Hit it or swerve?
Discussion
A little while ago i hit a dog in the road, but to this day i am still getting abuse for it (possibly because i was more concerned it bust my headlight...anyway)
It begs the question if an animal jumps or runs infront of the car do you hit it or risk swerving and damaging your car?
I saw the dog and broke hard but still clobbered it head on
, a friend swerved for a squirrel and wrote off his car. What would you do?
It begs the question if an animal jumps or runs infront of the car do you hit it or risk swerving and damaging your car?
I saw the dog and broke hard but still clobbered it head on
, a friend swerved for a squirrel and wrote off his car. What would you do?You shouldn't swerve for small & medium animals.. mow the buggers down..
Swerving a pretty good idea if you happen upon a cow/horse/deer/elk though
Edited to say: your friend who wrote their car off avoiding a squirrel: - it's a sign that this person should not be driving a car. Ever.
>> Edited by CarZee (moderator) on Monday 24th February 10:54
Swerving a pretty good idea if you happen upon a cow/horse/deer/elk though
Edited to say: your friend who wrote their car off avoiding a squirrel: - it's a sign that this person should not be driving a car. Ever.
>> Edited by CarZee (moderator) on Monday 24th February 10:54
You are quiet correct, i will not let him forget he swerved for a squirrel. Especially seeing as that swerve invloved two other cars (he swerved on a blind corner into another car and the car behind that car rammed the car that had just been hit....that was a mouthful.
To this day he has never driven a car again.
To this day he has never driven a car again.
I believe that one should hit an animal. The other alternative is to swerve, possibly lose control and hit a tree, another vehicle etc. One always appears an idiot when saying "I swerved to miss....." and people nod knowlingly thinking he just lost it!
There was an unexplained accident near me not long ago where a car hit a tree, and the driver died. The assumption is that he swerved to avoid a deer but of course no evidence.
Its far easier to control a car under heavy braking than to try and swerve, particularly when the animal may move too.
Having said that I don't know whether I could actually hit an animal without at least trying to take evasive action.
There was an unexplained accident near me not long ago where a car hit a tree, and the driver died. The assumption is that he swerved to avoid a deer but of course no evidence.
Its far easier to control a car under heavy braking than to try and swerve, particularly when the animal may move too.
Having said that I don't know whether I could actually hit an animal without at least trying to take evasive action.
I squashed a rat last night. I applied the racing technique of aiming for where he was assuming that it would move. He was not quick enough and went under both wheels! Left a bit of a stain on the tyre though!
Had I swerved I would have been in a ditch and it's only a rat. Saved a Rentokill visit!
Nik
Had I swerved I would have been in a ditch and it's only a rat. Saved a Rentokill visit!
Nik
Had a cat headbutt the right front wheel of the mota one morning.
Slammed the brakes on, came screeching to a halt half expecting moggy to be spread all down the street, but couldnt see it.
Even looked under the car but he wasnt there.
So i walked back up the road to where hed been clobbered, and i could see something red and bloody in the road, but it wasnt big nuff to be the cat.
At first i thought the crash had ripped his paw off, went a funny color thinking bout it, but it wasnt.
Turned out itd caught a mouse and as he ran into the wheel of the car he dropped it(as ya do) and went chargin off into a field opposite.
Saved the cat, killed the mouse....animals......
Slammed the brakes on, came screeching to a halt half expecting moggy to be spread all down the street, but couldnt see it.
Even looked under the car but he wasnt there.
So i walked back up the road to where hed been clobbered, and i could see something red and bloody in the road, but it wasnt big nuff to be the cat.
At first i thought the crash had ripped his paw off, went a funny color thinking bout it, but it wasnt.
Turned out itd caught a mouse and as he ran into the wheel of the car he dropped it(as ya do) and went chargin off into a field opposite.
Saved the cat, killed the mouse....animals......
blah blah blah... but to this day i am still getting abuse for it (possibly because i was more concerned it bust my headlight...anyway)
Thats pretty sick... I would be more concerned about the animal, you can replace your headlight or whatever part of your car is damaged.
Bring back the respect rating, I have a reason to put it to good use.
I try to avoid animals as best I can. I hit a small yappy thing a few years ago, stopped to see if it was Ok, and the bloody thing bit me. Had to stop at the hospital for a tetnus.
Had a cat run out in front of me when I was a new driver, I slammed on, the cat I think jumped up and bounced off my bumper and somehow managed to fly about 10ft in the ait into a row of connifers. I saw it scamper away, but to this day I'm not really sure how it managed to get so airbourne.
Had a cat run out in front of me when I was a new driver, I slammed on, the cat I think jumped up and bounced off my bumper and somehow managed to fly about 10ft in the ait into a row of connifers. I saw it scamper away, but to this day I'm not really sure how it managed to get so airbourne.
Quoting from the law 'ere on ther continent..........
small animal splatt the thing, wild pig, deer, heffalump or anything large, try and avoid it. If you crash you MUST have hit it to get your insurance to pay, get hairs, ears and a police/local hunter to confirm the animal was hit/is dead etc... otherwise no proof, no pays.....
I had an eejit in a 7-series Beemer in 1975 in berlin who stopped in the outside lane of the Mway because of an injured flying rat (pigeon). I swerved to get around the eejit and then he got rear-ended by the gravel truck following me. Needless to say he paid for the trucks damage and his Beemer went to the scrapyard.
small animal splatt the thing, wild pig, deer, heffalump or anything large, try and avoid it. If you crash you MUST have hit it to get your insurance to pay, get hairs, ears and a police/local hunter to confirm the animal was hit/is dead etc... otherwise no proof, no pays.....
I had an eejit in a 7-series Beemer in 1975 in berlin who stopped in the outside lane of the Mway because of an injured flying rat (pigeon). I swerved to get around the eejit and then he got rear-ended by the gravel truck following me. Needless to say he paid for the trucks damage and his Beemer went to the scrapyard.
A little while ago i hit a dog in the road, but to this day i am still getting abuse for it
Did you kill it? You don't say. Edited coz you said later on when I was writing this
The highway code (and plod, no doubt) says something about driving at a speed suitable for the conditions - i.e. drive so you can stop safely in an emergency.
That said, a dog, cat, child etc can easily run out in front of you with no warning.
Best to learn the lesson this time and avoid something more serious in the future.
>> Edited by plipton on Monday 24th February 11:35
Dont reckon there is a definitve answer to this one.. depends on type/size of the animal and the road conditions and most of us subconciously make the decision in an instant. I dont get overly excited and woulndt risk a dinged wing over a rabbit but was thoroughly miserable for ages after hitting a cat a few months back, would have done anything to avoid that one 
Yeah your reaction would be mostly instinctive really, I was once in a long qeue of traffic (dark rainy night) with the opposing cariageway clear and a fuking great alsation walks into the middle of the road. Beeped my bloody horn, flashed my lights and he just looked at me all dopey like as a Vauxhall Astra ploughed into him at 40mph, flew across the roa virtually infront of my car. It was a sickening thing to witness (being a dog owner) the poor bugger was screaming like a baby. I managed to manhandle him into my car and get him to the vets, but he had to be put down. That was a crap evening.
Anyway, I'd always swerve whenever possible.
>> Edited by dave_s13 on Monday 24th February 11:54
Anyway, I'd always swerve whenever possible.
>> Edited by dave_s13 on Monday 24th February 11:54
moreymach said:.. depends on type/size of the animal
That probably depends on your car! I have only 2½" ground clearance under my front spoiler, so just about anything larger that a small bird is best avoided!
Came across a dead fox on the A34 last summer - that caused a bit of a swerve I can tell you!
John
I guess there is no right or wrong in this case. You can't take someone to task over acting on instinct. I would quite happily mow down every rabbit and grey squirrel that I see, but that's just me. I would slam on my brakes for anything large, and do my utmost to avoid a human. That being said, each case is different. In town, I would be expecting the odd child/ dog/ cat, but as I would be driving slowly, I would hope that I could avoid any impact. Out in the sticks, larger animal come into play, but children are less likely. I don't mean that children don't exist in the sticks, just that there are less parked cras and other roadside furniture for them to hide behind.
You are required by law to report hitting a dog. Cats don't have the same staus.
If you love anumals and your instinct is to swerve, then I guess I couldn't blame you for that. If you kill or injure a person in the process, then you're an idiot.
You are required by law to report hitting a dog. Cats don't have the same staus.
If you love anumals and your instinct is to swerve, then I guess I couldn't blame you for that. If you kill or injure a person in the process, then you're an idiot.
its claiming Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and loss of earings
Why was a squirrel wearing ear rings ?!?
Surely it's just instinct to swerve and try and avoid ANYTHING that jumps out in front of your car ? It's only afterwards that you might analyse "it was only a rabbit, why did I bother ?"
If someone doesn't swerve, I'd assume one of three things :
1) the animal was way too close to do anything, even if the driver wanted to
2) the driver has got cr*p reactions and maybe should reconsider whether they are fit to drive
3) the driver had a (relatively) long time to sit there, see the animal, identify the animal, weigh up the pros/cons of hitting said animal (e.g. car damage, space to swerve etc) and then make a decision ...
I think, rough rules of thumb should be :
1) big enough to damage the car, try and avoid
2) if it's a pet (i.e. something that someone somewhere would be upset if you killed) like a cat or dog, try and avoid
3) anything else, depends on whether it would be save or not to swerve, but if you didn't then never mind, no big deal
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