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Presumably this is similar here in the U.S.? In the 80's and 90's the fronts of our cars would get so encrusted with mashed bugs that it would take real scrubbi
by aklemm 9y ago
Presumably this is similar here in the U.S.? In the 80's and 90's the fronts of our cars would get so encrusted with mashed bugs that it would take real scrubbing to get them off. I haven't had to do that in many years.
- xattt 9y agoI have heard this before. I’m not a climate change denier. Could it have anything to do with more aerodynamic car designs?
- mshook 9y agoThat's a good question but from my experience it's not the case. I live in France and 20 to 30 years ago, after hours driving on highways, it was quite common to have your car plastered with bugs. Now it rarely happens. And with the last 2 cars I've had, I know it's not an aerodynamic issue because one of my hobbies is to do track days. I go to Michelin's wet track something like once a year and it's bugs' paradise: fields, grass all around and very humid because the track is wet so you can hydroplane easily. Bottom line is my car gets plastered there and we don't even drive that fast (something like 80/90 km/h or 50/55 mph).
- wiredfool 9y agoI've had similar experience with bikes on a roof rack, where there's not a significant change in aerodynamics over the time.
- lostapathy 9y agoI drive a jeep (basically a brick on wheels) and bugs are still awful.
- knowaveragejoe 9y agoBut were they as bad as they were?
- xattt 9y agoThe reason I asked this question was because I drive a Nissan Cube.
- memeographer 9y agoDo you see a lot of bugs?
- xattt 9y agoYes.
- vanattab 9y agoIf you really want that experience again you can go drive around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota in June. I had to stop at a gas station very 30 mins because I could literally not see through my wind shield.
- KGIII 9y agoJunebugs on your helmet visor. I don't understand people who ride without helmets. That's gotta hurt.
- 2trill2spill 9y agoReally? I was in the boundary waters in June and I certainly didn't have that problem driving. It wasn't until we were camping in the boundary waters that bugs became a problem.
- miketery 9y agoWow, I just realized I had a similar observation. I used to do multiple 8-10 hours (one way) drives every year (2001-2014) in the north east; and bugs would pile up in the early years - not so much anymore.
- wlesieutre 9y agoArticle on the same topic from April referred to this as the "windshield phenomenon," you're definitely not the only one noticing it. I wasn't driving in the 80's and 90's, but I remember having a lot more bugs on the windshield as a passenger on family roadtrips. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/where-have-all-insects-gone http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/where-have-all-insect... Previous HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14323533 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14323533
- wlesieutre 9y agoOne wonders what percent of the "windshield effect" is a direct result of killing billions of bugs on the windshields of our cars, rather than a side effect of climate change or pesticides.
- TheAdamAndChe 9y agoVehicles are also a lot more aerodynamic. 5 years ago I had a Jeep Wrangler, which aerodynamically is like a box on wheels. In the summer, the grill and windshield got so many bugs on it that I worried about visibility problems. Now that I drive a Toyota Corolla, bugs are a nonissue.
- dEnigma 9y agoInteresting, a user in another part of the thread also mentioned that he still has the bug problem with his Jeep. Seems like it could actually be a question of aerodynamics.
- davesque 9y agoSince I see a lot of people here chiming in with similar anecdotes, I feel obligated to remind people that, even though we may think we notice a difference about something in our daily lives, it's really hard to attribute any actual meaning to this.