Children, Pets, and Wildlife

Lumping children in with pets and wildlife seems a bit harsh. Please do not be offended. We have done this because all three groups present a common challenge to drivers:

Unpredictability

While most teens and adults understand the dangers of being close to moving traffic, children and animals do not. Additionally, their actions will not necessarily be based on safety or even common sense. You must determine what a young child, loose pet, or a deer might do as you come upon them along the roadside.

Always slow down and pay close attention as you pass by. Watch for any sign of movement, especially towards the street. With children, it’s a coin toss. Are they lost? Are they angry with a frantic parent who is chasing them? This alone is a serious situation because the child may run away from the parent and out into the street.

The same is true with pets. Do you know the best thing to do if your dog is running towards the street? It’s to call the dog and run away from the street. Why? If you continue to chase the dog towards the street, the dog thinks you are playing a game and will run away from you. If you yell and run in the opposite direction, the dog will wonder what you are up to and chase after you – and away from danger.

Wildlife can seem to come out of nowhere. Sadly, collisions with larger animals can be deadly – for the driver and not the animal. If you drive in an area where you know there is a wildlife presence, do not just assume you’ll see animals late at night or in the early morning. Hungry animals will seek food any time of day.

If you come upon wildlife in the middle of the road, do not sound your horn. This could frighten the animal and they may even attack. Give them time to move out of the way. The same is true for animals along the side of the road. While sounding your horn will keep humans from coming out into the road, it may have the opposite effect for loose farm animals or wildlife. The noise from your horn may startle them and cause them to run into the road. Any time you feel an animal in the road presents a risk to drivers or to itself, call a local animal control officer, or 911.