New Lizard found..(spiky lizard)

[fatfrog]

This is an interesting post good one blindsnake

 

[jessb]

I didn't even know people deliberately ran over animals.. what the hell is wrong with people?

That was actually my first thought too - what kind of a sicko does that?

As much as the theory behind it is valid - prevent people deliberately killing wildlife - if you actually got caught you could be up for prosecution, especially if it resulted in a fatal accident. And judging by the initial comments of most people in this thread, I doubt all the spiky lizards would be responsibly placed on the side of the road...

I have always had it drummed into me - don't swerve to avoid animals on the road. As awful as it might be to hit a possum at night, when you are travelling at 90km/hr and you swerve suddenly, you should be primarily concerned about the safety of yourself, the passengers in your car and the oncoming traffic.

 

[cris]

I would have hit it for sure, it looks like a feral to me.

 

[fatfrog]

That was actually my first thought too - what kind of a sicko does that?

As much as the theory behind it is valid - prevent people deliberately killing wildlife - if you actually got caught you could be up for prosecution, especially if it resulted in a fatal accident. And judging by the initial comments of most people in this thread, I doubt all the spiky lizards would be responsibly placed on the side of the road...

I have always had it drummed into me - don't swerve to avoid animals on the road. As awful as it might be to hit a possum at night, when you are travelling at 90km/hr and you swerve suddenly, you should be primarily concerned about the safety of yourself, the passengers in your car and the oncoming traffic.

Where not all going to go around puting spiky lizerds everywhere its just a joke and where not talking about people that hit wildlife by mistake where talking about the ones that like killing animals that go out of there way to hit them

 

[Kirby]

Modern tyres don't tend to explode or fail catastrophically with a nail puncture. Most of the time they do not even go flat and certainly not straight away. I cannot imagine any more danger from running over a live lizard than over a plastic one albeit one with nails poking out of it.

finally some sense. 2" bolts barely effect a 4wd. lolololol

 

[Danni]

I would just like to add that the person that probably layed the trap may not have thought he/she may have caused a serious accident, i think their intentions were to teach the drivers who go out of their way to hit an animal a lesson.
I think most members like myself wouldnt care so much if the driver received a punctured tyre, and i would probably lay a few traps myself if i was guaranteed that a punctured tyre is all they will get, however there is a chance that something serious could happen, and i wouldnt be able to live with myself if it did.

Its a shame that people feel the need to go out of their way to hit an animal, reptiles seem to be a favourite target and i put it down to folks being uneducated regarding snakes etc (look at how many pythons are being killed because people think they are vens).

anyways my point is, its a shame there is no "safe" way to stop these drivers from purposely hitting these poor animals.

 

[Jay84]

Driving to the beach today there was a squashed bluetongue, CLEARLY done purposely. Last week i went to the same beach and on the same road i picked up one that had been hit but was still alive.

i understand why someone would do this with the nails in a fake lizard. it infuriates me how ppl can be so callous to intentionally swerve to HIT an animal. If the perpetrator got injured by this 'prank' i couldnt care less. But, its the others on the road who could be inadvertently injured or killed. for this reason i dont agree with it.

 

[LauraM]

I would have hit it for sure, it looks like a feral to me.

....

 

[redbellybite]

My husband and myself witnessed a bunch of REDNECKS go out of their way to hit a redbelly ...they were on the same side as us , we saw the rbb as we were driving past , I was admiring its beauty ( and thinking hurry up and get off the road ,but as it was on the other side and no traffic THOUGHT IT WOULD BE SAFE)then these tosspots drove on the otherside of the road AND KILLED IT ..........I was so fricken mad , I made my husband slow down ,which made there car slow down after the incident and I let them have it ...their comeback was you guessed it ...AHHH ITS ONLY A F"ING SNAKE !only good one is a dead one and they drove off ....if I had a lizard full of spikes I WOULDVE BELTED IT AROUND HIS HEAD!....

 

[malika]

So what about those people who are allowed to use the emergency lane or side of the road to get to an emergency situation like ambulances, police, firefighters emergency services?

How the #%^* are they to swerve to miss a critter on the side of the road if we have traffic bank up in the normal lanes (ie in the case of a traffic accident)? If I am in the back of an ambulance heaven forbid dying or trying to rescue a life I would be livid if I was unable to get to the scene of accident or be able to take patients to the hospital due to some thoughtless idiot puncturing my tyers with a toy snake or lizard full of nails.

People you really need to think this through. You may be 'trying to save critters lives' but you may also potentially be putting your own life and others at risk.

 

[fatfrog]

....if I had a lizard full of spikes I WOULDVE BELTED IT AROUND HIS HEAD!....

:lol::lol: well thats a good way too :lol::lol:

 

[megrim]

:lol::lol: well thats a good way too :lol::lol:

I agree, at least that way no-one innocent has any chance of being hindered or injured! ^_^

 

[BlindSnake]

Its been interesting to hear everyones views on the story..

We can only hope that the publicity around the spikey lizard will have some effect on locals who think it is fun to squash reptiles.

If the story could be made bigger, by having a few more "found" (and reported) around the country, it might have a more signifigant impact.

It would be awesome if "the spikey reptile" could reach the status of an urban myth...

 

[wiz-fiz]

thanks for the idea!


Will

 

[Rocky]

I have always had it drummed into me - don't swerve to avoid animals on the road. As awful as it might be to hit a possum at night, when you are travelling at 90km/hr and you swerve suddenly, you should be primarily concerned about the safety of yourself, the passengers in your car and the oncoming traffic.

Agreed, I have always been told not to swerve for an animal in most situations. Still, given the situation, reflexes take control. Just not worth risking your life, and others in the car for an animal.

 

[ShnakeyGirl]

Agreed, I have always been told not to swerve for an animal in most situations. Still, given the situation, reflexes take control. Just not worth risking your life, and others in the car for an animal.

The last person I knew that didn't swerve for an animal died because it was a horse.

 

[jessb]

The last person I knew that didn't swerve for an animal died because it was a horse.

Yep, I see your point, there is a diff btw a horse and a bandicoot though...

 

[ReptilianGuy]

Yep, I see your point, there is a diff btw a horse and a bandicoot though...

yeah a fatal 1... thats why cats an rabbits an indian minors an pigeons an toads and whatever feral animal that wont damage my car.... is the only thing i wont swerve to miss, but swerve to hit,,,, well yeah
the only time i collect with a native is if it's unavoidable or to avoid injuring anyone else in an unfavourable road condition.

 

[HoffOff]

I hate seeing people swerve to kill wildlife as much as the next red blooded Aussie..
But i don't think this is a good idea at all.

Agreed.

 

[Squish]

There are plenty of perfectly valid reasons for people to need to pull over, including answering phones. Frankly, I don't like how this site jumps to conclusions; it's quite probable this guy *was* answering his phone, and he's lucky it didn't cost him much. Considering how little damage he took, i think there's a good chance he *was* pulling over to answer his phone, as he'd've been going faster over the spikes if he'd swerved. whether there's a what-if for killing people or not, that's deliberately damaging other people's cars and you can't guarantee you're getting the people you intend.

As for not avoiding the reptile, native animals are designed to camouflage. Sometimes it's hard to see a dirt-coloured lizard on a dirt road. sometimes a lizard might look like a piece of bark. sometimes someone might be distracted by, say, a mobile phone (hence pulling over), and not see something really small on the side of the road. or how many animals are nocturnal? a lot of people pull over more at night, but how're they meant to see your pranks? how many frogs are more likely to come out in the rain when visibility is bad? Reptiles are small, ne? I think this is stupid and dangerous and just as likely to harm innocent people as 'deliberate' swervers.

Yep, I see your point, there is a diff btw a horse and a bandicoot though...

Kangaroos can be fatal going through windscreens, too. But legally, sometime like a cat or reptile, you're meant to hit the animal because swerving is dangerous.