Roo on The Road – Sponsored by Goodyear
This post is sponsored by Nuffnang and Goodyear.
This is not the post I was going to write for this sponsored opportunity.
I had a totally different topic in mind, but the day after getting new Goodyear Assurance TripleMax tyres and reading about how they reduce fuel costs and increase safety in wet weather… well, fate stepped in and the post kind of wrote itself.
Read on and you’ll see why…
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It was almost dark and it had started to rain as we headed home.
The kids were tired after swimming and they were talking and singing and fighting all at once. I was tired too and glad to be heading home so I could shove some food into them and throw them all into bed with the hope of a little peace and quiet.
As usual, I was trying to ignore the mayhem in the back and concentrate on driving in the wet, dark conditions. I had heard one too many tales about encounters between cars and roos around here of late, so I was checking the sides of the road for movement as we went.
We turned the corner and headed down the last stretch of road before home. It was really raining now, and as we passed a car going in the other direction I flipped my lights back to high beam and there it was… right in the middle of the road… an enormous kangaroo.
I jammed on the brakes and as we came to a sudden, slightly skidding, halt the line from the Goodyear website that I had read only hours before flashed into my mind – ‘significantly increasing grip and shortening braking distances’ – and I silently thanked the Blogging Gods for sending me a set of brand new Goodyear Assurance TripleMax tyres.
The kids yelled, I think someone burst into tears, and there we sat, stationary in the middle of the road with the massive kangaroo just standing there, scratching his belly.
And when I say ‘massive’, I really mean massive.
He was as tall as the Tarago, really he was… and he just stood there, eyeballing me, as the windscreen wipers flopped back and forth.
I sat there too, stunned.
This was not what I had expected when I had been looking for roos on the road!
“What is it mum?” one of the girls asked…
“It’s a kangaroo” I replied trying to keep my cool. It didn’t work, all hell broke loose in the back…
“Why doesn’t it move?”
“Is it dead?”
“Did you run it over?”
“Did you kill it? You killed it didn’t you!” wailed the animal lovers in the back row.
“We kill it! Kill it! Kill it!” said the three year who currently has an unnatural obsession with all things dead and dying.
“We killed a rooo… We killed a rooo” sang Morgan just enough times to make his sisters lose their minds.
“You have to check if it has a joey” they demanded.
“It’s not bloody dead!” I hissed.
“I didn’t hit it, and it certainly doesn’t have a joey because it doesn’t have a pouch.” I yelled to the back of the car.
“How do you know? How do you know it is not dead and that it doesn’t have a pouch?”
Of course Morgan was only too happy to explain that one “It doesn’t have a pouch because look, it has a huge…”
“Ok… enough!” I screeched. “It’s not dead ok. Look, it’s moving.”
Everyone stopped and stared as the kangaroo twitched his ears.
“Why is it just standing there?” Zoe asked, curiosity getting the better of her hysteria.
“I don’t know…” I said.
“Can we get out and pat it?”
“Yeah, can we??”
“No!” I cried, realising in that moment that I had failed as a parent since my kids were clearly insane if they wanted to get out of the car, in the rain, and the dark, to pat an enormous kangaroo that obviously wanted to tear us limb from limb.,
I edged the car forward a little. The gigantic roo twitched his ears again and turned his head, but didn’t move.
I tooted my horn. He bent down and for a moment I thought he might move on, but then he stopped, still in the middle of the road, and turned to face me again. I am sure there was hunger in his eyes.
I edged forward again, to a growing chorus of “Don’t run it over! Mum! Don’t kill it!” from the back seat.
I am not sure if it was my approach or the hysterical shrieking from the four kids that finally made the kangaroo decide to give up on the idea of fresh human meat and get the hell out of there, but he scratched his belly one more time, like Skippy on steroids, looked me dead in the eye to make sure I was really freaked out, then hopped off into the darkness.
Adrenaline pumped fiercely through the entire car as we made it the last few hundred metres home without further incident, but that peace and quiet I was hoping for was long gone.
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Living on a rural property, we spend a lot of time in the car. We drive everywhere, in all kinds of conditions, on all kinds of roads, usually with all four kids in the back of the Big White Bus. So it’s nice to know that the Goodyear Assurance TripleMax tyres that were popped onto The Big White Bus the other day can cope with all those conditions and keep us all safe.
The fancy new tyres have ‘HYDROGRIP Technology.®’ I don’t really know what that means but it allows drivers to reduce braking distances by more than 2 meters on wet roads… and that means that we didn’t slam straight into a massive killer kangaroo and do us, and the roo, a lot of damage.
We drive a lot of long distances so it is a big plus that the tyres are also designed to last longer and increase fuel savings. Goodyear also share lots of useful money saving tips such as driving slower, checking your tyre pressure monthly and buying tyres with a lower ‘rolling resistance’ like the Assurance Triplemax tyres. Anything that saves us some money in the long run is a good thing.
Goodyear Australia will donate $1 for every Goodyear Assurance TripleMax tyre sold by Beaurepaires and Goodyear Autocare stores during 2013 to Life’s Little Treasures Foundation, a charity which helps families of children born sick or premature. Our twins spent ten weeks in hospital after they were born premature so this is a charity I am happy to support.
So just in case you come across any enormous killer roos while you are driving, or even if you are just out and about in town on wet roads, check out the Goodyear website to find out more about Goodyear Assurance TripleMax tyres.
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Have you ever encountered a giant man eating Kangaroo while out driving? No? Well have you had any other close calls and narrowly avoided a car accident?
{No, I didn’t stop to take a photo that night, I am not that dedicated to my blog! The photo at the top of the post is adapted from this one by Chris_Samuel’s, the other photo is a picture of one of my actual, dirty but new, tyres.}
Wow – isn’t it great when the universe intervenes – and in this case, used Goodyear and the opportunity it has afforded you!
It really was almost freaky… my karma must have been on the good side that day!
Oh my goodness Kate!!! Killer roos – – – and your kids! Lol. Only parents would understand. I’m so glad to hear your are all safe. My friends ran over a huge wombat (poor thing) on their way back from the snow. There was a significant bump. I can’t imagine potential damage a huge male Kangaroo would cause. Thank you for the reminder to have our cars in tip top working order, tyres included. We had an extremely close call once. I had all four kids and between two huge trucks. I wanted to change lanes so sped up. Little did I realise the truck in front of me had stopped suddenly. I had to slam those brakes on so hard the ABS was set off. We were 10cms from impact and I looked nervously behind me as the truck behind me stopped and didn’t hit me. My heart still races thinking about it. The kids thought the ABS was fun. Kids….
Ah yes, only another parent could imagine the crazy conversation going on in my car that night! LOL
Oooh trucks scare me when I am driving on the freeway… so glad you had ABS and were on the ball!!!
Man I am always terrified of hitting a roo. Your encounter sounds WAY too close for my liking!
I’d like to chuck in my two cents here and say that tyres are a huge pollution issue, so you should always buy the best-quality you can afford. The longer-lasting the better!
I had never thought about the pollution issue, that’s a really good point!
I did get to take all four of my old tyres home to make swings though, so I feel good that at least they are not going into landfill. I wonder how else you could reuse/recycle tyres?
Good on you for recycling your own tyres, can’t wait to see them in action!
I visited my favourite website, http://recyclingnearyou.com.au and learned that 48 million tyres reach their end of life per year. And there is around 1.5kg of reusable steel in each tyre – who knew?
Anyway, the advice is this: first, make sure the place you’re getting new tyres from has a recycling policy. If they don’t, you can visit the Planet Ark website I mentioned above, type in your postcode, select “tyres” and find out the nearest place that will take them off your hands.
Hope this helps!
I would have been absolutely shaking! I’m glad you are all safe. I can’t say it’s happened to me nor an accident (touch wood). Having safe tyres is the most important thing, I knew someone years ago who lost their life in an accident where the tyres were not safe.
Oh how sad Eva!
I have to confess that I leave most of the car things up to my husband, though I do know how to check my tyre pressure and I can change a flat if I can get the darn bolts undone!
Kangaroos are scary! My heart was in my throat as I read your story. I’m glad you can look back at this experience and giggle at the conversation that went on in the back of the car- thank goodness for the tyres!
What a wonderful charity too. I’m always happy to support families with sick newborns- will remember these tyres when I need a new set.
I am totally petrified about hitting a roo considering where we live and drive… we have really been so lucky!
And yes, a great charity to support, and as you and I know, dealing with a baby in hospital is so incredibly stressful and not something most people ever think they will have to face :)
Great story! I’m always on the lookout for roos when I drive to my brother’s place in the country. It never really occurred to me that the type of tyre we use could impact braking distance etc. I always thought as long as they were in good condition they’d be good enough. Definitely going to talk to hubby about what tyres we have and look into upgrading. Thanks for posting :)
I’ve been in a few minor accidents during my life, luckily none with the kids, but I’m very slack about keeping our car up to date. I don’t know why because I have known people who have died in accidents… so I really want to work on that more, it would be such a shame to have an injury (or death) that was preventable :-( Thanks for reminding me to take the time to check if our tires are safe… and I will definitely look into Goodyear because I absolutely support companies donating to charity. Thanks for sharing.
I am usually pretty slack about it too… but thankfully my husband is into that stuff so I leave it to him. And on this occasion karma was on my side! LOL
My hubby is usually in charge of this kind of practical stuff too. But he grew up in Papua New Guinea, learning to just happy to have any car to ride in (or any food to eat, regardless of nutritional value), so it’s my job to do any sort of quality control ;-)
We regularly go and visit my husbands family in a very remote part of country NSW and we are always on ‘kangaroo watch’. They are so incredibly unpredictable and so too are the rabbits and hares that dart and weave on and off the dirt roads we travel on. It’s very scary and I’m glad you and your children are okay.
The other week I had a close call with a ‘crazy’ driver as I was traveling through the city. It’s so great to know about these tyres because the features would be great on urban and rural roads. I’m due to upgrade my tyres and so I’ll be looking to have these fitted. Thanks so much.
This sounds like something that would happen to us! I couldn’t help but laugh at your kids reactions. Thank goodness everyone was OK and for the new tyres!
Oh my gosh! I’m so glad you are all safe, but sorry, living in California, I’d be so excited to find a creature we usually only see at the zoo standing right in front of us! I’d want to get out and pet it too! They’d kill you? I had no idea. Great tip :-) You just saved a life.
Oh no… LOL Roos are not really dangerous in and of themselves, it was just my over active imagination and this one was kinda huge!
They do do a lot of damage when they get hit by cars though and can cause terrible accidents on country roads here.
What a tale to tell and you tell it so well! You made me laugh, especially the bit about the pouch (or not pouch). You’ve made me realise I really need to get my tyres seen to and if these things work that well then I’ll definitely be checking them out.
Wow one of those close-call moments that forces you to count your blessings – I’ve had a few of those lately! When we’ve visited country areas I’ve been completely paranoid after being warned about roos at dusk and also after seeing all the dead ones along the side of the road during daylight hours. They are always so much harder to spot on those dark windy roads with no street lights too, sounds like your tyres and quick reflexes really saved the day.
The thing that scares me most is that they are out when it is totally dark and you just don’t see them till they are right there hopping along side you… freaks me out! LOL We really were so lucky.
When I was a child we had the wonderful opportunity to travel south each school holidays to stay in a family holiday home. I always remember each arm of my extended family reminding each other to be careful of the roos and to avoid travelling at dusk. I also still vividly remember the time my uncle did in fact hit a huge roo. His injuries were thankfully easily healed but his car was a mess! I don’t blame you for feeling afraid!
It’s one of those ‘not so great’ things about living in the country!
I’m glad you’re safe and glad the massive man-eating roo is safe. he he he. I’d be happy I had good quality tyres on too!
You have pretty smart kiddies Kate. Pouch, checking for a joey.. Well done!
You and my kids would definitely get along… my girls especially would adore you!
We just got new tyres (not those ones as I apparently destroy tyres and don’t deserve good ones), however I like the idea of fuel saving. That sounds like it was scary. I can’t believe you didn’t reach for your phone to get a photo (not that it would have worked that well in the rain I am sure). Pleased to hear noone was hurt.
There was no way I was getting out of the car to take a photo in the darkness! That Roo had killer instinct I’m sure of it! LOL
Oh gosh! We have soooo many roos where we are and after ready your story I suddenly feel like getting new tires!
So do we. It’s all the rain and grass I think as some of the mobs we see in the paddocks while driving around are huge right now!
thanks for the laugh!! I could picture the hysteria in your car haha…we also live on acreage and have lots of kanagroos around our house..we have had a few near misses but thankfully never actually hit one.
I can’t believe you all almost just died from an enormous, family-eating kangaroo! Nasty beasts; they look so sweet at the zoo. Another interesting thing I just learned that I didn’t know is that you spell them ‘tyres’. I knew about the ‘colours’ and ‘realise’ sort of stuff, but ‘tyres’ made me giggle like an idiot. I like it.
Even I think that ‘tyres’ makes no sense compared to ‘tires’… but favoUrite on the other hand… that makes total sense, of course! LOL
Talk about divine intervention! Eeek! What a coincidence you had the new tyres!! Amazing! I could picture so vividly what you must have experienced too because it’s similar on the roads here…. although we’ve only seen wallabies and small kangaroos, it’s the wombats we have to worry about! These tyres definitely sound beneficial! Such great technology/advancements these days… even tyres are clever!
It wasn’t a kangaroo, it was a Propleopus oscillans XD
Glad you’re all okay :)
Whatever it was it was huge and scary!! LOL