Would you......?

[Emz26]

I was driving home from work very early this morning on a dual carriageway and there was barely any traffic on the road. I could see several magpie in the middle of the road and not wanting to run over them, I slowed down so I could give them a chance to fly away. Then some idiot drives past me in the other lane at about 100mph and just plowed right through them squashing at least three of them. It was awful and really upset me.

My question is, would you do the same as I did and slow down (obviously not putting yourself or others in danger!) and allow them to fly off.
Or would you just plow on through and continue your journey?

[alijangra]

I always sound my horn to make them fly off. Only someone sick in the head would willfully hurt them. However, I would not risk my safety and would hit them if I really could not avoid them.

[Joe_the_Lion]

I imagine 99.9 percent of drivers would slow or stop if there was no danger to other road users.

I assume the other driver just thought you were being a typical woman driver and dithering. Nobody in their right mind would kill and innocent, non-vermin animal.

[johnlambert]

the latter,
magpies are a member of the crow family and are a nasty piece of work in the bird world. They rob the nests of smaller birds and kill the young or destroy the eggs, it's reckoned that each magpie kills at least 26 songbirds. I know what I've said is not very PC and I'll get crucified by the tree hugging hippies, but, what the hell? death to magpies

[Emz26]

JTL - I can only imagine that the other driver 'assumed' that. I am a woman and I am a professional driver. God forbid that those two go together.
The other driver was driving stupidly fast and I can only assume so fast that they did not even have time to see the birds in the road.

[whiffey]

I hate MAGPIES with a deep and enduring loathing. They had my robin's nest last year, but over and above that it's the foul and persistent croaking noise they make, it drives me mad. Having said that, I couldn't kill one. When I shoot at them, which I do regularly, I aim to hit the branch they are sitting on while making that vile noise.

[fine,thanks]

magpie pie,,, mmmmmmmmm

[Babz]

Well I agree with Emz26 and Joe the Lion, I would never deliberately run any living thing over and in fact a very similar thing happened to me on Saturday morning, I was driving through a village uphill at barely 30 and there was a pigeon on the road, I slowed down to give it chance to move away and it waddled across my path and onto the other side of the road whereupon an idiot flew up behind me and veered out and round me......he/she/it had a passenger and they were both grinning, I don't know if they hit the pigeon or not, I couldn't see it in my rear view mirror so I hope it escaped but it was wilfully done with the intention of hitting it and far in excess of the speed limit.

johnlambert, do you never consider that magpies or any other so called "vermin" have no choice into which form they are born...are they not entitled to their lives the same way as we are? And are they not as they were made and so feed on other species by default?

PS you should try hugging a tree, you can actually feel their vibes!

[fine,thanks]

babz, are you a vegan by any chance ? : )

[johnlambert]

Babz
most carnivores kill to eat, these vile creatures do it for fun, and which mind bending drugs were you using when you felt the "vibes" from a tree?

[pussnboots]

I dont like magpies, but they can't help being magpies like any other creature can't help being what it is.

[laurence2]

As a Train driver, the amount of birds we hit {all sorts} on a daily basis is unbelievable, you could say it would'nt be a job for you Emz26.

I believe that the majority of us {car drivers} would slow down, the ones who don't are normally the ******* who break the law whilst driving anyway

[Joe_the_Lion]

Also emz, a magpie can certainly damage bodywork on a car which, apart from human kindness, is another good reason to avoid them.

And woman drivers are a danger on the road, professional or not!!!!

(Do I get the token one star or nil for saying that, even though I clearly love wildlife?)

[Emz26]

JTL - There you go!

I am not a danger on the road. But I'm not even going to get into that arguement!

And my car is very expensive, and would cost a fortune to have the bodywork repaired. So yes, that was another reson for me to slow down.

[Joe_the_Lion]

Am I the only one who salutes magpies and says "Good morning Mr. Magpie, how are you and your wife", if I see a one alone?

[fine,thanks]

yes you are the only one.

[johnlambert]

Nope!!
I satule them and quote in a clear loud voice "Good Morning General"

[Psychick]

This reminds me, I see 3 magpies on the way home froma day out yesterday :s

Emz, lets just hope karma strikes and the idiot has to payout for repairs on his car as a result!

[RATTER15]

I would never kill anything for the hell of it!! not liking a creature does not drive me to kill it.
So they kill song birds, isn't that the harsh reality of nature!!

Domestic cats are the biggest killer of song birds, should we run over and kill every cat in our way!!

[whiffey]

Yes, if you can aim at and get a cat, well and good, mewling bird-slaughtering gits. As for magpies, I daren't aim too close because I use light-treaded Armadillo tyres and would probably come off. If I lived in the countryside and had a shotgun I would shoot right at the horrible vile croaking ********.