Dog hit by car
Discussion
last thursday, while travelling with my dogs in the back of the camper, we got held up in traffic, after being in the car 2 hours they were getting desperate, nowhere suitable to stop so I had to pull into a layby off the road, as I was reaching for the lead they all jumped out (desperate) unfortunately they ran into the road and one was hit on the return,
£600 vets bill having found a vets in a strange town.
I am now waiting for the car drivers claim for damage to his grille,
my one real question is as it was absolutely throwing it down with rain and he could have seen the dogs for a few hundred yards, is he partially to blame for not driving to the conditions?
obviously the car insurance wont cover this, not sure if the houshold insurance will?
£600 vets bill having found a vets in a strange town.
I am now waiting for the car drivers claim for damage to his grille,
my one real question is as it was absolutely throwing it down with rain and he could have seen the dogs for a few hundred yards, is he partially to blame for not driving to the conditions?
obviously the car insurance wont cover this, not sure if the houshold insurance will?
Although there was negligence on your part in letting the dogs get away from you that doesn't give anyone the right to just drive into them. If the drivers had no chance of stopping, slowing or avoiding that would be a different matter but from what you've described that's not the case.
Imagine your car broke down on the carriageway through your negligence (ran out of fuel say) assuming good visibility would that give a third party carte blanche to just run into it or would you say they were negligent as they had no right to do so?
They had a duty to slow, stop and not injure your animal IANAL.
Imagine your car broke down on the carriageway through your negligence (ran out of fuel say) assuming good visibility would that give a third party carte blanche to just run into it or would you say they were negligent as they had no right to do so?
They had a duty to slow, stop and not injure your animal IANAL.
No-one drives into a live animal on purpose- it was clearly an accident, however the car driver may say that you were not in full control of your animals.
Road Traffic Accidents Involving Dogs
The Road Traffic Act 1988 covers dogs involved in road traffic accidents and also makes it an offence for a dog to be offlead on a designated road. Road traffic accident does not include dogs travelling in a car that is involved in an accident or accidents involving vehicles that are not intended or adapted for use on roads. However if a dog runs into the road and is hit or causes an accident there are a number of steps that must be taken. Firstly the driver of the vehicle must stop and the owner or person in charge of the dog can ask the driver to supply their name and address. If the driver is not the owner of the vehicle then he must supply the owner’s details if requested. If a driver refuses or fails to stop and give details they must report it as soon as possible, at least within 24 hours. Failure to do so could lead to prosecution of the driver unless the magistrates believe the driver was unaware of the accident.
Road Traffic Accidents Involving Dogs
The Road Traffic Act 1988 covers dogs involved in road traffic accidents and also makes it an offence for a dog to be offlead on a designated road. Road traffic accident does not include dogs travelling in a car that is involved in an accident or accidents involving vehicles that are not intended or adapted for use on roads. However if a dog runs into the road and is hit or causes an accident there are a number of steps that must be taken. Firstly the driver of the vehicle must stop and the owner or person in charge of the dog can ask the driver to supply their name and address. If the driver is not the owner of the vehicle then he must supply the owner’s details if requested. If a driver refuses or fails to stop and give details they must report it as soon as possible, at least within 24 hours. Failure to do so could lead to prosecution of the driver unless the magistrates believe the driver was unaware of the accident.
'as it was absolutely throwing it down with rain and he could have seen the dogs for a few hundred yards'.....
Could he really? It's hard to see a few hundred yards that clearly when it's absolutely throwing it down.
Can't see how anyone would not make an effort to avoid hitting a dog they could see, if only to avoid car damage, so the only negligence so far seems to be yours, sadly. I can imagine the situation but you had a responsibility to make sure things were safe before releasing them, their behaviour was surely not unexpected?
Anyway is the dog OK? That's the important thing surely?
Could he really? It's hard to see a few hundred yards that clearly when it's absolutely throwing it down.
Can't see how anyone would not make an effort to avoid hitting a dog they could see, if only to avoid car damage, so the only negligence so far seems to be yours, sadly. I can imagine the situation but you had a responsibility to make sure things were safe before releasing them, their behaviour was surely not unexpected?
Anyway is the dog OK? That's the important thing surely?
I have sympathy for all parties, including the dog, but in your situation I'd be paying the bill and not looking for a scapegoat. The dog's your responsibility, if it's running around on a road and get hits by a car, it's you in the frame, no-one else.
I hope the dog makes a full recovery. If I was the driver of the car that hit your dog, my concern would solely be for the dog. As a dog owner I'd know how upsetting seeing your pet hurt would be, and probably wouldn't pursue you for damage to the car, but you should offer to pay for the damage in my opinion.
I hope the dog makes a full recovery. If I was the driver of the car that hit your dog, my concern would solely be for the dog. As a dog owner I'd know how upsetting seeing your pet hurt would be, and probably wouldn't pursue you for damage to the car, but you should offer to pay for the damage in my opinion.
To be honest, OP, once your dog's loose on the road then it's 100% the dog owner's fault. Even a diligent driver can't predict where a dog will run.
I have sympathy because a good friend of mine lost his dog in a similar accident, but I still think you owe it to the driver to pay for his repairs. Sorry OP. Hope the dog makes a good recovery.
It is totally your fault OP. Your dogs should travel with restraints in place, otherwise they can be classified as an unsafe load. Dogs should be restrained in the same way as people, their bodies would react in exactly the same way as an unrestrained person in the event of an accident.
bobtail4x4 said:
last thursday, while travelling with my dogs in the back of the camper, we got held up in traffic, after being in the car 2 hours they were getting desperate, nowhere suitable to stop so I had to pull into a layby off the road, as I was reaching for the lead they all jumped out (desperate) unfortunately they ran into the road and one was hit on the return,
£600 vets bill having found a vets in a strange town.
I am now waiting for the car drivers claim for damage to his grille,
my one real question is as it was absolutely throwing it down with rain and he could have seen the dogs for a few hundred yards, is he partially to blame for not driving to the conditions?
obviously the car insurance wont cover this, not sure if the houshold insurance will?
awful for all concerned. £600 vets bill having found a vets in a strange town.
I am now waiting for the car drivers claim for damage to his grille,
my one real question is as it was absolutely throwing it down with rain and he could have seen the dogs for a few hundred yards, is he partially to blame for not driving to the conditions?
obviously the car insurance wont cover this, not sure if the houshold insurance will?
What sort of road was it? google maps view perhaps?
bobtail4x4 said:
my one real question is as it was absolutely throwing it down with rain and he could have seen the dogs for a few hundred yards, is he partially to blame for not driving to the conditions?
obviously the car insurance wont cover this, not sure if the houshold insurance will?
Read it all now. Juts take it on the chin. Why are people obsesed with blaiming others for their mistakes?obviously the car insurance wont cover this, not sure if the houshold insurance will?
Sorry op, your dogs of the lead on a road it's your fault.
Would your household 3rd liability cover the damage?
Anyway hopefully the dog makes a full recovery so it's only a financial loss.
Next time please make sure your dog (for its sake) is secured in your vehicle so it can't just jump out when the door is open.
Would your household 3rd liability cover the damage?
Anyway hopefully the dog makes a full recovery so it's only a financial loss.
Next time please make sure your dog (for its sake) is secured in your vehicle so it can't just jump out when the door is open.
KevinCamaroSS said:
It is totally your fault OP. Your dogs should travel with restraints in place, otherwise they can be classified as an unsafe load. Dogs should be restrained in the same way as people, their bodies would react in exactly the same way as an unrestrained person in the event of an accident.
+1 Surprised OP is even questioning this...Im not trying to shift the blame, I understand the dogs should not have escaped, Im sure on PH we are all perfect??
they are not insured as the cost of insuring several hounds is horrific,
the money saved will pay for the damage,
my question was should the driver have been travelling at a speed he could have stopped in? so partially to blame??
not going all mumsnet but it could have been a kid?
btw thanks for asking, the dog is stiched up, somewhat bruised, and happily wandering up to pretty strangers looking for sympathy.
not a trick I taught her, but she seems to always pick attractive women to approach.
they are not insured as the cost of insuring several hounds is horrific,
the money saved will pay for the damage,
my question was should the driver have been travelling at a speed he could have stopped in? so partially to blame??
not going all mumsnet but it could have been a kid?
btw thanks for asking, the dog is stiched up, somewhat bruised, and happily wandering up to pretty strangers looking for sympathy.
not a trick I taught her, but she seems to always pick attractive women to approach.
KevinCamaroSS said:
Your dogs should travel with restraints in place, otherwise they can be classified as an unsafe load. Dogs should be restrained in the same way as people, their bodies would react in exactly the same way as an unrestrained person in the event of an accident.
Do you mean seatbelts? If so, is this now the law?We have a small dog that rarely goes in the car but I'm just wondering how we could actually get this to work?
bobtail4x4 said:
my question was should the driver have been travelling at a speed he could have stopped in? so partially to blame??
not going all mumsnet but it could have been a kid?
I assume that the driver was going at a speed they could have stopped in - it's hard to tell from your post, but let's say the driver could see ~ 200m of clear road. That allows them to travel at a good speed - if something should run into the road just 10m from their car, it is unreasonable to say that they should be able to stop - otherwise we'd all be doing 5mph with a man in front leading the way...not going all mumsnet but it could have been a kid?
bobtail4x4 said:
my question was should the driver have been travelling at a speed he could have stopped in? so partially to blame??
not going all mumsnet but it could have been a kid?
btw thanks for asking, the dog is stiched up, somewhat bruised, and happily wandering up to pretty strangers looking for sympathy.
not a trick I taught her, but she seems to always pick attractive women to approach.
The question you have to ask is how likely you could stop at any given moment every time the unexpected presented itself. A perfect world would dictate that you always could, but there's not one person on here who could realistically do that. So, I don't think your comments about the driver stopping in time are especially realistic.not going all mumsnet but it could have been a kid?
btw thanks for asking, the dog is stiched up, somewhat bruised, and happily wandering up to pretty strangers looking for sympathy.
not a trick I taught her, but she seems to always pick attractive women to approach.
If it had been a kid, the same comments already posted would still apply. A kid on the road unsupervised, for whatever reason, is the parents responsibility, and if it was hit by a car in similar circumstances to yours above, the thread would still take the same direction, in my opinion.
I don't mean any of this to come across as unsympathetically as it reads, very happy to see the dog's ok, and am now looking at ways to teach mine the " attractive women " trick!
Travelling with unsecured dogs in the car scares the crap out of me. An average-sized dog turning into a projectile in the event of an accident isn't ending well for anyone involved.
If your dog is in the car, it should be wearing a harness and a tether to a fixed point (e.g. a seatbelt clip). No ifs, no buts.
OP - unfortunately the root cause of the accident was your negligence. I realise that dog insurance is expensive, but it pays itself back in scenarios like this. Take the cost on the chin, and I hope the hound makes a full recovery.
If your dog is in the car, it should be wearing a harness and a tether to a fixed point (e.g. a seatbelt clip). No ifs, no buts.
OP - unfortunately the root cause of the accident was your negligence. I realise that dog insurance is expensive, but it pays itself back in scenarios like this. Take the cost on the chin, and I hope the hound makes a full recovery.
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