Animal Crossing
May 06 '00
It happens so quickly... You're driving down the road and an animal runs in front of you. You are faced with three decisions: swerve left, swerve right, slam on the brakes, or keep going. What should you do?
When I was in training for my commercial bus driver's license, the topic of animals in the road was specifically brought up. For all drivers, your main objective is to maintain the safety of your passengers, and to avoid an accident whenever possible. Scanning is very important - you should scan at least 10 seconds up the road when you can, looking for anything that might be coming into your lane: other vehicles, people, balls (often followed closely by children) and animals.
During training, we were told that when an animal runs into your path you should continue driving in a straight line. Slow down, braking as hard as you can without locking up the brakes... But don't swerve left or right. Very rarely does an animal trot out into the road andsit. (Yes, it does happen on occasion, I know). Usually the animal is booking to get from one side of the roadway to the other as fast as possible.
The problem with swerving to avoid an animal is that you can't predict exactly where the animal is going to run. If you swerve into the left lane, you run the risk of causing a head-on collision. If you swerve right, you might lose control and exit the roadway, hitting a tree or a fence or a pedestrian.
Also, if you swerve, there is a possibility that the animal will still end up under your wheels. If you stay in a straight line, however, there is a good chance that you will miss the animal. Obviously, if you continue straight there is also the chance that you're going to hit the animal anyway... But animals are so unpredictable you can't say which way they'll bolt. Heck, I've seen squirrels make 12 different direction changes in a second or two.
If you try to avoid the animal by taking evasive action, you're running the risk of killing you, your passengers or other motorists... and still running over the animal. Not changing your direction, combined with slowing down as much as possible is your best bet to save the animal and yourself.
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