animals

[peanut]

Is it even possible to hit an animal in the road and not know it? I had to turn around and pull over today because some careless @#$% hit a cat and left him in the road to be run over some more. Are people really that heartless? I tried but did not succeed to find the kittys owner but a neighbor said he would see what he could do.I felt so bad for having to pick him up, and other than prevent him from further being hit there was nothing i could do to help him. If that was Peanut (my kitty) i would want someone to do the same for me, not just leave him there.

[hugnie21]

I think it is possible to hit something and not know it. I saw in a newspaper a while ago a muntjac deer that was stuck in the front grill of a car, the driver only discovered it (still alive) when he got to work.

I like to think that whoever hit the cat didn't realise it.

[smudge]

I hit a sparrow once on my way to work. I looked in my rear view mirror & could see it flapping its wings, but unable to fly. I got out of my car, wrapped the poor little thing up in tissue & dropped it off at the local vet for them to take care of.

[Loosehead]

It's very possible for smaller animals especially if they don't hit the body work and just get caught by the wheels. This is common with cats, have you noticed how, when crossing a road, a cat appears to almost wait for a car before darting in front, they seem to see it comming and then think about crossing and then decide to at the last moment. They only have to get clipped by a wheel and it's quite possible the driver wouldn't realise.

[Dom Tuk]

I suppose there is a fear that if a driver stopped to check and the owner of the cat was around there would be a fracas. I remember reading somewhere that it is not required for the driver to report a accident involving a cat to the police however any dogs that have been hit by a car have to be reported to the police by the driver.....someone could clarify this please.

[smudge]

Tom - I was under the same impression too. After all, you often see dead cats left by the side of the road for days, but not dead dogs.

[Loosehead]

Yes Dom Tuk my driving tutor told me that. Also you should do your best to avoid a dog but not so with a cat, I mean you would of course but if avoiding a cat could cause a crash then you are not expected to try but you are with a dog.

[smudge]

Whoops I meant Dom - not Tom!

[peanut]

I am in no way implying racism here but having to avoid dogs but not cats is rediculous. animals are all equal too, and some are very much loved pets who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thats like sayimg if a chinease person or white person was crossing the street and a black or a mexican was driving, they would only have to try to avoid the white guy. What has this world come to?

[Loosehead]

I was passing no opinion just stating transport department policy.

[undercovers]

to my eternal shame i ran over a cat once - if you clip the animal maybe you might not notice but if you actually go over the little guy you just couldn't miss that sickening bump. I still feel the guilt 7 years on! poor thing jumped out of a hedge and started pelting over the road - and he nearly made it too ... nearly. Of course i stopped, gathered him up but he was in a really bad way so all i could do was sit and stroke him until he died - he only survived about 10 minutes or so but i must have looked a state sat on the curb with this mangled cat bawling my eyes out. I'm welling up just thinking about it...

[Shire]

Peanut, it's to do with the fact that a cat is classed as a wild animal, but a dog is a domestic animal.  Equally you are not liable if your cat causes any damage (i.e digs up someone's garden, eats thier pet mouse etc), but is your dog does the same, then you are liable.

I would always swerve to avoid any animal where possible.

[peanut]

Undercovers i am sorry to hear about your mishap. i also am sorry to have brought this memory back to you. I couldnt sleep last night after this event but i tell you I dont know if I could live with myself if I were ever in a situation such as yours and hopefully i NEVER will be. It was very hard for me to leave this poor kitty after i moved him off the road laying in the snow. I truly tried to find the owner but failed. I did go back there today and started knocking on doors and finally got a caring neighbor who promised me she would go get the cat and burry him. That doesnt change anything for the kitty but i feel much better knowing he wont be ignored and left there.

[peanut]

By the way the neighbor who told me he would see what he could do must have done nothing because the cat was still there today, which is why i started looking again today

[smudge]

That is so sad - especially in this freezing cold weather - poor thing.

[Octavius]

In the New Forest in 2002 (as an example), there were 159 animals killed in road traffic accidents.  82 of these were deer, 70 were horses, 5 cattle and 2 donkeys.

 

According to section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 - the Definition of an Animal for the purposes of a Road Accident are: Cattle; Horse; Ass, Mule; Pig; Sheep; Dog; Goat.

 

Furthermore, in S155 of the HA: If any animal or animals are at any time found straying or lying on or at the side of a highway their keeper is guilty of an offence.  A person guilty of this offence is liable for the expenses incurred in the removal and impounding of the animal(s).

There are some sad facts from a survey in 2001 on this link:   http://www.mori.com/polls/2001/dl-010720a.shtml

[Laura-sakura]

Am i going to be the only mean person here.... i think so. Swerving to avoid a cat could cause serious injury or death to other people and road users. An animal the size of a dog should be avoided as it could cause more injury to human life.  I love animals so please don't think i'm evil, it just seems like common sense.  Cats in one sense are vermin, they come and go as they please and if owners let them roam free on the streets there is a good chance they will be hit by traffic.  My dog escaped last year from the back garden and was killed on a dual carriageway, we found him a week later on the side of the road. Very sad of course but I feel so relieved that no people were hurt or killed because of our carelessness.

[smudge]

The natural instinct for me, would be to swerve to avoid hitting anything - whether it be human, animal or a crate of tomatoes that may have fallen off the back of a lorry!

Although, that would probably depend on whether there's an articulated lorry or a coach full of people coming the other way. You would never really know until you found yourself in that situation.

Take care everyone.