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Animals on Roadway Accidents - FREE Initial Consultation
IN MIAMI, THE CAR ACCIDENT LAWYERS AT THE PERAZZO LAW FIRM INFORM ON ACCIDENTS THAT OCCUR TO ANIMALS ON ROADWAYS.
It's not uncommon for stray dogs, alligators, or other animals to wander onto avenues, streets, and even highways. When a dog, car, ferret, or any other land animal finds its way onto roadways, motorists may be taken by surprise and left with few options, either run the animal over or proceed to make a radical lane change, swerving to avoid hitting the animal. The former may sometimes be the safest choice even though a messy and deadly one. Swerving to avoid hitting the animal may sometimes lead to a collision with another vehicle or it can sometimes lead to inexperienced drivers to lose control of their vehicle and crash into obstacles. At high speeds, a motorist may lose control of his/her vehicle and cause a rollover accident. The latter can result in severe personal injury to the driver and/or passengers.
In the event of animals on roadways, the driver of the vehicle should do the following:
- Put on your hazard lights and slow down, firstly checking the vehicles rearview mirrors to make sure no other vehicle is following to closely behind. Also check your side mirrors to make sure it is safe to change lanes or even swerve dramatically.
- If possible, stop, making sure it is safe to do so. If possible, allow the animal to find its way off the roadway.
- Never get out of the vehicle if an animal is making its way along a roadway where vehicle drive at high speeds. You may be placing your life in danger as you may be struck by another vehicle operated by a distracted driver.
- If after checking your rearview mirrors, it is unsafe to stop or change lanes, proceed to run the animal over, trying to avoid contact with the vehicles tires. Sometimes driving over the animal may be enough to not actually running the animal over and harming it.
- In the event of more than one animal, or an animal of considerable size, contact the authorities and report the presence of said animal.
The most common types of animals killed on Florida roadways can include:
- Alligators
- Dogs
- Cats
- Raccoons
- Armadillos
- Snakes
- Possums
- Deer
- Birds
