Hitting a roo a rite for Aussie drivers

WE WERE all aghast when she made the startling confession.

Someone even deemed her to be un-Australian.

It turns out that one of my 40-something friends has never hit a kangaroo (or any other macropod) while driving.

It’s not like we’re tucked up in suburbia, never to venture beyond the city limits.

We live in a rural community and she’s been licensed to drive for close to three decades – all without colliding with even a wallaby on a country road.

That’s almost as unheard of as an Aussie not liking Vegemite or eating a meat pie without tomato sauce.

It’s virtually a rite of passage in Australia.

Not that I’ve got anything against kangaroos, especially the ones which don’t bound across the roads at dawn and dusk, eat all the crops/grass and wreck fences.

This prompted a whole discussion about other un-Australian deeds and our claim-free driver lamented the decline in the use of Australian slang terms, referencing her opinion with a recent quiz show which asked a group of contestants about the meaning of ocker terminology.

She was stunned when only two of the eight pressed the correct answer.

Whether it’s the person who calls a ute by any other name (it’s not a pick-up or a truck here, mate), there are a gazillion un-Australian acts

One of my 40something friends has never hit a kangaroo (or any other macropod) while driving.

taking place every day around this country and it’s high time to stamp out these occurrences.

Let’s ensure we give our friends nicknames that end with a vowel (Shazza, Macca, Robbo ... then, inexplicably, there’s Chook).

Let’s continue our proud tradition of force-feeding those same friends our cranked-up Australia Day playlist (featuring Acca Dacca, Farnsy and Barnsie).

Let’s ensure we don’t frown on those unfortunate enough to ding the front or side panels of their vehicles when they strike marsupials.

Anything else would have to be as un-Australian as turning down a Tim Tam at smoko.