ASK ARB –
kangaroo strike

Dear ARB,

I drive a Ford Ranger PJ and recently had a deluxe bar fitted in Darwin. When driving the 300km back home to Katherine the same day, I hit a kangaroo taller than the bull bar. At the time I was travelling at 120km/h on a road (130km zone) which dropped off at either side, and had no time to brake when it came from the right. It hit the right side pillar of the bar. The roo was unrecognisable down the hillside, but after a thorough inspection, I found NO DAMAGE whatsoever to my car, its performance or the bar! I would like to thank the team at ARB Darwin for their fantastic work and service, and I don’t like to think of where I’d be that day, on that hill, if I didn’t have a beaut bull bar.

Cheers,
Phoebe

Hi Phoebe,

Thanks for writing to us. Although it must have been quite an unpleasant experience for you, it’s a relief that you had a bull bar fitted to your vehicle at the time. It seems you were pretty lucky that your collision occurred on the way back from ARB Darwin, and not on the way there!

These kinds of stories really demonstrate the importance of products like bull bars, and highlight the reasons behind why they were developed in the first place. While no one likes to hear about stories of animals being injured or killed as a result of a motor vehicle, it is a matter of fact that we share the country, and therefore the roads, with these creatures. If you regularly spend time driving on Outback or country roads, it’s a fact that you have to be aware of.

An animal such as a kangaroo, wombat or even the smaller critters can seemingly come from nowhere and incur major vehicle and/or personal injury. Even in situations where the animal is not hit, accidents can still occur as vehicles swerve out of the way or brake hard to stop. I think most people would agree that the peace of mind in having a bull bar fitted to your vehicle, whilst travelling in such conditions, is money well spent. It’s good to hear that you and your vehicle were fine following the collision, even if the roo did not fare so well.

Debbie Kaye
(Editor)