I ran over a rabbit

[reaper]

Hitting a cow will kill you! Hitting anything smaller will just kill you car!

 

[subliminal1284]

I wouldn't say never, I definitely think there are some situations when it can be used depending on the situation, traffic, speed, car, road size. This street/area is pretty wide, 2 lane on both sides and a broken yellow center lane @ approx 35mph.

My split second decision thought process:
see rabbit, too close for brakes, opposing lanes are clear of obstacles, evasive maneuver.

Now if there was an obstacle or something of that nature close by, I wouldn't have hesitated to run over it.

Yes I agree if you can SAFELY avoid hitting it do so by either hitting the brakes or manuvering out of the way. But suddenly swerving and attempting an evasive maneuver is not worth the risk.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

On my way home, it's midnight and the road is dark and empty(or so I thought). I see a tiny stationary spec up ahead.. about 1-2 seconds later, I realized I was about to hit a bunny. I swerved hard to the left but the damn thing sprinted towards my trajectory and *thud*

"I couldn't have ran over it, maybe it hit my bumper and bounced off" I say. I turn the car around and saw the helpless thing trying to move about, it's still alive while part of its body is crushed.. :sad:

I slowly drove off, and didn't want to take another peek. I can't give the damn thing a c-spine or perform ABCs or call 911 nor do I have a shovel and end it's suffering immediately. I took care of 2 rabbits not too long ago for several months. I just can't help but feel bad about it.

Squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, raccoons, a wayward dog, and even deer… but never a rabbit. I’m still waiting to smash into Big Foot, which some believe live in my neck of the woods. Simple fact is that often times these creatures are suicidal and you can either swerve/slam on breaks and risk your own life, or gentle reduce speed and hope that you can stop safely, or they move. Sad, but it happens, and I will not risk my life and other drivers for the sake of a squirrel.

Back the car up and finish it off… the only humane thing to do… been their, done than… or call Dispatch and request an air ambulance...

In my county HBC deer are a fact of life. Deputies get to come out if they are still "kicking" and finish them off. Oh, the stories... Most recently... a deputy gets called out to finish one of, but a redneck was driving by and took out his buck knife and slit the throat... incorrectly... didn't completely kill it. Deputy shows up and puts a couple shots into the head. But the blood vessels are cut and no blood is geting to the head... so no blood splater from the shot. Now a rumor is spreading around town that our deputy missed all three shots at point blank range.

 

[MSDeltaFlt]

On my way home, it's midnight and the road is dark and empty(or so I thought). I see a tiny stationary spec up ahead.. about 1-2 seconds later, I realized I was about to hit a bunny. I swerved hard to the left but the damn thing sprinted towards my trajectory and *thud*

"I couldn't have ran over it, maybe it hit my bumper and bounced off" I say. I turn the car around and saw the helpless thing trying to move about, it's still alive while part of its body is crushed.. :sad:

I slowly drove off, and didn't want to take another peek. I can't give the damn thing a c-spine or perform ABCs or call 911 nor do I have a shovel and end it's suffering immediately. I took care of 2 rabbits not too long ago for several months. I just can't help but feel bad about it.

I have pronounced a man dead on scene once because he tried to swerve to keep from hitting a squirrel that darted out in front of his vehicle on a country road. I almost stepped in his 8th grade education while trying to assess him because his head got caught between his truck and the ground popping it like a zit. Gross, but true.

It is easier said than done, I agree. And I fully realize that what I am about to say will more than likely rub some people completely the wrong way. However, human beings are at the top of the food chain. No animal on the planet is more important than we are. Please do not swerve hard to miss little animals. It is safer for everyone to just run over them and let them die.

 

[Mountain Res-Q]

It is easier said than done, I agree. And I fully realize that what I am about to say will more than likely rub some people completely the wrong way. However, human beings are at the top of the food chain. No animal on the planet is more important than we are. Please do not swerve hard to miss little animals. It is safer for everyone to just run over them and let them die.

No arguments here... doesn't rub me wrong. It is interesting though, that instinct takes over in cases like this. You really have no conscious control over your split second reactions. You are going to react how you have been conditioned (or not conditioned) to react. My gut instinct with animals in the road is to try and safely reduce speed... but I will not die to save any animal (except my own). Human/Child in the road... different story.

As some may know, I was in an accident recently in which a girl ran a stop sign and came at me head on. I've tried to relive the incident in my head and figure out why and how I reacted as I did. But it was all instinct that I have no conscious control over. I swerved left to avoid the head on and back right to keep myself on the road. There was no oncoming traffic that I could have hit in doing so. Not only did I swere, but I never locked the breaks, which would have resulted in a roll over on my part. I can't figure out why I reacted the way I did, but it was clear afterward that my actions prevented a trip to the ICU for the other driver and reduced the likelyhood of more damage and injury to me and my vehcile. Gut instinct and reaction? Probably; logical or not. Luck? Maybe...