3 ms·

The more aerodynamic the car is the less splats there should be, as the bugs are more likely to be carried by the flow of air around the car, correct? Still, t

by yreg 5y ago

The more aerodynamic the car is the less splats there should be, as the bugs are more likely to be carried by the flow of air around the car, correct? Still, there is no doubt that the insect population is in a massive decline.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago
>The more aerodynamic the car is the less splats there should be, as the bugs are more likely to be carried by the flow of air around the car, correct? It depends on what the nature of the airflow around a specific car looks like. Bugs have a harder time than air making a "hard corner" but the mass of air stuck at a hard corner can cause other air to go around in a more graceful way and carry the bugs with them. Coefficient of drag hasn't improved much since the 90s and most of those improvements have been with regard to the vacuum behind the car so aerodynamics is probably only a contributing factor either way.
PheonixPharts 5y ago
> The more aerodynamic the car is the less splats there should be, as the bugs are more likely to be carried by the flow of air around the car, correct? incorrect As I've pointed out in another comment, research has shown [0] that counter-intuitively "modern cars actually hit slightly more insects." It's a reasonable hypothesis, however what this research shows is that we would have expected to see more dead insects on cars had populations remained stable. 0. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/12/car-splatometer-tests-reveal-huge-decline-number-insects https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/12/car-spla...
- meetups323 5y ago
  Research is research, but anecdotes are anecdotes. And anecdotally, I can tell you that having done the same drive in the same conditions many times with both a Jeep Wrangler and a Toyota Prius, the Wrangler consistently has far more bugs on it, and requires multiple cleanings per leg of the journey. The Prius requires no cleanings for the duration of the trip.

by yreg 5y ago

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

>The more aerodynamic the car is the less splats there should be, as the bugs are more likely to be carried by the flow of air around the car, correct? It depends on what the nature of the airflow around a specific car looks like. Bugs have a harder time than air making a "hard corner" but the mass of air stuck at a hard corner can cause other air to go around in a more graceful way and carry the bugs with them. Coefficient of drag hasn't improved much since the 90s and most of those improvements have been with regard to the vacuum behind the car so aerodynamics is probably only a contributing factor either way.

PheonixPharts 5y ago

> The more aerodynamic the car is the less splats there should be, as the bugs are more likely to be carried by the flow of air around the car, correct? incorrect As I've pointed out in another comment, research has shown [0] that counter-intuitively "modern cars actually hit slightly more insects." It's a reasonable hypothesis, however what this research shows is that we would have expected to see more dead insects on cars had populations remained stable. 0. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/12/car-splatometer-tests-reveal-huge-decline-number-insects https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/12/car-spla...

meetups323 5y ago
Research is research, but anecdotes are anecdotes. And anecdotally, I can tell you that having done the same drive in the same conditions many times with both a Jeep Wrangler and a Toyota Prius, the Wrangler consistently has far more bugs on it, and requires multiple cleanings per leg of the journey. The Prius requires no cleanings for the duration of the trip.