Animals on the roads!

Collisions between vehicles and wild animals on roads are unfortunately a common occurrence. For the animals, these encounters are usually fatal, and accidents involving large hoofed animals (elk, deer, wild boar, roe deer) can have serious consequences for both the vehicles and their drivers and passengers.

Animals come onto roads for various reasons: most often, they are heading to feeding grounds and back to resting areas; some are attracted by salt mixtures spread by road services; many wild birds pick up small stones on the roads, which are necessary for their digestion; sometimes wild animals come onto the asphalt simply to warm up and dry off from dew (hares, foxes), as the asphalt temperature is usually higher than the air temperature; often wild animals run onto roads when being pursued by predators or hunting dogs.

In most cases, collisions can be avoided. If a wild animal appears in the path of a vehicle or on the roadside, it is necessary to reduce speed as much as possible to a level where an immediate stop is possible.

Typically, a wild animal perceives a moving vehicle as a predator trying to block its escape routes, and therefore, at the last moment, it darts across the road to "break out of the encirclement." However, an animal cannot accurately assess the speed of a vehicle, and as a result, a collision can occur at full speed.

An animal caught in headlights at night is blinded; it perceives the darkness outside the beam of light as a wall and begins to panic, seeing nothing but the illuminated section of the road and the headlights. In such a situation, you should stop, turn off the headlights (but leave the parking lights on), and turn on the hazard lights, thereby giving the animal time to adapt to the darkness and leave the road.

Adherence to traffic rules, including speed limits, and particular caution in areas with the "Wild Animals" warning sign will significantly reduce the risk of accidents related to the sudden appearance of animals on roads.

In conclusion, we would like to remind the residents of our district of the hotline number for the Verkhnedvinsk Inspectorate, where you can contact for additional information or report cases of poaching: 6-17-23