People running over birds in their cars

[Magicpaintbrush]

AIBU that for the sake of a 10 second delay that impatient arsehole drivers could just wait for birds who happen to be walking about in the road to actually fly out of the way rather than driving straight over them? Birds don't understand what cars are, sometimes it takes a moment for the penny to drop that there is danger, especially pigeons who are a bit dim. Yes it's annoying, but for the sake of a few seconds or just hooting your horn why run the poor things over? I keep seeing this happen, and there is a squashed pigeon in the road right next to where I'm parked that wasn't there this morning. It's totally avoidable.

So you think because a bird is squashed on the road someone must have done it on purpose? it could have died and then been run over, could have been a swift dive into the road and an oncoming vehicle didn’t have time / could avoid it safely. Do you also honestly think people go out of their way to hit an animal and then have to deal with the damage / mess to their car if they could simply avoid it?

Birds have incredibly fast vision compared to ours which is why they often don’t fly off until the last minute as they can judge distance better, can you imagine the chaos of everyone just started stopping because a pigeon is in the road?

I have never once seen anyone run over a bird or other small creature on purpose!

Do you really think the roadkill you see on residential roads is as a result of impatience and not because the animals flew into the car or ran across the road at the last minute?

I was taught that you shouldn't slow down for birds or wild animals, in fact my instructor gave me a bollocking for slowing down for a couple of birds pecking at roadkill.

In fact I credit passing my test partially for my reaction to running over a squirrel (grey, fortunately) that ran out in front of me - a mild "ahhh" to acknowledge I'd seen it and decided not to brake or swerve.

But yeah if I was doing 10mph on a housing estate with nobody behind me, I'd stop for a moment in the hope they'd get out of the way.

You walked down a road and saw a pigeon on a hump that was flattened. At the time you walked down the road, it was quiet. You don't know at the time of the incident whether other cars were on the road and to stop would have caused an accident. They'd already slowed enough because of the bump. You don't know if the bird came out of nowhere and even had the driver been going 1mph they wouldn't have been able to stop in time.

Even on your quiet roads its possible that other road users are also there including cyclist motorised or not and to stop would have caused an accident.

Who is to say whether animals also have an suicidal tendency. Some certainly have a death wish even in their natural habitat when they goad their predators.

Most of us put our children above a pigeon and do the right thing and not break suddenly (which can mean your children die).

Okay, just to be absolutely crystal clear I don't think people are going out in their cars and hitting birds on purpose. I just think there are plenty of people who don't give a shit if they run them over because they are in their path, and the only reason I think that is because I keep seeing drivers - and let me be very very clear, these are cars on quiet roads who COULD slow down easily and safely - just driving full speed at whatever unlucky bird happens to be in the road. I have seen this happen SO many times around town. Sometimes the birds just get away by the skin of their beaks, other times they don't.

I am categorically NOT talking about situations where people cannot avoid the birds without putting themselves or other road users in danger. That is completely different. I am talking about the situations where there is a choice to either slow down or not slow down, without causing any danger to any person, just the birds.

If you were driving along a road doing 30mph, there's a pigeon clearly visible about 20 metres away pecking about in the road, and there is no other vehicle in your vicinity, would you slow down or just run it over? This is exactly the kind of thing I keep seeing where I live. This is what I object to. That's it. End of story.

How do you know the circumstances in which the bird was hit if you wasn't there when it happened?

You never seen a bird swoop directly in front of a moving car?

If you were driving along a road doing 30mph, there's a pigeon clearly visible about 20 metres away pecking about in the road, and there is no other vehicle in your vicinity, would you slow down or just run it over?

I would keep driving as you never know what traffic may be coming towards me or speeding up my rear end. Slowing to an almost-stop on most roads is a dangerous thing to do and should be avoided unless it's absolutely necessary.

I would stop for eg. a dog, cat, sheep, deer. A pigeon? No, sorry.

@Magicpaintbrush

Okay, just to be absolutely crystal clear I don't think people are going out in their cars and hitting birds on purpose. I just think there are plenty of people who don't give a shit if they run them over because they are in their path, and the only reason I think that is because I keep seeing drivers - and let me be very very clear, these are cars on quiet roads who COULD slow down easily and safely - just driving full speed at whatever unlucky bird happens to be in the road. I have seen this happen SO many times around town. Sometimes the birds just get away by the skin of their beaks, other times they don't.

I am categorically NOT talking about situations where people cannot avoid the birds without putting themselves or other road users in danger. That is completely different. I am talking about the situations where there is a choice to either slow down or not slow down, without causing any danger to any person, just the birds.

If you were driving along a road doing 30mph, there's a pigeon clearly visible about 20 metres away pecking about in the road, and there is no other vehicle in your vicinity, would you slow down or just run it over? This is exactly the kind of thing I keep seeing where I live. This is what I object to. That's it. End of story.

If this is a regular occurrence where You live I'd be looking to move, Ive never heard anything like it tbh.

If you were driving along a road doing 30mph, there's a pigeon clearly visible about 20 metres away pecking about in the road, and there is no other vehicle in your vicinity, would you slow down or just run it over?

I might slow down a bit but my driving instructor told me that birds feel the car coming rather than see it. So if you slow down or stop they ignore you. Then you are stuck waiting for the birds to move of their own accord. I haven’t really questioned that until today tbh but I have only once hit a bird (pigeon) and that was when it flew out from between two parked cars straight into my wing mirror. That was pretty shocking!

I would behave differently for ducks. There is a duck crossing point near where I live on a busy A road and regularly 4 lanes of traffic stop while ducks and ducklings cross. It’s very cute!

Christ, where are you that people deliberately hit things, I have never seen that.

If you were driving along a road doing 30mph, there's a pigeon clearly visible about 20 metres away pecking about in the road, and there is no other vehicle in your vicinity, would you slow down or just run it over?
I might very gently ease off the accelerator to give it a chance to fly off but I wouldn't be otherwise giving it much more consideration. I wouldn't be significantly slowing down for a pigeon no.

99% of birds will fly off when you approach - they won't fly off if your car is stationary, though.

How do you know that a cat didn't kill the bird or it flew into a wall/window and its body ended up on the road where it became squished?

I don't think it would be that easy to run one over on purpose. Dick Dastardly & Muttley made a career out of failing to.

I've hit birds. Or rather, they've hit my car. Makes a mess. I'm not getting out to nurse it, I'm afraid but I did feel sad.

How do you know that a cat didn't kill the bird or it flew into a wall/window and its body ended up on the road where it became squished?

You're absolutely right, I wasn't there, I don't know for certain, but I think all of the scenarios you describe are highly unlikely. On reflection I think another possibility is that it was abducted by aliens who turned it into a pigeon pate and then returned it to the road as a tasty snack for the local cats, maybe we can add that to your list of theories.

I'm actually not sure anybody has read my posts properly subsequent to the opening post: I don't think people are setting out to deliberately hit birds, I didn't say they were, just that they are too impatient to slow down and they assume they will fly out of the way when in fact they don't always. And just to clarify yet AGAIN I am not suggesting anybody should put themselves or any other road users in danger for the sake of a pigeon. I did mention that before but I don't think anybody reads anything other than the original post.

In the grand tradition of AIBU I have had my arse handed to me on a plate and I am clearly unreasonable, which I accept. From now on if I see any birds in the road ahead I will mow the little bastards down, even if the road is empty and I have plenty of stopping time.

I know what you mean op. My school run is 7 miles across country roads and I see pheasants, pigeons, squirrels, cats etc every day and if I didn’t stop on a regular basis I would be hitting a lot of them. These are the kinds of roads that you have to travel slowly along and most people slow down/ stop to beep these animals out of the road although I do know some people just steam on through and don’t care what they hit. I once had a disgusting oaf of a boyfriend who purposefully hit a fox then burst out laughing. He was repulsive to me after that.

I'd sooner kill a bird than a child/person by causing an accident by braking hard or swerving .

I'd sooner kill a bird than a child/person by causing an accident by braking hard or swerving .

If you RTFT you will see that I haven't suggested people do either one of those things actually. I am talking ONLY about people who have plenty of time to slow down safely if they choose because the road is quiet and the birds are clearly visible in the distance but they don't because they are impatient. I'm not suggesting anybody brake sharply or swerve!! Why doesn't anybody RTFT???

Just a helpful note to anybody joining this thread to RTFT - it's only 2 pages long, not War and Peace.

Breaking could cause an accident in itself. I did stop for a duck family yesterday but there was no one behind me.

Have hit one bird, unavoidable. Have heard of one other bird being hit again unavoidable.

Have never seen or heard of someone not slowing for a bird when it is safe to do so. I think you have been very unlucky. Most people do slow down and wait for any animal.

You don’t brake or take avoiding action for any small animal, people get killed this way. Lift off if you like but hard braking is a bad idea. Common sense applies of course, if you’re at walking pace you’re unlikely to be causing any accidents.

@Magicpaintbrush

I'd sooner kill a bird than a child/person by causing an accident by braking hard or swerving .

If you RTFT you will see that I haven't suggested people do either one of those things actually. I am talking ONLY about people who have plenty of time to slow down safely if they choose because the road is quiet and the birds are clearly visible in the distance but they don't because they are impatient. I'm not suggesting anybody brake sharply or swerve!! Why doesn't anybody RTFT???

People have read it, they just still disagree with you lol.

I wouldn't stop because I live surrounded by windy country roads and you never know who could come speeding round the corner behind you. It's just not safe to stop in the middle of the road, even if it seems quiet at the time.

You have to weigh up the risk - is it worth risking an accident for a pigeon or a rat/mouse? No, generally not. But it is worth the risk for, say, a child, or a bigger animal like a deer who could crush your car and seriously injure you if you hit them.

Yes, slowing down safely, braking gently or lifting off the gas, if there is nobody behind you is exactly what I suggested already. Not breaking sharply. Not doing anything that might cause danger to other road users. As I already said up-thread multiple times.

RTFT. RTFT. RTFT.