Do you swerve out of the way for animals?

I personally find it frustrating when people do this.

I do believe animals feel, of course I remember that....They're animals, domesticated or not they're just animals lol.

Had an incident today where some lady decided to swerve into the oncoming lane (Mine) when I'm about to turn into my complex then swerve back into hers because of a cat that ran in front of her car. Mind you I'm going about 40 - 45 getting ready to slow down and turn. She's going a bit faster. She was about a second away from hitting me.

Now I love my pets but good lord if they're dumb enough to run into the middle of the street it's their own fault.

 

I ran into this problem a lot when I visited the Pacific Islands (Tonga, Fiji and Samoa). Dogs run in-front of your vehicle every time you go out for a drive, all you have to do is slow down your vehicle a bit and the dogs will move. Swerving into the opposite lane and then quickly maneuvering back is about the worst possible thing you could do in this situation, you endanger yourself and other drivers.

 

I've only ever had it happen with a few squirrels, and I've never hit any of them to my knowledge. Where I'm from, deer regularly cause huge damage to the front of vehicles who hit them, but in terms of regular critters, they honestly don't manage to get under the tires very often. I won't intentionally put myself or others in danger to not run over a squirrel, but I will slow down when one is in the middle of the roadway to let it cross, as long as there's no danger from other vehicles.

 

It all depends. I'm much more likely to avoid hitting domestic animals, cats, dogs, etc.

If it's a wild animal... Such as an oppossum or raccoon, if I have time to hit the breaks, I will. But I usually won't swerve into the other lane for a wild animal.

 

I was taught not to do so when I was having driving lessons.

 

My first wreck years ago came from swerving out of the way for a deer, it was a mistake that hurt badly. Now I will plow into one with no remorse as wrecking due to swerving is dumb imho.

 

Not really SFA, moved to gen

 

Not supposed to, so I don't

 

If it's safe for me, I will.

Never been in a situation like this though so I couldn't tell you exactly what I'd do. I'm not going to endanger my life, or the lives of others on the road for a small animal that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

Apparently according to my driving instructor (UK) swerving for a dog is ok but a Cat is not?!?! i Personally avoid hurting any animal while driving whenever it is safely possible.

 

I would if it's a cat or dog or any domestic animals but if it's wild not really but since I live in an urban place and another country, I haven't seen any wild animals that runs across the road. lol

 

The only animal around when I live are deer and they are all over the road. Most of the time they won't move even if you're cruising in hot. For the most part, people just slow down or stop since everyone in the area has become accustomed to deer always being on the road. I've never hit one and the only animal that I've hit was a large bird. It actually flew straight into the side of my car and left a sizable dent.

 

Only if the animal is big enough to damage my truck. If not I do not you never know what you're going to swerve into by mistake

 

I once took out a cat on a dual carriage way, doing about 100mph.. I didn't attempt to swerve. Then in other cases, I've had a dog run in front of me whilst in a residential area and I came to a stop, there was nobody behind me so I didn't risk an accident, just gradually increased the dogs survival chance. However, swerving into oncoming traffic, no thanks.

 

I suppose it depends on the scenario, if I'm able to swerve or stop safely sure. However I'm not going to risk my life or the lives of others to avoid it.

 

If it's safe to do so I will, no reason not to. Most of the time this only happens on residential roads, though the one time a squirrel crossed a large road it was late at night and unfortunately I didn't make out it's black fur against the pavement in time....rip

 

I swerve for all animals so long as it's safe (no oncoming traffic very close). I consider myself a very good driver and other than 1 deer that bolted out of the woods in front of me I haven't hit anything, and have had dozens of things run in front of my car.

I disagree with the "animals are only animals" viewpoint and feel as though it is incredibly closed minded. I believe all innocent lives should be "saved" if possible. Mind you I'm not saying swerve off of the road, but you have a good few feet of clearance off one side of an open road and several feet on the other, just don't crank the wheel.

 

I don't swerve, i just honk or plain stop if there is no car behind. I even do it when there are a group of birds on the road.

 

I swerved out of a the way of a beaver that ran across the road and ended up in the grass and sliding into a 8 foot deep embankment.. Totaled my car, luckily I came out okay.. People that drove by and saw it happen said they thought I flipped the car but that was not the case..



I love animals but I have been told if it's between your life and theirs, it's better to just keep driving straight instead of swerving.. I would like to think that the next animal that runs across my car I would be able to continue going straight, but when you are in the moment it's hard to predict what will happen. So my only thing would be to not purposely go after an animal in the road and avoid it if it's possible.. But if there is an 8 foot deep embankment on your right and a car coming on your left, just keep going straight.

 

depends on the animal, really. if its a large deer, or a moose, id probably rather go off the road.