because...
It's Friday, and...it's not Friday? Oh yes it is. In this universe, today is Friday...the 42nd.
After several millennia of global dominance, the human species is still uncertain about the motivations of those chickens that choose to cross the road. But last Monday, officers from the Portland Police Department got the opportunity to tackle this most insoluble of philosophical problems after a plucky clucker ventured into …
Ok, I still don't see how the chicken also meant to die. If it were a modern joke I'd understand given the amount of traffic and speeds it travels but when the joke appears to have originated, 1847, the invention of the automobile was still nearly 40 years distant and Lincoln wouldn't be elected for over a decade so crossing a road should have been trivial unless there happened to be a horse carriage at full gallop coming through. This whole chicken suicide sounds like some sort of new-age codswallop to me.
Years ago on holiday, on a remote country road, my Dad's car hit a chicken just as we passed a small cottage. Feathers everywhere, indeed, and an irate old country woman ranting "You've kilt ma chicken". It took a fresh £5 note (it was a while ago) to pacify her, but for ages afterward my Dad was convinced that she spent her days sitting behind the hedge with a bag of dead chickens, thowing them out in front of passing tourists...
Years ago on holiday, on a remote country road, my Dad's car hit a chicken just as we passed a small cottage
Mate of mine hit a chicken with his sidecar rig. Presenting it to the farmer's wife, uttering apologies, she replied laconically "Oh, that's chicken soup tonight then."
I suppose it depends on the size of the bird. A largish one could do a lot of damage to your car if you hit it at speed. Though it would almost certainly go under the vehicle - unless it took flight at the last second and hit your windscreen.
Though I do agree: anyone who puts their own life (and that of their passengers and other motorists) at risk by slowing / stopping on a motorway, simply to "save" some wildlife shouldn't be a driver.
suppose it depends on the size of the bird. A largish one could do a lot of damage to your car if you hit it at speed. Though it would almost certainly go under the vehicle - unless it took flight at the last second and hit your windscreen.
I had this happen about 30 years ago with a pigeon. The beast decided to land on the road just ahead of me so I had no chance to break. The stupid bird decided to take flight when my car was almost on top of it - and thus ended up minced in the engine compartment when it encountered the cooling fan on its way up (in those days they were still permanently driven by the fan belt). I cannot tell you what a mess it was under the hood, and to this day I don't know how the fan managed to stay intact.
It took some serious jet cleaning and scrubbing to clear it - bird fluids and bits sure stick to hot surfaces...
quote: "Try hitting one on a motorcycle, then... Not to be recommended."
I ducked behind the touring screen, so just got spattered with bits rather than taking one to the head. Front of the bike also held up fine, but it did take some time to clean the bits off though, given they had plenty of time to dry up on the remainder of the journey :(
Try hitting one on a motorcycle, then... Not to be recommended.
I don't know about pigeons, but I once saw a guy take a pheasant to the chest on a motorcycle. The bird won. It knocked him clean off the back of the bike and wandered off into some tall grass while he was testing how much protection leathers give against road rash (quite a bit, apparently, but not so much against bruises and broken arms).
Somewhat humorously, the bike continued down the road for about a quarter mile before it realized it had lost its rider and laid down in the ditch to wait for him.
"Though I do agree: anyone who puts their own life (and that of their passengers and other motorists) at risk by slowing / stopping on a motorway, simply to "save" some wildlife shouldn't be a driver."
I suppose your policy position is okay for small fowl and poultry, but have you considered the ramifications of not stopping vis-à-vis moose?
http://www.vti.se/sv/publikationer/pdf/algdocka-av-gummi-for-krockprov.pdf
Recent case in the news in Quebec of a woman who stopped on the highway for some ducks which resulted in the death of two following motorcyclists: she was convicted and sentenced and was just given leave to appeal.
Precisely illustrates your point.
which resulted in the death of two following motorcyclists
That's not solely her fault (and I am a motorcyclist). Following too close so that you don't have time to react to a vehicle suddenly stopping, then brake or swerve to avoid collision is noone else's fault but the person who's following too close. Sure, on a motorway it's usually a steady flow of traffic in more or less the same direction, but anything can happen to disrupt that, and it behooves anyone (not just motorcyclists, BTW) to be aware of that.
What, in any case, is the number of ducks you can safely mow down without stopping, and at what speed? Had one taken flight and hit the windscreen, chances are she would have slammed the brakes, with quite likely the same (or worse) outcome. What if it had been a goose or swan instead of a duck? The average driver would brake, doesn't matter if that's before or after hitting it. A deer? Moose? What if she'd had an engine failure? Or a truck slightly ahead suddenly blowing tyre shrapnel in the direction of her car? Just a number of reasons why not keeping distance can be rather unhealthy.
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