Originally Posted by RubeRad

A friend that rides a lot more than me told me he runs over rattlesnakes all the time. Just thump thump and keep going. My wife ran over one once too, I was maybe 50m behind her on the trail and it was escaped into the brush by the time I got there. I've heard that a rattlesnake cannot strike unless it is coiled, so if you encounter one stretched out across the trail, it is not dangerous (unless you stick around long enough to give it time to coil and then strike). I have no idea if the same is true for all venomous snakes -- and obviously I'm not encouraging anybody to take stupid risks with dangerous wild animals! (I've also heard that the vast majority of snakebites are on the hand, i.e. somebody being stupid)