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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Should I have slammed on my brakes to save the hare?

76 replies

Hummusontoast · 15/10/2022 19:57

Driving down the A1 (single carriageway) at 60mph and it runs out in front of my car. I had a car behind me. I slow down to say 40 and it looks like it is going to make it then bang. I don’t know what happened. I think it either stopped and darted backwards or my judgement was faulty in road positioning terms. I could have slammed on my brake but I don’t know if the car behind me would have had time to stop or not. Maybe I should have tried positioning myself a little further to the left. I’ve not been driving for long and I’m gutted. Feel like a shit driver 😞

OP posts:

Idontgiveagriffindamn · 15/10/2022 19:58

No you shouldn’t have slammed on the brakes - you could have caused a very dangerous accident at that speed

tilder · 15/10/2022 19:59

Rabbit no, hare yes. Are you sure it was a hare?

On a quiet road where safe to do so.

Doesn't sound like it would have been safe.

AhmenGwendolyn · 15/10/2022 19:59

You did the right thing. It’s never a good idea to slam on your brakes with a car behind

Original poster

Hummusontoast · 15/10/2022 20:00

tilder · 15/10/2022 19:59

Rabbit no, hare yes. Are you sure it was a hare?

On a quiet road where safe to do so.

Doesn't sound like it would have been safe.

Yeah, definitely a hare. 😫

OP posts:

MillicentMargaretAmanda · 15/10/2022 20:01

If you are in a position to brake safely to avoid an animal, by all means do so. You weren't and could have killed yourself and others if you had braked sharply. You made the right decision.

XenoBitch · 15/10/2022 20:01

Honestly, this sort of thing is instinct. If you had the time to stop and think about it, then you were lucky.
Most people would just do what their body does.. which would be slam on the brakes.

NannyR · 15/10/2022 20:02

I wouldn't have slammed on the brakes, it's sad for the animal but you could have caused a very serious accident.

FaazoHuyzeoSix · 15/10/2022 20:02

You did the right thing. It's sad for the hare but slamming on the brakes could have killed a human. Sometimes you have no nice choices but you don't have time to agonise about it at that speed. You just have a split second and slamming on the brakes except to save a human life is too dangerous.

Original poster

Hummusontoast · 15/10/2022 20:02

I previously stopped on the same road for a pheasant but this was when it was quiet with nobody behind. Is it not the responsibility for the car behind to keep a safe distance though? I guess if it did cause an accident the two second rule won’t help either of us.

OP posts:

Piffpaffpoff · 15/10/2022 20:04

I would have done exactly the same thing and in fact I did on the A9 recently, except it was a pheasant, not a hare. I’ve been driving for 30 years so it’s not a new driver thing - it’s just bad luck. Braking might have caused a serious accident so you did the right thing.

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 15/10/2022 20:04

As hard as it sounds you shouldn’t be slamming your brakes on for animals on the road. You could have caused a huge fatal pileup at the speed you did drop to. Thank god you didn’t stop all together! You can try to avoid animals in the road if you can safely do so but rash actions in fast-moving traffic would make you a bad driver.

Getofftheladder · 15/10/2022 20:06

No you should never hard brake for an animal if you’ve got a car behind. I lost a family member that way.

caggie3 · 15/10/2022 20:09

I slammed on my brakes to try and not hit a chicken (that was just randomly strolling on a 50mph road!) It was days after passing my driving test and the car behind crashed into me and my car was written off and there's was significantly damaged. A few bumps and cuts but neither party seriously injured. The worst part was not only did I write my car off but I still killed the bloody chicken. I was too scared to drive again for a long time!

You did the right thing. It's horrible though!

XenoBitch · 15/10/2022 20:09

Getofftheladder · 15/10/2022 20:06

No you should never hard brake for an animal if you’ve got a car behind. I lost a family member that way.

Sorry that happened to you

But, how can it be helped? When a thing is out infront of your vehicle, you do not have time to think. Instinct kicks in. It may have been an animal, it may have been a child. You don't know.

2X4B523P · 15/10/2022 20:10

In theory anyone should be able to slam on their brakes without causing anyone behind to crash into them as they would be following at an appropriate distance.

However in practice it would cause a crash on many occasions due to sheer number of drivers who lack any spatial awareness.

Burgoo · 15/10/2022 20:13

If it isn't going to write off my car, I'll hit just about anything. Of course, if I can pre-empt it happening, I will try my best to move around it, but the fact is braking hard WILL cause an accident. Also, if I brake hard and the person behind me has to veer into the next lane, they may well hit it anyway. It's why they ALWAYS teach bus drivers etc to hit anything except humans if they have to. Imagine having to say "sorry officer, I know the woman and her kid are dead, but at least the hare is fine!"

You did the right thing. And it feels shit.

Kanaloa · 15/10/2022 20:14

These things happen - it doesn’t make you a shit driver at all. It just so happens these high speed roads often coincide with places where animals live. It would have been significantly less safe to slam on the brakes from 60mph with a car right behind. It can shake you up a bit though. I had been driving a while when I killed a pigeon. There was nothing I could have done, it literally flew directly into the bonnet of my car, I was only going about 20 and could only have avoided it by swerving into oncoming traffic, but it stressed me out a bit anyway.

LuckyLil · 15/10/2022 20:14

We live in a rural area and always slow down or stop for animals but with the best will in the world it’s not always possible. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Here a couple of locals I stopped for earlier…

Should I have slammed on my brakes to save the hare?

MrsRhodes · 15/10/2022 20:16

To other posters - Surely if a person behind runs into you when you slam on your brakes then they are too close to you? (My driving instructor always pressed home the importance of staying far enough back that if the person in front slammed on for a child running out then you wouldn't run onto them causing an accident).

LuckyLil · 15/10/2022 20:20

MrsRhodes · 15/10/2022 20:16

Correct, but why let it happen if you can already see they are too close behind?

girlmom21 · 15/10/2022 20:21

If it's a road where you've now had two situations where you've needed to brake harshly for animals you should start driving it more cautiously. A bigger animal could easily write your car off.

applesandpears33 · 15/10/2022 20:27

I would have perhaps slowed down a little bit more, but not an emergency stop. Having said that, I've twice been a front seat passenger when deer have ran out from trees in front of the car and the driver couldn't have avoided them. It isn't always possible to avoid animals.

Original poster

Hummusontoast · 15/10/2022 20:29

I did turn around to check on it. Not sure why as can’t realistically move it from that road. Definitely dead and laying in middle of road in the hatching. Poor animal 😢

OP posts:

NumptiesIncorporated · 15/10/2022 20:30

You had a car behind you. It wouldn't have been safe to stop.

You did the right thing, even though it feels shit.

Original poster

Hummusontoast · 15/10/2022 20:30

It did look like it was going to make it. I think it got confused and turned around. Only had this car a bloody week.

OP posts:

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