet.

I think your right there. I had another look at it, and apart from the passenger side corner, the lower section has faired well. Definatley not a direct hit. Still a pretty good effort. That roo was history.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S&BXR6

Holy Crap Bucknaked, that isnt yours is it? that's alot of damage.... what did you hit, Bigfoot?

No, its a mates ute. I think he had it only a few months. After the car was repaired, he drove it for the next couple of years before trading it in on a BF Tornado. The Pursuit was better than new. Never really experienced any last effects. Panel beaters did an extremely good job. In the end he put around I think 130,000 on the ute.

Funny part is, once he sold the Pursuit and got his Tornado, he's hit another roo in it, and he only had the car 5 days. Surprisingly, it cracked some mounting points and the plastic intake vent on top of the bar. Also a small dent on the bonnet. Replaced that vent and the bar he had plastic welded and they did the pnael work on the bonnet, resprayed it and it was as good as new. If you didn't know it hit a roo before being repaired, you would never have known there was any damage. From first glance, it was perfect. Not till you look over the top and see the cracks.

Anyway, the tornado is gone now replaced with an 08 HSV VE maloo. And he's not hit a roo in it. Go figure

:

**Professor Farnsworth** · 11-03-2009, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bucknaked

Anyway, the tornado is gone now replaced with an 08 HSV VE maloo. And he's not hit a roo in it. Go figure

:

apparently the kangaroos refuse to be seen dead anywhere near or on a holden

:

malazn mafia · 11-03-2009, 06:56 PM

Anybody have experience with a device called 'shu roo'? Its a black box that goes in the front bumper and makes a noise like cicada when switched on. The old man had one one pre-installed on his EL company car a while back, but never came across any kangaroo.

**Professor Farnsworth** · 11-03-2009, 07:16 PM

the only shu-roo that i've had before was a funnel shaped device that you stuck one of on each side of your bumper that supposedly made a sound we couldn't hear but kangaroos could, which scared them off. ironically since i put them on i saw nothing but kangaroos running out infront of me as though it actually ATTRACTED them. However i don't believe they were genuine items.. Doesn't answer your question though, sorry.