Turkey Dodge

[jhorton3]

I went out Sunday for a nice drive along my test route. Top down and it wasn't too hot today. Driving along at about 40 mph when I came into a curve and there standing in the road was a wild turkey. It was eye level with my headlights, and I didn't fancy having turkey for supper this evening. When I started to go around on the left side it started running at me! It must have had a pre-Thanksgiving death wish.

A hard left swerve dodged the bird just in time. I made a hard right back into my lane as a car was coming into the lane. I didn't feel like I'd lost control of the car, but the experience revealed just how sloppy my suspension is. That's the most aggressive move I've made yet in the car.

So next week I'll be clearing out for more room in the garage to tackle the suspension rebuild.

 

[aeronca65t]

Glad you wre OK.
Those things can really do damage.

Two years ago, in a 4-Hour race at Summit Point (that I was in) another car (a Spec-Miata) hit a wild turkey on the main straight.
The Mazda was doing ~115 mph.
The bird blew right through the windshield (luckily, passenger side) and *filled* the inside of the car with feathers and turkey guts (Spec-Miatas all have hardtops).
They cleaned most of the car out and removed the remains of the windshield (and the turkey) and finished.

Summit Pt. is very rural so this is not surprising....we had a cow wander on the track the year before.

 

[DrEntropy]

In the early days of Nelson's Ledges cows were a regular "diversion". :shocked:

 

[jhorton3]

If I'd been in my Jeep Wrangler instead of Midgie that bird's goose would've been cooked.

I can picture what that would look like coming through the windshield. One day following behind a chicken truck in my 124 Fiat Spyder a chicken fell off the truck hit the top frame of my windshield and landed in the back seat. That wasn't a pretty site, and I gave chicken trucks plenty of space from then out out.