Electric Cars - the discussion continues.

[old man emu]

10 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

Apparently it is possible to put some device on so that they can hear you better.

Yes there are these devices: 

 

They are said to create a high frequency sound that the animals can hear before you get too close. Once alerted to you, they don't get spooked  and either stay where they are or head away from the road. They are inexpensive. The last set I bought was about $5.00, although some are prices around $15.00, and are basically teh exact same things. I had a set fitted to my car and noticed that roos would look up and watch me coming with  look of disinterest and stay put.

 

The only problems with the devices are that they are attached with double-sided tape which can let go, or they get broken off when you wash your car. 

[Old Koreelah]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-17/blind-low-vision-community-call-electric-vehicle-noise-emitters/102318344

[facthunter]

They are most risk near sundown and early morning. The grass is greener near the edge of a sealed road due water run off. Nev

[spacesailor]

GO RETRO !.

Get a ' bell ' on All none IC vehicles. 

Push bikes Need a Bigger bell, the ' small single ting ' , that belongs on a child tricycle is not good enough for the elderly,  or hearing impaired .

The old English emergency vehicles had a good loud bell .

spacesailor

[onetrack]

'Roos also come out after rain to drink from puddles in the bitumen. The problem with 'roos they can never decide which way to run. I've had 'roos bounce across in front of me, then spin around and hop back in front again. 'Roos can actually pivot 180 degrees in their hops quite rapidly.

 

I was quite amused by a little wallaby I spotted recently, he was about 300 metres ahead and tried hopping across the road st speed, in front of a car coming the other way. It had recently showered and the (sealed) road was wet.

He suddenly decided it was too late to cross (even though he was right in front of the oncoming car), so he tried doing a 180 degree pivot to go back. But the wet road caught him out, and he nearly went sprawling on the road! Didn't take him too long to regain his balance, and head back into the bush and safety!

 

The brother and his wife were driving along a Jarrah forest track in their 1970's Holden Statesman back in the early 1980's, and a huge 'roo came bounding flat-out through the scrub, heading straight at the car!

They crapped themselves, they thought the 'roo was going to run straight into the drivers door! But the big hopper just took a mighty leap, and cleared the roof of the car in a single bound, without touching it, and simply kept travelling on through the forest, on his chosen path! 

[Bruce Tuncks]

Once, I was coming back from Alice Springs with a glider in its trailer. We were stopped near Pimba for a monstrous loaded thing that spanned the two lanes and both the side areas. They ( the cops ) were blocking off about 20 km at a time for this thing. I had the bad luck of being first in the line but I did get to chat with the motorbike cop and I found that it REALLY hurts if you are on a motorbike and crash with an emu.

[nomadpete]

At 100kph, I have run over a hare. Not a pleasant experience, since I doubt that Suzuki did much suspension development with this in mind. Luckily my rubber regained contact with the tarmac without any damage to bike and self. Worst bump I ever went over!

[Marty_d]

2 hours ago, nomadpete said:

At 100kph, I have run over a hare. Not a pleasant experience, since I doubt that Suzuki did much suspension development with this in mind. Luckily my rubber regained contact with the tarmac without any damage to bike and self. Worst bump I ever went over!

I've done the same with a possum. VFR750 had pretty good suspension though. 

[facthunter]

My worst/ most amazing, experience was on a 1935 VL Harley . I pulled out to pass an old traytop truck and one of the HAY bails fell off it in front of me and being so close I decided to hit it square on as I couldn't avoid it. The Bike just jumped the Bail (about 6 ft diameter) and landed on the other side, gave a couple of little wiggles and carried on. It was on the Princes Highway coming towards Melbourne coming from the EAST. There was plenty of traffic there so I didn't even stop. No damage whatever happened to the Bike. or my trousers but I'm not anxious to repeat the experience.   Nev

[onetrack]

I knew a bloke who hit a black cow, square on, in the dead of night, at 110kmh on a 500c Honda. He killed the cow, and wrote the bike off - but he sailed straight over the top of the cow, landing on the road shoulder some 40-50 metres up - and he got away with just a broken wrist!! 

[rgmwa]

I hit an emu a few years ago at 100kph. It bounded out of the bush just in time to hit the left front side of the car, tore the wing mirror off and smashed the passenger side window resulting in a cloud of glass flying around my brother-in-law's head. As I slowed down I saw him heading back into the bush apparently none the worse apart from ruffled feathers and a few bruises. $3,000 worth of damage to the car according to the insurance company.

[Old Koreelah]

Riding to Broken Hill one year, I had to lean flat on the tank so I could see emu heads above from the miles of monotonous saltbush.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Gosh nev, you were very lucky....   I would hate to hit a hay bale, and especially not on a motorbike. Please don't try it again.

 

[facthunter]

I couldn't dodge it Bruce so thought hitting it straight on would work best. I didn't think it would ride over the bail cleanly as it did. and land flat rather than on the front wheel which it would have if I'd hit both brakes.   Nev

[facthunter]

On the Topic My eldest son had worked out the cost of fast charging  which is apparently at 60 Cents/ Kw hr at about the same  cost per 100 kms as his new V6 direct petrol injected Raptor.  Nev

[red750]

A chap at the men's shed today was telling us about a problem with some electric and hybrid cars.

 

When using regenerative braking rather than putting  your foot on the brake pedal, there is nothng to tell the car behind that you are slowing until yo come to a stop. Unless you lift you foot right off the accelerator, the brake lights don't come on.

 

Here is a long winded video ( 29 min) about this problem.

 

 

[facthunter]

IF the following car is modern, it will keep  a safe distance automatically. I'm not convinced you couldn't easily rig up a brake light to respond to the regenerative braking or any retardation at all.  Nev

[onetrack]

A speed reduction or deceleration sensor tied into the brake light system, is all that's needed. They use deceleration sensors for ABS, but I don't know how sensitive they are.

The greatest danger lies in the car in front indulging in gradual deceleration, while the car behind is still accelerating. Of course, a lack of attention by the driver is behind most crashes.

I hate it when lights turn green and cars race off - then someone up front immediately hangs on the brakes to turn into a driveway - while every car behind you is still gunning it.

 

I had a bloke in an EH Holden run up the back of my HJ Sandman ute many years ago in that precise scenario. Fortunately, a good solid towbar took 98% of the impact, only the tailgate ended up with a buckle in it. The EH front end was destroyed.

Got to give it to the scumbag driving the EH, he was instantly ready with a false name and address, that turned out to be a vacant block!! He almost certainly had no drivers licence. Insurance covered the damage, I just left the false driver information with the police.

 

Interestingly, if a driver gives you a false name and address, they can't be charged with an offence - but if they give a false name and address to a police officer, that's a chargeable offence.

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by onetrack

[facthunter]

Can't you make a "citizens Arrest" in Cactus County?.  Nev

[onetrack]

Yes, we can. But I had no idea he was a crim, a liar and a scumbag until I got suspicious later that day and checked the address, which wasn't all that far away. Of course, I failed to ask to sight his licence, a major oversight. In those days we could check up on car number plate details, and I found his cars registered address was C/- Shell Roadhouse in Karratha - and the collision was in central Perth.

[nomadpete]

Electric vehicles look simpler under the bonnet.

 

[facthunter]

Let's not perpetuate a  known fake. The top image is of a pile of junk.  Nev

[spacesailor]

The bottom  image has a " coal fired " , powe-station to get jt moving. 

spacesailor

[facthunter]

Not Necessarily. It would not KNOW or differentiate where the Power came from.  Nev

[spacesailor]

We are Not in a " Nuclear power-station " country.

No solar-panels on my neighbours roof ! .charging his Tesla m3 from the grid .

their next car is on order.  Another  4X4 ICE CAR ..

spacesailor