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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To run over an animal without a second thought and not swerve

199 replies

Kimbomc · 07/09/2015 08:49

I drove a friend back on Saturday , through a rural area nsl A road but quite narrow. A fiox came out in front, I took my foot off the accelerator but didn't brake as a car was too close behind me. Surprise surprise it didn't move and I heard a thump so we know what happened to it.

Friend seemed quite shocked that I didn't swerve or brake sharply, I said its just not worth it as could be very dangerous.

When these things happen my first thought is to hope it moves out of the way but to just remain as I am and don't do anything harshly. I do run over a lot of peasants that I don't feel great about but they do just wonder into the road.

So we were just chatting on what's app, she was saying she feels sad about the fox (we're both vegan) and I'm trying to explain how dangerous it would have been to do any different but she really doesnt get it.

I was right to do that right?

OP posts:
MackerelOfFact · 07/09/2015 09:28

A school friend was killed in a car accident in her early twenties as a result of swerving to miss a fox. It's not worth it.

Peasants on the other hand... Grin

EponasWildDaughter · 07/09/2015 09:29

''Car wasn't super close behind, but still close enough that it didn't have a safe stopping distance IMO.''

If it didn't have a safe stopping distance then it was too close. That is the definiton of too close. If you know the car behind is too close you should slow down a bit.

Toughasoldboots · 07/09/2015 09:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Kimbomc · 07/09/2015 09:30

Just to say again (for the last time!), the " not give a second thought" was about swerving not the life. I obviously didn't feel great about killing an animal.

OP posts:
Toughasoldboots · 07/09/2015 09:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

WaggleBee · 07/09/2015 09:32

Changing to yabu now I've seen you were doing 50. That's not a safe speed on a rural road at night imo.

MaidOfStars · 07/09/2015 09:33

Was there traffic coming in the opposite direction?

AsTimeGoesBy · 07/09/2015 09:34

I have driven to work (10 miles for 10 years, 20 miles for 10 years) on rural pheasant infested roads for most of the last 25 years and only hit one (and one dog, who was unhurt), there is nearly always time to slow down or space to swerve a bit. I agree with you over the fox, but think you must be either driving too fast or being unecessarily cautious about slowing down for pheasants if you're hitting lots of them.

ScOffasDyke · 07/09/2015 09:34

So if you stop, and find the fox you've hit isn't dead, but is suffering, what do you do then? You won't be able to get it into your car, it'll bite you. Would you kill it? How?

LyndaNotLinda · 07/09/2015 09:35

I think you probably should have rewritten the title of your OP as it clearly says that you ran over the fox without a second thought, rather than avoided swerving without a second thought! :o

Toughasoldboots · 07/09/2015 09:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LyndaNotLinda · 07/09/2015 09:37

I don't think pheasants fall under the farm animal code do they?

Lurkedforever1 · 07/09/2015 09:37

Whether there is a legal duty to avoid hitting anything is irrelevant in my opinion, there is a massive moral duty not to. If it really was unavoidable, then Yanbu. I've lived in a few different rural areas, and never come remotely close to hitting a fox. But I accept its possible for one that is already unhealthy in some driving circumstances. I lived in none hunt country at one point pre ban, and it wasn't that rare for some do gooding twat to release the poor town foxes in the pretty countryside, and they generally ended up unhealthy asap.
But I do think there's a duty to go back and check it's actually dead.

ShadowLine · 07/09/2015 09:38

YANBU, it sounds like it would have been dangerous to do anything else. But I do agree that you should drive more slowly if the car behind is too close to allow you to brake sharply if need be.

Hitting a fox is one thing. But there's the possibility of coming across something bigger - people, horses, other large animals. We've had to do emergency stops before because deer have leapt in front of the car. Hitting a deer could easily be just as fatal for the car driver as for the deer.

Snowfilledsky · 07/09/2015 09:38

I think it's a bit early on a Monday morning for an AIBU thread involving driving and killing animals and not being too fussed about it.

Have you checked your car over? Hitting a fox at that speed will probably have done some damage.

NoahVale · 07/09/2015 09:42

i have done some damage to my car in the night with a badger, what a mess he made, and a fox.
nothing you can do though

TenForward82 · 07/09/2015 09:42

Well, I'm in the total opposite minority here because I would rather have an accident than kill an animal. While driving on rural roads I always drive slowly (especially if there's some berk behind me tailgating) and am hyper on the lookout for animals darting out into the road.

I also don't understand why swerving wasn't possible. I certainly at least would have pulled over and, if it was still alive, notified the RSPCA or similar rather than leave it to suffer.

Funny attitude for a "vegan", but pretty typical of any vegan I've ever met.

Bettercallsaul1 · 07/09/2015 09:46

Absolutely no problem with massacring the odd peasant, OP. The country's massively overpopulated.

Original poster
Kimbomc · 07/09/2015 09:46

TenForward82 - rightly or wrongly I place a greater importance on my life and the passenger in the car with me than on a wild animal. Several people here have sadly known people killed by swerving.

Im not into this "I'm a better vegan than you", as even driving at 10 mph you would kill insects, even walking you kill things. The further down you go the harder it gets.

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 07/09/2015 09:47

I had a nasty accident when I was about 20 when I braked to avoid a rabbit and the car behind ran into the back of me - it was a quiet country road and we were approaching one of the few places you could overtake so I think the boy racer behind me was speeding up to overtake me. Obviously he was too close and the accident was judged to be his fault but I was still hurt.
I didn't think, I just reacted when the rabbit hopped out but it would have been safer to just keep going. Ironically I did actually kill the rabbit too!!!
I felt very guilty though and would always stop if it was safe to to check if the animal could be helped.
We were driving on the motorway recently and a large bird of prey hit the windscreen, DH was driving and he hardly flinched, it was busy and we had 2 DC in the back so I'm glad he reacted so well.

MaidOfStars · 07/09/2015 09:52

Was there traffic coming in the opposite direction?

Toughasoldboots · 07/09/2015 09:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bungmean · 07/09/2015 09:52

I live rurally. I've hit a badger when doing 60 on an A road - literally no time to stop, swerve, beep horn or take any evasive action as it trotted out from the grass verge, hit the bumper, and ran off into the woods. I tried to find it as I'm sure it will have been seriously hurt, but couldn't.

Pheasants - around 5 so far, but again, they just burst out of the verge and into the path of the car. No time to stop.

My wife hit a deer while doing 70 on the motorway, leaving the car completely written off - bent so much she had to climb out of the boot. Amazingly she was unhurt, but the deer was very obviously dead.

Sometimes you can't avoid collisions with animals. Sometimes it isn't safe to take evasive action (my close run with a mountain hare in winter fur when living on Shetland would have lead to my death by skidding off a cliff had I tried to do anything). Sometimes evasive action is required.

You did what was best in this situation.

TenForward82 · 07/09/2015 09:53

I'm not a vegan. So I'm not a better vegan than you. I just find most vegans to be hypocrites.

FWIW, I killed a spider this morning by accident and feel awful about it.

I'd think the onus was on you to drive safely on a rural road with a tailgater behind you. As another poster pointed out, what if you'd come across a horse? A person? A car stopped by the side of the road?

Mulligrubs · 07/09/2015 09:56

I can't believe some people are saying you should have slammed your brakes on or swerved. It's morons like that who cause accidents that kill other people or themselves.

If there's an animal in the road you don't swerve or slam on your brakes. If it is something like a cow or deer then obviously that is different because that could cause an accident hitting that anyway. It doesn't feel good to hit an animal, of course. I hit a pheasant and cried later on but I did not swerve and it was not safe to slow down without causing an accident with another car or ending up wrapped around a tree, it is crap but it happens.

I wouldn't stop to check the animal either. Especially on country roads, it usually is unsafe to stop. A dog/livestock can be reported to the police later when you find somewhere safe to stop.