Roadkill Avoidance Tips

This is a list of tips to help you avoid hitting an animal while
driving.

BIRDS:
Many birds cannot rise fast enough to evade an oncoming car, unless
they fly directly ahead of the car, using the air current it pushes
to provide extra lift. If you brake too abruptly for a bird flying
straight ahead of you, you may take away the push he needs and send
him crashing into your windshield. Lift your foot off the gas and
slow down gently, gradually, until the bird rises above your car or
peels away to one side.

CATS:
Cars kill about 5.4 million cats per year -- more, by a million-plus,
than are in U.S. animal shelters! Most of them are hit at night.
Typically cats know cars are dangerous, but confuse the beams from
the headlights with your car itself. The lights go by them, they
think it's safe to dash out. Expect them to make this mistake and
you'll be prepared to react if they do.

DOGS:
1.2 million dogs were killed on U.S. roads last year, and most of
them were likely chasing something -- a ball, a child, a cat, a
squirrel. When you see anything that a dog might chase enter the
road, look for the dog close behind.

OPOSSUMS:
Opossums feast on roadkill, a habit that gets about 8.3 million
opossums a year killed. A large object in the road at night may be
roadkill and an opossum, who may either freeze in your headlights or
try to run away. Opossums don't run very fast, so slow down until
you've positively identified the situation.

RABBITS:
Common in late spring through early fall, a rabbit scared out of the
road by the car ahead of you might circle right back into the road.
A quick tap of your horn as you approach where the rabbit went may
freeze him out of harm's way.

SQUIRRELS/CHIPMUNKS/RABBITS:
Squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits are among the hardest species to
avoid. All three evade predators, when on the ground, chiefly through
their ability to rapidly change directions. The surest way to avoid
a rabbit, chipmunk, or squirrel is to stop and wait until the critter
is safely out of the road. As long as you're still moving forward,
the rabbit, chipmunk, or squirrel will continue to assess your car as
a threat akin to a dog or fox, only bigger, or as a hawk, and may
keep switching and reversing course. This explains why some fairly
extensive studies have discovered that speed is not a factor in
killing squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks: they are likely to get
hit by a slow-moving car as one going like a bat out of hell,
simply because they zig-zag in the wrong direction, mis-guessing
which way the driver will swerve. Fortunatley, it is easy to
anticipate when you're likely to see a rabbit, chipmunk, or
squirrel. Rabbits are most plentiful in lightly wooded areas or
alongside brushy ditches, from the end of spring through the end of
summer. They may be seen either day or night. At night they freeze
in the glare of the headlights. Chipmunks and squirrels take to the
roads in greatest number at the end of summer, when windy weather at
the onset of fall tends to litter roadsides with edible food.
Chipmunks and squirrels will remain plentiful on the roads in tree-
lined areas after the first snowfall. They are usually out only in
broad daylight.

BEAVERS:
In spring and early summer young beavers leave their parents to seek
their own pond. They move slowly, usually at night, and can be hard
to see -- but if you're driving near wetlands, expect them. They
typically try to cross roads at culverts.

RACCOONS:
Raccoons often travel in family groups of up to seven members, so if
one raccoon is hit, the rest may stay beside her and get hit, too.
Raccoons also scanvenge roadkills. They'll turn to face a sudden
danger, often stepping into the path of a speeding car. Try to avoid
getting their attention. Don't jam on the brakes, don't accelerate;
just ease off the gas and cruise casually by.

TURTLES:
In spring, so many turtles are hit by cars as they migrate between
breeding ponds that many species have become regionally endangered.
If you're near wetlands and see a rounded lump in the road, assume
it's a turtle until you know otherwise.

DEER:
More than 100 Americans are killed each year in deer/car collisions -
- and 70% of the time the driver slowed down for one deer, then
stepped on the gas and hit another. Deer babies are as big as their
mamas in October and November, but they are still babies, and they
still follow Mama. Mamas often have two fawns, so if you see one
deer, slow down and look for twomore. In spring and summer, deer
hide from danger. In fall, when the leaves are down, they run. More
than half of all deer/car collisions occur in October and November.
If you see hunters' vehicles parked by the road, watch for frightened
deer running from gunfire, or hunters and/or dogs driving deer. If
you see a deer bolt right in front of you in daylight or twilight
during hunting season, too close even to brake, try to duck below
the dashboard with a shoulder between your head and your airbag, if
any, if you hit the deer hard. Driver fatalities tend to result
from a deer coming through the windshield after having her legs
knocked out from under her. The lower you are, the better-protected
you are from this type of accident -- but no strategy is perfect.
You may get hurt no matter what you do. If you miss the deer, keep
your head protected by your headrest and the door post as you drive
across the deer's path. We get several reports a year of drivers
killed or wounded by hunters who (illegally) shoot across roads at
deer.

SKUNKS:
Skunks newly awakened from winter hibernation are slow to recognize
danger. When threatened, their defense is to turn their backs and
spray. If you see a skunk beside the road, don't slow down
abruptly. The skunk may think you've seen her and will attack. Act
as if you're minding your own business and she'll go on about minding
his. In July and August, a skunk may be leading four to seven
kittens across the road, and they may trail up to 20 feet behind
her. If you see one skunk, look for more before assuming it's safe
to pass.

SNAKES:
Cold-blooded snakes will warm themselves on pavement in late summer,
but they often can't move away quickly when a car approaches. If you
see a straight object that looks like a stick in the road, assume
it's a snake until you know it isn't.

WOODCHUCKS:
Woodchucks dart out on the road much like cats, hunched low to the
ground to avoid being seen. Drivers, who often mistake them for
cats, tend to allow enough time for a cat to cross in front of them;
but that fat brown cat in the road ahead may actually be a woodchuck,
a woodchuck at best moves only half as fast, and 5 million woodchucks
a year get hit by cars.

FROGS:
In wet weather, if you're near a pond or ditch and it's not yet cold
weather, you'll likely be seeing frogs. They'll freeze in your
headlights, so don't expect them to move. Slow down and try to drive
around them.

MOOSE:
In winter, moose will lick road salt and travel along ploughed roads.
At night, moose are almost invisible because they are dark, don't
make sudden moves, and are tall enough that your tired eyes, fixed to
the headlit roadway, may not recognize them. Slow down in moose
country, and keep your eyes moving up and to the sides. In case of
impact, duck under your dashboard, with a shoulder between your head
and your airbag, if any. As with deer, fatalities usually result from
the animal coming through the windshield - but any moose/car
collision can be fatal, no matter what you do.

BEARS:
Bears feast on roadside grass or berries, especially in remote
country, so beware of thickets close to the road. When bears bolt
across roads, they often do it at a dead run, and babies follow
Mama. If you see one bear, look for two more. And look out for bear-
watchers who have stopped their cars in the roadway.

ARMADILLOS:
Because I have never lived anywhere that armadillos occurred, I have
had no opportunity to observe their behavior around cars and develop
appropriate avoidance tips. Statistical data indicates, however,
that armadillos rank among the 10 mammal species most likely to be
hit. If anyone has armadillo avoidance tips, I'd like to add them to
this roster.

CATTLE & HORSES:
Watch out for cattle and horses in the rural areas, especially in
hilly and partially wooded areas where broken fences are not easily
seen from a distance and even large animals can be unseen as they use
dips in the road as crossing points. Dips tend to coincide with
streams, which are natural corridors for animals, of all sizes. Both
cattle and horses, like moose, can be very hard to see at night,
because they tend to be dark, and tend to stand above the driver's
visual focus, which will be where the headlights meet the pavement.
If a cow is standing at that point, the car will move forward another
8 to 10 feet before most drivers see the cow, and if a horse or moose
is there, the car may move forward another 12 feet. This
significantly reduces stopping time, especially when driving fast.
Cattle will usually break through a fence as a herd. They will stand
their ground on the approach of a threat, then move aside slowly if
they recognize the threat as larger. This increases their likelihood
of being hit, if not seen -- but cattle are predictable, and once one
member of a herd starts to move in a particular direction, chances
are good that they all will. Horses are less predictable. Some act
like cattle, some bolt like deer.The most important thing to do, upon
sudden encountering either a horse or cow in the road, is stop. Don't
waste time honking or trying to outguess the animal; just stop as
quickly as you can without risking a skid. The allow the animals
time to react and move aside, and proceed with caution. Car
collisions with horses, cattle, and moose are frequently fatal to the
driver, since they stand so high that knocking the legs out from
under the animal typically results in the carcass going through the
windshield of the vehicle, crushing the occupants. Usually, in
instances of animal/car collision, the greatest threat is to the
animal. With horses, cattle, and moose, the greatest threat is to
the driver and passengers -- and any action that increases the threat
to the animals will increase the threat to the humans, too. Be calm,
be patient, and drive away alive

ALL SPECIES:
It's easier and safer to anticipate animals in the road than it is to
miss them once they're in front of you. Watch for sudden movement in
roadside grass and shrubbery. Remember that most lines in the woods
are vertical if you see something horizontal, it may be an animal.

Information from Animal People - http://www.animalpeoplenews.org

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Sep 28, 2003