One of the many ways that cars can get into collisions is at animal crossings. These are locations that are designated by signs on the road that mark places that animals typically attempt to cross busy roads. When you find yourself driving towards a deer, cow, moose, or any other large animal on the road, the best thing to do is avoid hitting the animal.
If you can swerve around the animal, try to do so. If you have time to brake, then attempt to do this as well. Hitting the animal not only does damage to the animal, but can severely wreck your car or even cause injury to you and passengers in the car. People have died from animal crossing accidents in the past.
If you are going to be unable to stop, road safety experts suggest that you turn off your headlights. In some cases, an animal may become transfixed by the headlights and be unable to move. If you turn the lights off, this may snap the animal out of its hypnotic state and encourage it to move out of the road.
If the animal does not move, then you may want to try hitting the animal from an angle. While hitting the animal is never ideal, if it is necessary it is always best to move in from one side or the other instead of head-on. You should also slow down as much as possible as you approach the animal. The slower you go, the more of an opportunity that you have that the animal may move out of the way.
It is essential that you remain in the same lane when you note an animal on the road. Many animal crossings are on two-lane highways. This means that if you swerve into the other lane, you could be facing head-on traffic and this may result in an even worse accident. Interestingly enough, safety experts say that if collision with an animal in the road seems inevitable, then you will need to speed up at the last moment.
This will help the imminent impact. If you brake at the last moment, the car's inertia will push the front bumper of the car downwards. This means that the animal may roll over the car and this could put your car (and you) in extreme danger. If you speed up at the last moment, then your car's front end will pull up and reduce the chances of the animal flipping over the top of the car.
It is important that you never touch an animal after an accident, as a wounded or frightened animal can be very dangerous. Instead, you should call the police immediately after hitting a wild animal and wait near the scene of the accident until the law enforcement approach. Some of the animals that are pictured frequently on animal crossing signs include livestock, deer, cougars, and bears among the many animals.
In many situations, there is no one to litigate against in animal crossing situations. Yet if you are involved in an accident that has outside parties involved, then there may be someone to target with your lawsuit. Sometimes animal lawsuits facilitate multi-car accidents, or maybe the county failed to post the proper signs at a popular animal crossing.
Some states have even worked to add fences at places that are known as popular animal crossings in order to help avoid accidents. Read more about this on the blog right away. With the right attorney on your side, you may be able to research your situation and see if anything can be done to cover your medical bills or vehicular damage. Call a local car accident lawyer today!