So, on our way home from a doctor's appointment the other day we run into very slow traffic in an area that is hardly ever slow or full of traffic even. As we work our way around the corner we see it. A fawn in the middle of the lane. I actually saw the mother first in the trees to the side of the road so was warned to what I might see. There was a cop there directing traffic around the fawn. Yes, it was alive... unfortunately. For me it is a no-brainer for the cop to simply put the mortally injured creature out of it's misery, but I found out that cops have to get permission from the state wildlife commission before they can kill any animal for any reason (and yet they'll kill a family dog on the least provocation?). I found this out when a family of skunks became rabid in my back yard. I also found out it was ultimately my responsibility to trap and dispose of the wild animals myself. Um, huh?
Anyway, back to the story. The little paved road that comes up the hill to our little community is a winding, humping thing with no shoulder, and tall grass and trees right up to the edge of it. The posted speed limit is 45 mph (which I think is 5 miles too fast to begin with); however, I would guess the average speed of drivers up and down this road is at least 55 mph or more. And they drive this speed no matter what the conditions.
When we saw the fawn that was hit (one of MANY by the way), it was dusk - when animals are at their most active - and rainy. I have absolutely no doubt the car was speeding. Mother deer cross the road first and wait for the fawn to follow. I also have no doubt the driver was not looking for deer, or other animals for that matter, and did not see (or did not care about) the doe on the side of the road.
When I was younger, 14 actually, I went thru a brief, harsh period where I hit several animals with the family vehicle. Each death was because I was speeding and being unobservant. I have not hit an animal since. Why? Because my father taught me the rules of driving when animals are about or on the road (or humans for that matter). They are simple and I'm going to list them here for you:
1. Never drive with your brights, high beams, on.
2. Be observant to what in beside the road, ahead on the road and to each side of you (use your peripheral vision and get off the damn phone!).
3. At night look for eyes. All animals' eyes reflect light. If you see points of light along the road, slow down!
4. If you see animals in the distance that are to the side of the road, do not make sudden changes in speed. They hear you coming. A sudden change in engine tone could spook them.
5. Drive for the conditions. If you live in an area with large populations of wild, or even tame, animals, it is the same as driving in adverse weather conditions. Slow down!
Having driven around here for almost two years now, I know from experience the folks around here do not follow any of those rule. These rules should be taught in driver's ed. Not only do they not know the rules, but deliberately break what the few laws there are - speeding, passing on blind curves and hills (the road has no passing zones at all), passing using the shoulder (which I've said does not exist), etc. As expensive as vehicles are these days you'd think people would be just a tiny bit more cautious. Not to mention the loss of life. And I don't mean just to the wild/pet animal populations, but to us. Deer are considered the most dangerous animal in the US because they kill and injure more people than any other animal because of being hit by cars.
Now sometimes a deer will hit your car and not the other way around. But it is so infrequent to almost not be worth mentioning, but I will. Sometimes a deer will get spooked and run across a road without looking, essentially running into the side of your vehicle. A deer running into the side of your car may cause damage to it, but it is highly unlikely to kill or even injure you. Obviously such an incident is not your fault. Other animals do this as well. BUT, if the animal is anywhere in front of you, there is no reason for hitting it. I totally stand by that statement. If you follow the rules above, you'll never hit an animal again. I'm 41 now so it has been 27 years since I've hit an animal. My father never hit an animal, my mother has never hit an animal, my husband who is an over the road trucker has never hit an animal, and if I have anything to do with it my children will never hit an animal.
Let us take into consideration the conditions of the road when that fawn got hit. The posted speed limit is 45 mph. Because that section of the road goes around a blind curve the driver should have shaved 5 mph off for that down to 40 (no shoulder remember; there could be a stalled vehicle, anything). High grass, trees, no shoulder, and it being dusk when animals are most active (and we have a lot of them), the driver should have shaved off another 10 mph to 30 mph. Don't forget it was also raining lessening visibility even more and making the road slick. Another 5 mph should have been dropped for that so the driver should have been going 25 mph that evening. If the driver had been, there would not now be yet another dead fawn/groundhog/skunk/deer/pet on the road. Not to mention the damage to the car the driver now has to pay for. You'd think that would be deterrent enough.
But no. We would rather get home or to work or simply down the road a few miles or minutes faster. So killing animals or doing damage to your vehicle does in no way deter you from driving like an idiot, eh? Well what about pedestrians. Remember I said there is no shoulder, yet adults and kids walk/bike that road all the time. A man was killed last month by a driver who lost control and careened through his backyard where he was mowing his lawn! It is rumored she was texting. Oh right, I haven't even mentioned those who eat, phone, text, drink, etc. while driving. But then those dangerous infractions seem obvious don't they? We see skid marks every day where cars have lost control on curves. We see local signs and electric poles broken by cars all the time. We see broken cars or pieces of cars. This is an everyday occurrence. I can't tell you how many times I've driven down the hill into town to run an errand and within the 15 minutes I'm in town, there is a full handful of dead animals on the road to avoid on the drive back up (not always dead). And this is not a heavy traffic road by any means.
Please follow the rules. Do it for the fawns. If that don't move you, do it for yourself.
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