Never hurts to take that insurance add on before you drive your rental car away.. especially if you are planning on visiting a place like Yellowstone National Park.
Somewhere around 5,000 bison call Yellowstone National Park home, and with most of them traveling in herds, encountering a large group like this isn’t out of the ordinary. However, having that knowledge doesn’t make a close encounter with 40 or so charging bison (that results in car damage) any easier to fathom.
North America’s largest land animals are pretty intimidating on their own, but when they are parading across a roadway like they are in this video, they really can put the “fear of God” in someone. As you’ll hear when you press play on the footage below, those within the car were both excited and slightly concerned watching the herd quickly cover ground and approach their parked vehicle.
Fully grown bison can weigh over 2,000 pounds, and though that might make you think they’re slower, they can still kick it into gear when they need to. The massive beasts can reach top speeds as fast as 30 miles per hour, and it looks like they were going every bit of that speed in this clip below. Fortunately, it seemed as though everyone inside the car ended up being safe and sound – but the same can’t be said for the rental vehicle they were in.
Though many of the bison were cutting it close with the car, almost all of them were able to avoid making contact with the big hunk of metal parked right in the middle of their path. One bison got especially close, and that really got the attention of those inside the car. In fact, it ended up acting as somewhat of a distraction, because seconds after it rumbled past without making contact, another bison following closely behind brought the hurt on the vehicle like it was a middle linebacker bringing pressure.
One person can be heard providing this commentary just after the bison collided with the front right side of the car:
“Holy sh*t. We just got smoked. Oh man, there goes some money. Thanks for not taking the insurance. Yikes.”
Not sure who he was thanking for not taking the insurance. Could have been himself… could have been his wife. I guess he could have even sarcastically been directing that at the bison? All I do know is that this video might be eye-opening for some that are planning a trip to Yellowstone this summer. This right here could be a makeshift public service announcement for those visiting the “Great Outdoors” with the family.
As the caption of the post pointed out:
“Not a Touron video, but a good reason to make sure you have decent car insurance or windshield coverage while in Yellowstone. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Obviously, that right there is a scary situation. However, it’s also a great visual representation of why you should stay inside your car and give wild animals the proper amount of space. It’s better the car take the brute force of the bison’s horns than yourself, or your pet pit bull.
Most social media users that came across the video above were just as worried about the insurance situation as anything else:
“What a story to tell when you call the insurance company!”
“Always take the rental insurance.”
“Is being hit by a bison considered as a collision or an ‘act of God?'”
“A literal hit and run.”
“I commend these people for NOT being Tourons of National Parks.”
Good point. I wouldn’t put it past some people to try to get out of the car to witness this bison herd in this situation. At least they all kept their hands, feet, and entire bodies inside the vehicle as the beasts came sprinting by, and one left them with a souvenir in the form of a car repair payment…
