Animals may Cause Death on the Road Too!

Animals getting on to the road and being the cause of several road accidents is prevalent worldwide and is nothing new. But then such instances cannot be ignored as they continue to take a toll on human lives.

In the cities and towns dogs are a potential threat as they dart across the road. It is the cyclist and two wheelers who often hit against these animals and end up in hospital with injuries. Many of them have died too. Very often one could notice dogs barking and chasing two wheelers and motorists. That has also resulted in several mishaps.

Stray cattle are another factor to reckon with on the highways. They often stray either in groups or individually on the road catching the motorists by surprise of. It can be extremely distressing for any driver who finds a stray animal in his path on the highway. Yet he will react spontaneously and maneuver the vehicle to avoid hitting the creature. This quick and compassionate action can sometimes cause devastating road accidents inflicting serious personal injuries to the driver and their passengers.

While the cattle may also get killed the danger is more for motorists who can get involved in a major accident and become part of multiple collisions too. The sudden appearance of a black buffalo on a highway has the potential to set off a chain of accidents, as the first accident can become a road block for the next motorists.

In the mornings and evenings motorist need to watch out for stray cattle crossing the roads. They are not only a source of constant distraction to driving; but also add to the stress of drivers. In many cities it is possible to find bulls and cows sitting in the centre of roads for hours on end causing sever obstruction. And people are compassionate to the animals for various reasons It is the motorist who has to find his way around. Or else he will need to face the consequences. Obviously on cannot initiate action against the cattle and their unknown masters! There is no scope for compensation or relief. On the other hand a motorist will be lucky to get away scot free from the public wrath if he injures or kills a bull in public view.

The cattle which stray across the roads in search of fodder have been responsible for several fatal road accidents. In different regions different animals stray on to the road posing a threat to motorists. In some places it could be the bison; while in some other places it could be camels, kangaroos or a deer. In forest areas where vehicles intrude into the domains of animals, elephants, monkeys and boars are reportedly seen calling the shots on the roads. They can be violent and devastating too as they are from the wild; unlike domesticated cattle. Some motorists need to watch out for the bees and big birds too! And the bird menace to the aircraft safety is another area of serious concern.

A recent study has found that on the roads of New South Wales Kangaroos and Wallabies are animal species more involved in animal-related road accidents that result in human death or injury and vehicle damage.

More than 5,000 such accidents were recorded in NSW in the decade between 1996 and 2005, resulting in more than 1,700 people being injured and another 22 killed when drivers collided with or tried to avoid animals, the study found.

But the real toll is likely to be much higher. Vehicle accidents related to the presence of an animal on a road are significantly under-reported. Often, drivers swerve to miss animals only to hit roadside obstacles, such as trees and poles or oncoming vehicles. And in many countries no statistics are systematically compiled in this aspect.

Straying livestock, dogs, horses and other large animals were next most involved. Wombats, emu, livestock being driven or led, cats and rabbits also featured in the accident statistics, compiled by UNSW researchers.

The study, by Dr Daniel Ramp and doctoral student Erin Roger of the UNSW School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, is one of the few of its kind and is based on an analysis of the Traffic Accident Database System of NSW. Many studies have looked at native animal deaths and injuries, with the numbers killed each year on the nation's roads and highways thought to be in the millions, not including reptiles and amphibians.

Dr Ramp says that with more vehicles and greater reliance on the road transportation network over the past 30 years, collisions between animals and vehicles have become an increasing concern for health agencies, environmentalists, animal welfare groups and road safety agencies.