You’re driving down the road at night when an animal walks into the street ahead of you. It stops and looks at you, the headlights reflected in its eyes. You only have a split second to react, so what should you do?
Some drivers will swerve, simply trying to avoid the crash. This is understandable and may just be a natural reaction. But that doesn’t mean it’s the right one, as swerving often puts you in greater danger than just hitting the brakes, reducing your speed and staying in your lane. You may want to honk your horn or flash your lights to get the animal to move, but it is usually not advisable to swerve.
Creating a worse outcome
The problem with swerving around an animal is that doing so is likely going to lead to a worse outcome for you, for anyone else in your car and – potentially – for those in another vehicle.
Say that you swerve to the left. Doing so takes you directly into the oncoming traffic lanes. You may be instinctively trying to avoid the collision with an animal, but you end up hitting a pickup truck coming toward you at 55 miles an hour.
What if you swerve to the right? Not only may the animal run to the right, into your path, but you could also strike a tree, a rock, a street sign, a guard rail or even a building, depending on where you’re driving. If there is a sidewalk or a bike lane, you could also swerve into cyclists or pedestrians.
Financial compensation after an accident
Even if you react appropriately to hazards like this, other drivers are going to make mistakes and cause car accidents. If you suffer injuries, be sure you know how to seek financial compensation.