Have you ever hit an animal while driving?
I’ve been lucky. I’ve never hit a dog or cat while driving. Squirrels? A few times. A deer once ran into my car. I cried (The deer got up and ran.) With a dog or a cat, I’d be devastated. Though I’d be mad at the owners, I don’t know if I’d sue them. One driver in Minnesota did just that. He’s suing the owner of a miniature pinscher that he says escaped and ran into the road. Amount? $1,100 in damages to his car.
One time, I had a Jack Russell mix who wouldn’t mind a lick if she got away. And she had years of training. She’d escape and run into the road. Thank goodness no one was driving by.
Not so fortunate for the Minnesota dog. He died. The family has countersued for $2,400. Who do you side with? Is the driver right? The family?
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• Adopt Tina, this spunky 3-year-old Cairn terrier needs a forever home. Check out photos of Tina’s friends who also need a forever home. Cute pets also are available for adoption at Clayton County’s Animal Shelter. Don’t forget to check the Animal Control location near you.
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Last year a deer hit my vehicle with such impact it did close to $5,ooo.oo damage. It came across at an angle and hit the left front corner of my car running full speed. I never saw the deer until impact. I felt the animal hit, then saw her out of the corner of me eye. Luckily, the deer did not flip up over the hood and come thru the windshield and into the cabin of the vehicle. Again, the deer hit me rather than me hit it. The area was a place of new construction. The area is heavily populated with deer. I was not injured. The deer died within seconds after the accident.
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Where I grew up, there were tons of deer. My brother and sister-in-law had one run out into the road right in front of them so that they didn’t have time to stop or swerve. Thankfully for them the deer landed on the hood and flew over the top of the car rather than through it (though I’m sure the deer probably died). Their hood was dented, but it wasn’t all that bad for the car. My father knows someone who had a deer run into their car while parked in the driveway of their house. My sister had a deer run into the side of her car (while driving) in upstate NY. It caused a LOT of damage, but I remember getting that phone call from her at the side of the road and how incredibly freaked out she was by the whole incident. She said the deer ran off, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her, though I’m sure she knew, that the deer probably ran off into the woods to die (especially considering all the blood on her car, poor thing).
I also met someone recently who was hit by a bear (a bear!) on an interstate while on his motorcycle. Thankfully he was not severely injured, but his Harley sustained some serious damage. His wife was riding behind him and witnessed the whole thing, too. I can’t imagine how scary that was.
Thankfully I’ve never had that experience, knock on wood. I have had close calls with cats and know I have killed at least one squirrel, but I felt awful about it. If I hit someone’s dog or cat, I would have to stop. I find it hard to believe that there are people who won’t stop (like the person who hit and killed my friend’s greyhound who got loose earlier this year). I would have to stop, check on the animal, and call its owners (if it had tags).
Call me sentimental, but I have stopped upon seeing a dog at the side of the road to check if the dog had tags so I could call the owners and tell them. I would hope that if, God forbid, one of my dogs got loose and was hit by a car, someone would call me to let me know.
As far as the people in Minnesota, I think that is just sad all the way around. The guy who was driving, he probably has insurance. Now I know a court can’t consider that (insurance is for the insured’s benefit, not someone else’s– so if you hurt me, and I sue you, it doesn’t help you be liable for less money if I have health insurance that covered my medical bills), but COME ON. Chances are his insurance premium won’t even go up b/c the accident wasn’t (likely) his fault (though I don’t know how insurance in MN works– that’s the rule is many states). And if he wasn’t insured, then that’s his problem, and he’s most likely breaking the law on top of it. The dog owners? Also very sad, in my opinion. Again, I don’t know whether or not the accident could have been avoided by the driver, but regardless it’s their fault that their dog was loose. Consider it bad luck, grieve for your dog, and keep living. I wonder if they would suing at all if they hadn’t been sued first, but countersuing is just fanning the flames of needless litigation. If I hit someone’s dog, and it was unavoidable, I would NOT sue the dog owners, and I would be mortified if they sued me.
I just don’t think litigation is the answer. Sometimes stuff happens, and life’s not always pleasant, but suing won’t fix the car or bring the dog back.
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Fred, you really lucked out. Deer coming through the windshield have been known to kill people.
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Beccalinda, you’re right. Because if the deer had come into the cabin alive and still kicking it could have been brutal.
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Soccer Mom, if you are here today, that was not ME yesterday blogging about the cops…..someone hijacked my name……I wasn’t even here yesterday. I was over in MOMania……
Maybe I need to change my screen name…..I’ve seen other JJ’s in various blogs too and it ain’t me.
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if there was a leash law that wasn’t being followed I’d say the driver, while arguably mean/insensitive, has a pretty slam-dunk case unless the owners have witnesses that the guy was driving recklessly or made no “good faith” effort to avoid the dog.
just out of curiosity what’s the basis for the $2,400 counter-claim? oh, wait, let me guess - mental anguish, right?
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I was driving out of my subdivision one morning and it was dusk outside. I saw a rotweiler on the side walk and make a immediate dash in front of my car. I stopped and looked the opposite direction and did not see the dog. Well I continued driving passing three houses and heard a dog whimper. I stopped my car and it started rocking back and forth slightly. By this time I figured I had hit the dog and was dragging it under my car. I noticed a man in his yard and I asked him did he see a dog under my car. He said yes and I was afraid to get out of the car. I made it out of the car and called 911. When the police arrived they were afraid to touch my car. We located the owner to the dog. The dog was physically lodged under my Toyota Corolla and we had to use a car jack to get him out. The dog was pretty big over a 100 pounds, but the only injury was a scratch on the ear. The owner was cited for no leash law. My car was slightly bend underneath.
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jakesdad. Yep, that and the cost of a new dog.
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I have hit a squirrel and I had a squirrel run out of a yard and crash into the side of my car.
Had pigeon fly in to my windsheild.
Nothing major.
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I’ve never ever seen an animal driving, but if I did, I don’t think I’d hit it. Well, maybe - if it was talking on a cell phone or playing the bass too loud.
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Butch, animals can play a fish while driving? That I’d like to see.
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yes a deer twice,the first time approximately 35 years ago and the most recent 10/07.on both occasions the deer ran into my vehicle coming from the side.in washington county,georgia one really have to slow their speed during deer season and try be on the lookout at all times.there appear to be a correlation that make deer run towards headlights.
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Ron, I tried those “Deer Warning” thingies you put on your bumper. Does anyone know if those work or not?
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I have a min pin. She is very well behaved. It is very common for this breed to flee and explore if given the chance. They are fast and are usually house dogs, unfamiliar with moving vehicles. I do not feel that either party deserves compensation from the other. Lick your wounds and move on.
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About 4 years ago, late in October, the country roads were thick with fog. A small pack of dogs ran onto the state highway directly in front of my car. I slammed on the brakes, and luckily 2 got away, but the 3rd was too slow and hit my car head-on (literally). I drove back to find him, but could not. I pulled over at the next street and phoned 911 to advise the local county to please look for the dog. I gave them my number and told them that if they could identify the dog, they could release my info to the owners. I am a HUGE dog lover and this just broke my heart. When I got home I put my two pooches (now both gone, R.I.P.) in bed with me and prayed for the dog and its family.
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I think one of the biggest public safety concerns as for auto/animal collisions in the south east would be live stock. Dogs and cats can be an inconvenience, wildlife can be costly in auto repairs, while live stock can be fatal to the driver. Drive safe!
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Yep, hit a deer about 4 pm on interstate 75 just north of Atlanta. I was pulling my RV home from Illinois in my F250, in the right lane going about 65 mph and traffic was packed. This deer came up an embankment from an entrance ramp thinking it was going to cross the interstate. I had time to say oh s__t, woke up my wife who saw nothing but deer coming at her through the windshield as it broke that and bounced on up and hit the fifth wheel and bounced off that to the side of the road. I got a new front end, windshield, door, roof, hood and some bed work. Never did get the hoof marks off the RV, however.
Some fellow sitting on the entrance ramp saw the whole thing and asked if he could have the deer so I helped him load it into his truck. It was so beat up, I cannot imagine it would be worth anything.
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Heading down to Macon on the back roads, I was driving a Mazda MX-3, V6, the little spaceship, I called it. The power-to-weight ratio was a bit on the high side, so I was moving rather rapidly, having fun. About midnight, I came around a right sweeper and the lights showed a racoon in the middle of my lane. I realized that if I tried to avoid, I would throw the car off-balance and I would end up in the trees. In just an instant, it was him or me, so I stayed and could grit my teeth as I heard the thump underneath.
I have always felt bad, and that was the start of my slowing down my driving, and growing up a bit.
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I was riding with my grandpa when I was about 7 yrs old. A cat ran out into the road from the right side. I heard a thud. The car ran over the cats head. I sat up and looked behind out the window and the cats head was smooshed and his legs were flailing in the air. I had dreams about it for a long time. I hate to see animals hurt. I am not running off the road to avoid them though.
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When I was in college at Valdosta State, I was traveling from Albany to Valdosta via back roads through Moultrie.
I’d reached a small town called Berlin and I couldn’t see much at all. All of a sudden I heard a loud bang on the front of my car, then under the car. I pulled over, looked around and realized I’d hit a dog. A man came running towards me yelling that I just killed his boy’s dog. I was crying and terrified, but the man finally quit yelling at me. I felt horrible. The little boy was on the front porch crying! I got back in the car and drove off after 1,000 apologies. About 10 miles later, I realized I hadn’t even checked for damage on my car! (there was none.)
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To answer the question, I don’t side with anyone there. The driver should know things happen and that’s why you have insurance. The owner shouldn’t fight fire w/ fire. But I’d be pretty upset if I were in thier shoes. People are too quick to file lawsuits!
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I definitely would not sue. When I was young, our dog got hit by a volkswagon bug and the car was totaled. The driver was fine and the dog miraculously ended up being fine as well after a couple thousand dollars worth of vet bills. The dog, J.J. (an awesome weimaraner) went on to live a wonderful active life. We lived on a 400 acre farm and the J.J. roamed the farm. We were actually lucky enough to have the opportunity to adopt J.J. from a lady who lived in Athens. She had tried to keep J.J. in her house, but she was just simply too energetic. When we first got J.J., my dad would put her in a kennel while he was at work because he did not want her to get into the highway, but it was easy to see that J.J. needed to be free. When kept on a leash, in a house, or in a kennel, J.J. was literally a bundle of nerves that seemed like she was about to explode. Once we let her have full time freedom, she mellowed out and became the smartest, most gentle, and fun loving dog that we ever had.
I really told this elaborate story because it infuriates me to read or hear people talking about “leash laws” and about owners who should be blamed for allowing their dogs to be “loose”. People are so blinded by their own selfish human needs to have a dog be their “little child” that they are the “owner” of. It is much more sad for a dog to live his or her entire life in a human environment such as a house as opposed to having the opportunity to be a real dog and do what dogs are supposed to do.
Overall, I don’t mind that people (especially in urban areas) keep their dogs indoors, but I also think it is rediculous for those same people to in anyway criticize someone else who lets their dog run free. I know you can’t live downtown Atlanta and let your dog roam free, but I would say that you forcing a dog to live in an urban environment is more cruel than someone in a rural area allowing their dog to run free.
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Yeah, on the expressway going 65mph a deer got caught at the median and the car 2 cars ahead of me hit it. I saw what was happening and braced for some type of impact. It was hit repeatedly by me and several other cars. Luckily, none of us hit each other. It knocked a panel off the bottom of my low VW Passat station wagon. I thought that it was still underneath my car and pulled over and it was the panel dragging and not the deer. And on my way into work for a while the remnants were a constant reminder.
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Turtles- boy, they really smell up the undercarriage of a car. Never hit a deer but once when driving a garbage truck I hit a mid-sized dog that ran into the road to chase a vehicle coming in the opposite direction. The garbage truck was so big that it wasn’t damaged but can’t say the same for the dog. A few squirrels, though all but the most nervous of them get out of the way at the last second. Once grazed a cow that had gotten onto the road late at night but no damage to the car or (apparently) the cow. Have pasted several birds with my windshield, most notably a hawk on day about dark. the occasional rabbit, though I see fewer of them lately. Of course, we’re not even talking about the zillions of butterflies, june bugs, lightning bugs, etc. Never thought to sue anybody about any of it, though. I did leave a note where I hit the dog but I never heard from the people. Guess they were quite grief-stricken, ar at least not too litigiously-inclined.
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My truck must be an animal magnet. I’ve hit birds, deer, squirrels, dogs, cats, a rabbit, run over snakes, etc. ‘Course I drove cross country for many years and logged tens of thousands of miles. Even hit a skunk once. That’ll wake you up. I always hate it but I am not swerving or jackknifing to not hit a animal and possibly kill a person. Seen too many accidents caused by just that.
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This may strike you as funny, but I have two stories of deer running into vehicles, but with the drivers doing what they could to avoid it.. The first was my best friend growing up. He was driving down 316 a little outside of Lawrenceville and saw a deer standing in the middle of the road. He slowed to around 15 mph and blowing his horn (and mind you, he was in a 1984 Chevy Caprie Classic, so it had a LOUD horn). Well, the deer bounded to the middle of the road. My friend still was going about 15 or so when he was passing it, and the deer rammed the side of his car!! It made a huge dent and caused quite a bit of damage, but the deer fell backwards, then jumped onto his hood and over and into the woods on the far side of the road.
The second story was when I was driving up near Blue Ridge, GA. I was driving my wife’s Honda CR-V, and we were heading back from her parents house in Dial, GA. We saw the deer on one side of the road and I slowed down, honking the horn and flashing the lights. Well, what I didn’t see was a deer on the opposite side of the road. Well, it wanted to see its friends, so as I was passing it, it jumped right into the side of the vehicle. Luckily enough, it bounced right off and ran back into the woods that it came and the Honda was ok as well. (Just a squeaky door from then on)
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Hmmmmm… Let’s see, I only hit a bird yesterday, the possum was still alive when I finished it off, then the deer was delicious, squirrels are starting to fatten up this time of year.
My neighbor has some goats and a really bad fence, I should be set by Labor Day. Then me and the misses start canning for winter…
With gas prices as high as they are, roadkill is costing nearly as much as store bought meat. Glad to know others are out there harvesting just like me.
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I know you can’t live downtown Atlanta and let your dog roam free, but I would say that you forcing a dog to live in an urban environment is more cruel than someone in a rural area allowing their dog to run free.
Gotta disagree with this. Yes, dogs need some freedom to “be dogs.” But this can be had in a safe way. I know it’s common for dog owners in rural areas to let dogs roam, but unless the dog never, ever leaves the owner’s property (this is rare), the dog running loose is a hazard.
I am in agreemen that we must not treat animals like people, and sometimes, people put them in situations that don’t allow them to be themselves. But the myth that “dogs need to run free” is, with very, very few exceptions, a myth. Dogs need us to care for them and keep them safe. Most dogs want to be with us, not “running free.”
Sorry, it’s just not worth the risk to me. My dogs are off-leash trained, and I allow them freedom when I am supervising, and where it is legal and safe. The rest of the time? They are safe in my home, curled up asleep.
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Petdish, no, those thingies you put on your bumper don’t work. When I lived in NJ in an area w/a big deer population, we put those on the car, and we still saw just as many deer dash out into the road as before.
Jakesdad, they probably countersued for negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress. I think they’d have a case if, say, the driver sped up or tried to hit the dog, but chances are that’s not what happened. If either party walked into my office with this scenario, I’d probably decline the representation.
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I have been driving for a long time and unfortunately have had a few collisions involving animals. A red-headed woodpecker crashed into my side window, a deer slammed into the side of my car ($2500 damage), a dog ran out in front of me, I swerved and so did he/she then disappeared into the woods, a squirrel…it upset me every single time!! My name says it all.
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An opossum completely by accident and four Muscovy ducks on purpose.
I used to live in this community in Miami that had these stupid artificial lakes and the lakes had resident Muscovy ducks (those are the ugly ducks with red crap on their bills). The thing is that at night they liked to sleep on the road that led to my house. I got tired of getting out of my car to shoo them away, so one night I just drove straight through, feeling several bumps. The next morning there four fresh duck carcasses on the road. After that the duckies never slept on that road any more. They’re that smart!
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Won’t swerve for ANY animal unless I know 100% that I won’t do damage to my car or hit someone in the process. I will swerve for kids with no regard for myself in an instant. No animal (even my own) is worth more than the life of a humans, mine or otherwise.
Call it insensitive, whatever, but that’s what my dad instilled in me from an early age and I’m glad he did. One night in my late teens/early 20’s an opossum ran in front of me. I was on an unfamiliar road and the guy I was dating yelled for me to watch out. No way! I ran that sucker over and it was like hitting a huge speed bump. Glad I did though, upon heading back in that direction later that night I slowed down when we came upon where I knew I hit it, the road dropped off on both sides and it was at a turn. It could have been nasty
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BTW when I hit the skunk with my truck I did the only thing I could do…I buried it. I even made the whole big enough to put the skunkin as well.
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Call me an optimist or opportunist, but if I ever hit a bear or a deer then I want a nice rug out of the deal. Maybe a bear claw necklace. The venison can go to the food bank. Take advantage of the situation.
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Most if not all states consider wildlife game to be state property, even if it were bred and raised entirely within private property, as long as it’s wild. Doesn’t matter if you hit it with a bullet or a car, you can’t take it home and you have no authority to allow someone to take it. And roadkill (and that’s what it is) don’t go to food bank. Maybe some of the more rural places have an arrangement with local soup kitchens to take the really fresh ones, but by and large, if it wasn’t slaughtered according to dept. of agriculture guidelines, it ain’t fit for public consumption. You already got potential problems with wild games that were dressed immediately after kill, so I wouldn’t be too eager to bite into one that’s been roasting on blacktop with all its innards for a few hours.
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I hit a deer on I 85 at 85 MPH at 1 am (major damage), up till then I thought deers were cute, not anymore,state should bag and reflectorize them all LOL
My wife hit a dog but we could not find the dog after we stopped
saw a bear and cougar ( I think) on I 20
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My friend Paulder hit a deer in Dacula, her Uncle asked how many points and she said, I dunno, how many you get in PA?
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I was traveling in Australia after graduating college and just purchased a very used 1977 Holden Panel Van station wagon with a Dutch friend I had met. We had picked up a British traveler along our way. The car had a bench seat and a truck style bed in the back. We had put a double bed on some angle iron so we could store boxes below it and we were traveling cross country. One late night I was driving and the Dutch guy was asleep in the passenger seat and the British guy was asleep on the double bed. There were a lot of kangaroos out and I was driving pretty slow (about 50 miles/hr on a hwy). One leaped out in front of the car and I slammed the brakes and caught him as he was hopping. It threw him in the air, the brakes locked up on the Panel Van and we started doing 360’s across the highway. We came to a rest on the opposite side of the highway facing the opposite direction. The “Roo” bar mounted to the front of the car had been bent and busted the light out which short circuited the electrical system. The British guy in the back of the car woke up and almost pee’d himself as the car was spinning and he was rolling all over the bed. So we got out of the car and it was pitch black in the Australian outback. Three foreigners with no electrical system in their car. I was laughing my rear end off. We took some photos then disconnected the front head light and the power came back on and we headed on our way. I’ll never forget it. Oh and the roo didn’t make it. They are like deer over there. All over the sides of the road at night.
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Hit several deer. Ran over a dog on my motorcycle. Running over a dog will give you a boy howdy!!!!!!!
When a deer is hit by a car, the meat turns to jello so taking to a food bank or home will not work.
I have driven behind a pig truck in the midwest. There is are no words for the smell.
I was deer hunting several years ago and a hawk attacked me. Guess wildlife was turning the tables on me.
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I came close to running over a crack head in Kansas City, KS about two months ago. Does this count as wildlife?
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I hit a deer several years ago while driving a Dodge Neon (tiny car). The deer ran right in front of me on the highway. It crushed the hood of my car and busted my radiator. It caused about $4,000 in damage. And the deer got up and ran away. There should definitely be some kind of law where the government pays you back when wild animals damage your vehicle.
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I spent 20 yrs in Mn and the theme among locals was: Take the deer,it’s more dangerous to hit the ditch. Also never heard of anyone killed by deer but did know one fellow, his mother-in -law was killed by hitting a moose. A car will take out the legs and the body goes through the windshield. I have two deer to my record a coon and a rabbit but thankfully no skunks. Never even slowed down!
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Last year a deer came across the raod and ran right in to my driver door; when I turned to see what the noise was from I was face to face with a huge deer that limped away. Amounted to about $5000 worth of damage to my new van and being in rental cars for a month. This was a populated busy road but it was at night.
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I play wow in 3 years and i know some wow gold,I love wow gold.
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