Brake For Moose - It Could Save Your Life!

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Another good alert for the lakes region or any region.

NH Fish and Game Department

Wildlife officials from N.H. Fish and Game remind motorists to take extra care while traveling Granite State roadways at this time of year, because moose are on the move looking for mates. Kristine Bontaites, moose project leader for the Fish and Game Department, says that drivers should be prepared to see and react quickly to moose on or near the road. (In the spring, when yearling moose are out on their own for the first time, even more moose are seen.)

Bontaites urges drivers to slow down and stay alert -- "and not just at 'moose crossing' signs!"

To avoid a moose collision:

* Drive below the speed limit -- especially at dusk and
dawn and especially in moose-heavy areas;

* Use high beams when possible;

* Be able to stop within the zone of your headlights;

* Scan the sides of the roads as you drive.

More than 200 moose are struck by vehicles each year, according to biologists and law enforcement authorities. New Hampshire has an estimated population of 5,000 to 6,000 moose.

To spread the word about sharing the roads with moose, Fish and Game launched "Brake for Moose," an award-winning campaign that includes the popular yellow bumper sticker and highway signs. The message is now more than a decade old, but as pertinent as ever on New Hampshire's roads:

Brake for Moose, It Could Save Your Life!

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state's fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit NH Fish and Game Department

Kristine Bontaites: (603) 744-5470
Liza Poinier: (603) 271-3211

[madrasahs]

Also wear seat belts. The other night in Franconia, the outcome was very different for two different vehicles.

One moose hit -- two accidents:

http://www.theunionleader.com/articl...?article=45222

[madrasahs]

Police Chief Christopher Warn said the I-93 multiple-vehicle accident occurred around 10:20 a.m. just south of Exit 28 in the southbound lane when the...

http://www4.citizen.com/October_2004...n_1015_04b.asp

Those dern moose!

[Skipper of the Sea Que]

Great reminder and info RG

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

Another good alert for the lakes region or any region.

Wildlife officials from N.H. Fish and Game remind motorists to take extra care while traveling Granite State roadways at this time of year, because moose are on the move looking for mates. Kristine Bontaites, moose project leader for the Fish and Game Department, says that drivers should be prepared to see and react quickly to moose on or near the road. (In the spring, when yearling moose are out on their own for the first time, even more moose are seen.)

Bontaites urges drivers to slow down and stay alert -- "and not just at 'moose crossing' signs!"

To avoid a moose collision:...

Remember: Watch for moose on land and water. Moose swim. The Marine Patrol does not ticket moose for failure to display running lights after dark .
Boaters, watch out for swimming moose, particularly at night. Keep that in the back of your mind for next boating season. The alert RG posted can apply to the water as well as the road.

While on the Moose topic. Several years ago I drove from the Lake up to the VT NY Canada intersection. I noticed a sign, "Moose Crossing next Mile". I thought nothing of it until several miles later when I saw another sign that read, "Moose Crossing next 5,000 feet". I continued to see signs with both wordings and then I began to wonder how the Moose could tell the difference between 5,000 feet and 1 mile (or how the highway dept decided which wording to use and where...). Wonder who they think tells the moose where the crossing zone is?

[SAMIAM]

Skipper.you raise a good question.....some moose may be inattentave and not read the signs....others may just ignore them.
I'm so thankful for those "Brake for Moose" signs......I never would have even thought to hit the brakes if I saw a moose in the road....Until now I thought you were supposed to drive right into them.learn something new every day.

[upthesaukee]

With my luck I will be "Watching for Falling Rock" and hit the dog gone Moose!!!!!!

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

With my luck I will be "Watching for Falling Rock" and hit the dog gone Moose!!!!!!

That's not lucky. Lucky is when the falling rock hits the moose before he crosses the road.

Keying off Al's comments above : What happens if a moose crosses in a marked deer crossing zone ? Does he get a ticket from F&G ??

[BroadHopper]

A moose crossed 104 after the Meridith line around 4 PM Saturday. I had to hit the brakes as a Conn. car decides to make a quick stop to ogle the display! Cars behind me were doing likewise.
It's not the moose you have to watch out for. It's the tourists!

[Lin]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Skipper.you raise a good question.....some moose may be inattentave and not read the signs....others may just ignore them.
I'm so thankful for those "Brake for Moose" signs......I never would have even thought to hit the brakes if I saw a moose in the road....Until now I thought you were supposed to drive right into them.learn something new every day.

I'm sure your'e joking but you know there are some drivers that do just that. I bet that at least 6 cars were stopped in the middle of the road while a herd (10 or more) of whitetails crossed Rte 3a last year. We watched incredulously as some insane driver no less in a small convertable, pulled around all the cars blowing the horn and blasting through. Now I ride horses along the road side and I'm usually looking down on the rooftops as cars speed by. It only takes a second and I don't care if it's a moose, whitetail or a horse. You hit it and it'll come down on your windshield. If'n that driver had hit one of those deer at the speed he was going that deer would have been sitting in his lap and it probably would'nt have been a good scene and worse could have injured or killed others nearby.

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by Lin

{snip} It only takes a second and I don't care if it's a moose, whitetail or a horse. You hit it and it'll come down on your windshield. If'n that driver had hit one of those deer at the speed he was going that deer would have been sitting in his lap and it probably would'nt have been a good scene and worse could have injured or killed others nearby.

I'd be more concerned about a deer strike than a moose strike. As you point out the deer will come right up your hood and possibly through your windshield. With an adult moose (in a car at least) there's a good chance you'll cut it's legs out from under the animal and pass mostly by it before it comes down on you. When I happened upon such a collision on Rt25 some years ago, the VW rabbit just about made it under the moose. It was hit only on the rear quarter section of the roof, blowing out the side & back/hatch windows. People were unhurt but the poor moose had at least 1 broken leg.

[madrasahs]

You don't want either in your windshield:

[upthesaukee]

this is also the time of year where we have to be cautious of wet leaves on the road way. they can be as slippery as ice, especially on a curve or in a hard braking situation. Extra caution all around.

[Skipper of the Sea Que]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

......I never would have even thought to hit the brakes if I saw a moose in the road....Until now I thought you were supposed to drive right into them. learn something new every day.

Exactly! And the law mandates that we Yield to People in crosswalks. Does that mean we need not yield to people outside of the crosswalks? Why not Brake for Pedestrians instead of Yield to them? Why not yield for moose? Why the difference?

These few signs are from the Weirs area. I wonder what other options are logical or applicable...

note the sign on the right shows the crosswalk as an international symbol rather than with the word. That sign was in front of the Naswa and looks like it's been hit a few times by non-yielding vehicles. Maybe we need a "Don't hit the Sign" sign


We've read the stories about drivers braking for moose and causing auto accidents. Would those accidents have happened if drivers yielded rather than stopped their cars?

I think this is another item for our government to investigate. Maybe a 1.5 million dollar study over the next few years ought to get a nice 500 page report on this topic . Then they can make a whole new batch of expensive signs and we'll all know what to do (except for the illiterate moose and deer). Yield, Stop, Drive, Cross and etc.. What would we do without those signs?

[madrasahs]

"The parent company, Geneticas Life Sciences, has a division called Genetiate which proposes adding jellyfish genes to deer so their hair and skins fluoresce when illuminated by car headlights.

"The sight of glowing green deer would bring drivers to a screeching halt, avoiding accidents."

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996594

(Third story down)

[csuhockey3]

Blast! To think I could have been a Frankendeer for halloween! Oh well, there's always next year.

update: Forgot to mention they have already done this with fish . I have seen them in person -- pretty neat!

[Joe Kerr]

Originally Posted by madrasahs

...[snip] "The sight of glowing green deer would bring drivers to a screeching halt, avoiding accidents."

Green glowing deer are OK as long as they don't claim to be temporary replacements for a red glowing critter from the North Pole. These green deer are not aliens (are they?). Now that I think about it, green glowing deer might just send a few of my boating buddies to a rehab center for detox. Wonder how many years before we start seeing them.

Originally Posted by Skipper of the Sea Que

... [snip] Then they can make a whole new batch of expensive signs and we'll all know what to do (except for the illiterate moose and deer). Yield, Stop, Drive, Cross and etc.. What would we do without those signs?

There is a difference Skipper.

Yield to pedestrians in crosswalk means that you need only concern yourself with avoiding a pedestrian collision. They can be walking in another part of the crosswalk and you can still drive past. As long as you yield to them if they are close or ready to cross your path. If they are starting to walk in a crosswalk from the opposite side of the street and you have no collision course with the pedestrians then you can keep driving. The test is that you only need to yield when there is an option. That's the NH law.

Stop for pedestrians in crosswalk means you have to stop your vehicle no matter where the pedestrian is in the crosswalk. That'snot the NH law .

To think that some of you thought I was only a "jester" and had no depth

Maybe Skip can quote the appropriate RSAs. or has a different view. By the way, what happens at an intersection with traffic lights when pedestrians use the crosswalk against the light? We still need to yield to them in the crosswalk even though we have a green light, right? What if there is a NO WALK sign in synch with the traffic light and they still walk?

If people are on the sidewalk waiting to cross then they are not in the crosswalk and you need not stop or yield to them. As soon as they start to use the crosswalk you must yield to them. The power of the pedestrian. Maybe this is worth a multi million dollar government study, unless one or more have already been done .

FWIW (for what it's worth), I yield to almost anything, everybody (vehicularly speaking) and every vehicle around and on the lakes.

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by madrasahs

"The parent company, Geneticas Life Sciences, has a division called Genetiate which proposes adding jellyfish genes to deer so their hair and skins fluoresce when illuminated by car headlights.

"The sight of glowing green deer would bring drivers to a screeching halt, avoiding accidents."

Aaaah I can see it now. First the markers for the flourescing gene will also contain the gene expressing tenticles, glowing, stinging. Didn't these guys see Jurassic Park

Second the now glowing deer will step into the highway only to look at the oncoming car's headlights and think to itself (using it's tiny deer brain), "What kind of predator is that ? Should I freeze or run ??". The person behind the wheel will look down the road and see the deer's eyes plus the glowing tentacles and think (using his tiny human brain) "What the heck is that thing standing in the road ?" After puzzling that one for too long it'll then occur (too late) to the driver that perhaps some evasive action should have been taken. So deer ends up in front seat in driver's lap but now we have the added fun of stinging tenticles for everyone in the car. And there will be no short sleeve shirts for the rescue squad this summer ....