Animals on the road: a serious risk to road safety

While driving we may come across many elements that can become a serious risk to road safety. And among all those elements that can surprise us and cause an accident is the presence of animals on the road. At any moment an animal may cross in front of the car and create a risky situation, which usually ends with the animal being run over or even the vehicle leaving the road.

According to a study carried out by RACE, 14.1% of drivers have at some point encountered a domestic animal during their journeys and have been involved in an accident for these reasons. The domestic animal most frequently found on the road is the dog, accounting for 79.8% of cases. Cats and cows cause less than 10% of the total accidents caused by the presence of animals on the road.

Wild boars, the most common wild animals

As for the wild animals we most often find on the road, wild boars are the ones that cause the most accidents. Around 15% of drivers have had an accident caused by this type of animal. 52% of these accidents were caused by a wild boar, while roe deer are responsible for 34% of the accidents. Foxes, birds, rabbits and deer are responsible for between 9 and 13% of accidents caused by wild animals.

But there are other figures that may concern us. In this survey it can be seen that 88% of the drivers surveyed in the study have witnessed an accident caused by an animal. A considerable figure. When an animal crosses in front of a vehicle, which normally happens on secondary roads, several situations can occur.

Most of the time drivers have to brake suddenly (73%), a swerve occurs (in 50% of cases) or they even end up crossing into the oncoming lane (24%). As for the number of accidents caused by animals, 599 cases were recorded in 2018. Since 2015 there has been a 21% increase in this type of accident, which has made them a real road safety problem.

What to do when an animal appears on the road?

When an accident occurs because of an animal, whether domestic or wild, it is usually very quick, because the animal crosses the road at that moment and there is little time to react. The first instinct is to brake or swerve to avoid it. But this is not advisable. Experts recommend holding the steering wheel firmly so as not to lose control of the vehicle, and braking in a controlled manner.

The collision is, in many cases, unavoidable, but every effort should be made to reduce the damage as much as possible. Braking gradually can avoid a high-speed impact and can cause less damage to the animal, but it also reduces the damage to the vehicle. If control of the vehicle is lost, the risk of collision still exists, but it may cross into the oncoming lane or even leave the road.

The RACE study also tested what happens in an impact with an animal. For this, a dummy representing an adult wild boar was built and filled with ballistic gel, so that it offers the same resistance and weight as an adult specimen of 160 kg. It was impacted at a speed of 80 km/h, with a specialist at the wheel.

The impact caused serious damage to the animal, which appeared suddenly during the test run, and the vehicle suffered body damage. Thanks to the driver’s skill, who maintained steering and control of the car, the interior was not damaged and neither were the occupants.

These data must be taken into account, and when an obstacle appears by surprise, such as an animal of considerable size, it is necessary to keep calm and control of the vehicle to avoid greater damage. An animal can appear at any moment crossing the road, which is why it is necessary to keep control of the car at all times.