How to avoid and what to do in case of an accident with an animal?

One of the things we should do to avoid it is to make sure we have full visibility from our car, so we recommend that you read the tips for keeping car windows sparkling from our colleagues at Highmotor.

What does the law say about this?

If we look at what the Traffic and Road Safety Law says, we can see that a vehicle always has right of way over animals. However, there are exceptions: on signposted drove roads, or when changing direction to change lanes and animals are already crossing there even though no crossing point has been marked for them. We also do not have priority when the vehicle is about to cross a hard shoulder where animals without a drove road are moving.

On the other hand, the movement of animals on motorways and expressways is strictly prohibited. However, we are talking about animals, and they do not understand laws or regulations, so even though it is prohibited, they can invade the road at any moment, especially on secondary roads.

According to data collected by the Directorate-General for Traffic, the largest number of accidents of this type involve dogs. They are followed by wild boars, horses and deer.

What do we do if we come across an animal on the road?

If we are driving on a road where animals are usually present, we will find signs indicating this. In this case, we must take extreme precautions and reduce speed, so that we have more reaction time if we encounter any living creature on the road. Even more so if we are driving with little ambient light, which is why we recommend our tips for driving at night.

If we have encountered an animal, it is clear that we must reduce speed, though in a way that does not compromise traffic safety. If we can stop the car in a safe place, it is recommended to do so so that the animal clears the road as soon as possible.

The road is not the natural habitat of animals, so if they are moving along it, they have got lost and are disoriented. Therefore, we should not flash our lights at them, since all we will achieve is to confuse them even more and even frighten them.

If it is a large animal such as a horse or a wild boar and it does not clear the road, we must pass it at low speed and immediately report its presence to the Guardia Civil.

If none of these actions is possible, the most advisable thing is to hit the animal. It is not the safest option, but it is less dangerous than swerving and losing control of the car or, even worse, colliding with another vehicle. Therefore, we should brake as much as possible and grip the steering wheel firmly so as not to lose control of the car.

Once the accident has occurred, the person involved has a duty to protect the area to prevent a further accident and to call emergency services if anyone is injured.

If we have an accident with an animal, is it covered by insurance?

The Traffic and Road Safety Law itself establishes that in traffic accidents caused by running over an animal on a public road, “the driver of the vehicle will be liable for damage to persons or property“.

Therefore, this is one of the most unfortunate cases in an accident, because if we do not have comprehensive (all-risk) insurance on our vehicle, the insurance will not cover it and we will be the ones who have to pay for all the damage caused in the accident.

However, if the animal involved in the accident comes from a hunting event held on the same day within a margin of up to 12 hours, the person responsible will be the organiser of the hunt or the owner of the land where the animal originally was.

We may also claim if the animal escaped from a poorly closed estate or if the owner did not install specific signage, knowing that there is a risk their animals could escape and cause a traffic accident.