Proven. Experienced Trial Attorneys

Don’t swerve if you’re going to hit an animal

On Behalf of | Mar 23, 2022 | Car Accidents |

Sometimes, unexpected things happen on the road. Animals are the cause of a lot of these sudden events. For instance, you could be driving home after work one day, as the sun is going down, and a deer could suddenly dart out of the trees and into your path. Because of the limited visibility, you never saw it and now you don’t have time to stop.

Your instant instinct is probably going to be swerving around the animal. You’re trying to avoid the collision by missing the deer. And this does make sense, but you can actually make your situation far more dangerous if you do swerve.

Driving into the oncoming Lanes

The biggest mistake that some drivers make is to swerve directly into the oncoming traffic lanes. They don’t think about it. They may glance at the lane and see that there’s not a car there at the very moment that they swerve. But they’re just reacting instinctively because it’s the only way to miss the crash with the animal.

It goes without saying that swerving into oncoming traffic can cause a catastrophic accident between two motor vehicles, which is far worse than hitting a deer in every single case. There are some situations in which you may be able to swerve onto the shoulder or otherwise maneuver the car into a safe space, but you want to be very careful about doing this so that you don’t strike cyclists, pedestrians, stationary objects, signs, or anything else.

Additionally, if you ever get injured in an accident caused by someone else who swerved negligently into your lane, then you need to know how to seek financial compensation for your medical bills and other costs.

FindLaw Network