What MUST you do if you collide with an ‘animal’ (as defined) whilst driving?

First of all you may be surprised to learn that you won’t find the answer to this question within The Highway Code.! Rather surprisingly the Highway Code is silent upon this. 

However, you will find the answer to the question in The Road Traffic Act 1988 where section 170 (1) provides that…where, owing to the presence of a (mechanically propelled vehicle) on a road (or other public place) an accident occurs by which under s170 (1) (b) damage is caused- (ii) to an animal other than an animal in or on that (mechanically propelled vehicle) or trailer drawn by that (mechanically propelled vehicle) then pursuant to section 170 (2) the driver of the mechanically propelled vehicle must stop and if required to do so by any person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, give his/her name and address and also the name and address of the owner and the identification marks of the vehicle.

Under sub-section (8) an animal is defined as a horse; cattle; ass; mule; sheep; pig; goat or dog. 

Section 170 (3) further provides that… If for any reason the driver of the (mechanically propelled vehicle) (having stopped his vehicle) does not then give his/her name and address as required under subsection (2) above, then the driver must report the accident and sub-section (6) of the Act further requires that the driver (a) must do so at a police station or to a constable and (b) must do so as soon as is reasonably practical and, in any case, within 24 hours of the occurrence of the accident. Failure to comply with this legal requirement is an offence.

What should you do if you have collided with an animal whilst driving?

First of all you should turn on the vehicle’s hazards lights to warn other drivers of the potential danger. You should then stop your vehicle provided it is safe to do so and turn-off the engine. Next check if you or any of your passengers have sustained any injuries and then exit the vehicle if you are able to do so and provided it is safe for you to do so. 

Next observe the animal from a safe place of distance to ascertain if it is injured. If you think it might be injured then you may decide to call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 …Don’t forget injured animals may become aggressive towards you and if frightened may behave unpredictably, so be careful if you do decide to approach the animal.

Should I have swerved to avoid the collision with the animal? 

This actually depends on the size of the animal, as a sudden change of direction of your vehicle and/or braking heavily may put you the driver, your passengers (if any) and other road users in danger. So this is not necessarily the best course of action to take. An emergency stop should only be performed when you consider that the animal could potentially cause damage to your vehicle windscreen or a resulting collision with it may cause injury to the occupants of your vehicle. Only take emergency avoiding action if you are confident that in doing so, you will not be creating a dangerous situation for yourself and other road users. 

What about those ‘animals’ which are not defined in The Road Traffic Act? 

Logically, it must follow that colliding with an animal which is not defined in The Road Traffic Act (be they wild or domesticated …ie, cats or rabbits…foxes, fowl or squirrels) is neither unacceptable nor unlawful, despite just how cruel this may seem to be.  It is worth remembering that if you were to cause an accident when swerving or braking to avoid hitting a ‘smaller animal’ and a non-defined animal, then your insurance company is likely to deem that it was your driving which was at fault. 

What should you do if I see a dead animal in the road?

Where you have not caused the death of the animal by your driving, you may choose to report the ‘finding’ of the animal to your local council (this includes both wild animals, like badgers and foxes as well as domestic pets) The local authority has a duty to remove the animal if it is causing an obstruction. Alternatively, if you can safely move the animal’s body to the side of the road in order to prevent an obstruction and possibly the causing of a further accident for other road users, then you should consider doing so. But only attempt to do this if it is absolutely safe to do so.

What should I do if I hit someone’s pet animal? 

If you collide with a pet animal (don’t forget there is a different rule for dogs) you may decide that you ought to contact the owner of the animal. If the owner is not in the vicinity, you might find the owner contact details on the animal’s collar. If there are no such contact details on the collar, then the RSPCA may be able to assist you by using a microchip scanner to trace the animal’s owner. 

Colliding with an animal is statistically very unlikely and whilst it may be a distressing experience, if it were to happen to you, then knowing what you need to do next, should help you to deal effectively and timely with this unfortunate situation. 

To arrange an initial free telephone advice call, in relation to any type of motoring matter, contact our motoring department on 01606 59 21 59.