6 Tips for Avoiding an Animal Roadway Crossing Accident

Did you know that approximately one to two million collisions occur every year between a car and an animal? Everyone can understand the feeling when you are driving and an animal, most commonly a deer, jumps out in front of your car. Sometimes you are able to avoid it, but other times it ends up being too late. This article will discuss a few tips on how to avoid collisions between your car and the animals outside.

1) Stay Alert While Driving

The most important tip to avoid this happening is to stay alert. Sometimes it can be easy to just zone out when you are driving alone or when there is not much traffic on the roads. You need to be sure to stay alert no matter what because any animal can jump out quickly in front of you can when you least expect it.

2) Don't Swerve to Avoid the Animal

The next most important thing to do is to not attempt to go around the animal or avoid it. Of course, it is not our intent to purposefully hit an animal on the road, but if you try to avoid it, it can be very easy to lose control of your car or possibly collide with another car on the road.

3) Use Your High Beams

When driving at night, you should use your high beam lights if there is no oncoming traffic. By doing this, you are able to get a better sense of what is around you outside. Having your high beam lights on can help you see any of the animals’ glowing eyes in the darkness. Even if they are just on the side of the road, you can be more aware that they are there fi they were to jump out in the road. But, you should never have your high beam lights on if there is another driving coming towards you.

4) Do Not Speed Up in Areas of Low Traffic

Sometimes it is a common reaction for drivers to speed up when they are driving alone or in an area without heavy traffic. You should be sure to slow down while you drive in these types of areas. If you are driving at a high speed, the results of the collision if it were to happen would be much worse. If you slow down, the impact of the accident could be much less.

5) Steer Toward the Direction That the Animal Is Coming From

The last tip is to steer in the direction that the animal is coming from. You should only do this if you would be able to go into the shoulder of the road without hitting the guardrail or losing control. If you do this, the animal may cross the road more quickly and you may be able to avoid hitting the animal all together.

6) Adjust Your Speed

If you are going to hit the animal and cannot avoid it, you should slow down at first, but ease off of the brake just before you are going to hit the animal. If you are going into the animal too hard, it could cause the animal to go right through your windshield, which could result in an injury to you, or your passengers. There are some times when no matter how careful you are driving, there is nothing you can do to avoid hitting the animal. Be sure to follow these tips to be safe and avoid hitting an animal as best you can.

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