HOW WERE YOU TAUGHT TO AVOID HITTING ANIMALS WHEN YOU WERE LEARNING TO DRIVE?

Ok; I know you said it. Why is this guy writing about running over animals?

My answer… The thought came to me and wouldn’t leave, so I’m writing.

This is not really the “throw away” topic it may sound like.

I have been driving for about 55 years. In that time, I have, possibly, killed thousands of bugs and butterflies, at least two birds and about thirty squirrels, rabbits or skunks (combined) with the wheels, grill and windshield of my various cars.

I remember sitting in the drivers ed classroom. My teacher, whose name I can’t remember, possibly Mr. Larson, started at the basics. I was already working on cars at a service repair garage and, might have, dozed off as this full-time gym teacher explained the very basics of cars and driving, like PRNDL on the steering column actually stood for Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Low Drive. Yes, there were a couple of people in the class who questioned him on this very difficult topic. One was a girl I had been hoping to date for weeks. When his explanation finally sunk in, she proclaimed, “Oh, PRNDL!”

We had “movies” which were a real treat in the 70’s. These movies were the driver’s ED version of scared straight.

One warned about leaving items such as umbrellas on the back deck (The ledge behind the back seat) of your car, then showed actual police photos of victims in a motor vehicle crashes. One of the examples included was a man who had died when he was involved in a head on collision and the umbrella on his back deck was thrust forward at such a high speed that it came through his forehead. Another showed photo’s of a man who was partially ejected from his vehicle and his body became lodged in the windshield.

The video with the umbrella has stuck with me until this day. What an eyeopener it was for me!

I don’t think it hit its’ mark however because several years later- in 1996- I was involved in a near fatal head on accident. The crash was a violent incident that resulted in several days in the ICU and about a month in the hospital and 6 months off of work with 2 additional months of “light duty” for me. My lower left leg was broken, my left kneecap was broken into 7 separate pieces, my upper left leg was broken, my skull was fractured and I had brain swelling that caused me to answer all of the paramedic’s questions with information that was correct about five years earlier- but not on that day! I provided the wrong address and telephone number, so they had difficulty contacting my wife and giving her the message requesting she come to the hospital because her husband was near death. In the meantime, they called my police department (I was in uniform on my way to work) and got the information they needed.

The damage done to my skull and brain resulted from a radio I planned to install, soon. Because I was a busy father of 7, I left it on a small ledge behind the backseat (Much like the rear deck in older model cars) so it would be handy when I had time to install it. As a result of the impact the radio flew over the back seat, to the top of my head. It sliced open a 6-inch flap (I don’t recall what the medical term for that is) of skin which exposed my skull and brain. The flap being so wide open also allowed debris such as glass, dirt and snow direct access to my brain.

Ahh, but that’s a different story. The story here is that I should have taken to heart what I was told when I was learning to drive, so many, many years ago.

Meanwhile, back to the animals. I don’t remember the classroom or behind the wheel teachers getting into how to avoid animals-but they should have at least touched over it lightly.

While I was practice driving with my dad a squirrel ran in front of the car and I slammed on the brakes; luckily there were no cars behind me and I didn’t cause an accident.  My dad let me know I could have handled that better and mentioned his theory, which I have been living by ever since.

Dad’s Rule For Dealing With Small Animals In The Roadway! Acronyms weren’t popular at the time, or this would be DRFDWSAITR! (Sorry). Dad said, just aim right at the small animal and don’t change speed, or slow down if it’s safe. My dad and I were both animal lovers, and I couldn’t believe he was saying this. Dad! What are you talking about? Do you want to kill them? His reply was short and well thought out, as they always were.

No Phil. If something’s coming at any living thing but, possibly a deer, they jump to one side or another and you have no way of knowing which way they will go. Nine times out of ten, if you aim at them, they will dodge you. If you swerve to avoid them, you have a big chance of moving the same way they have chosen and you’ll hit them. With deers then, you can slam on the brakes and steer to avoid them because they are bigger and they tend to freeze momentarily. He then suggested I turn the wheel in the direction they are coming from because they are, sometimes, already in motion.

I know this isn’t earth shattering information. I’m also aware that many of you are probably doing this, or something similar. If you are doing something different, please let me know what that is in the comments and how successful it has been for you. My dad’s plan has been effective about 90% of the time.

Thanks for reading to the end. I hope you enjoyed it. Please share this, and all of my posts, with friends and family and share your opinions in the comment section so I can improve.

Thanks again,

Phil