It's raining cats and dogs- but can you legally avoid them?

bigpinkelephant

Hi,
I have my driving test in 5 week's time in Newbridge. I have been driving around the area to get to know it and twice I have seen dogs running loose along the edge of the road.

My question is- During my test, if a dog was to run out in frotn of me, but I had time and space to slow down and avoid it, and would not put anyone else in danger by doing so, would I still fail over it?
I understand that if slowing down or swerving would cause danger to other people then I would have no choice but to run over the dog, but is swerving/slowing doen illegal full stop, or can you legally do it just so long as it is safe?

A driving instructor told me before that one of his pupils was doing her test and a dog ran out in front of her. She could not jam on the brakes as it might cause the driver behind her to rear end her so she had to keep going. When she could, she pulled in and got the dog to a vet. The tester passed her and told her if she had tried to avoid the dog he would have failed her.

However I asked my instructor today and he said that you SHOULD avoid dogs as they are a licensed animal but cats/birds etc are ok?

My fear would be that if a dog ran out in front of me and I carried on, the tester would see that as poor hazard perception/reaction, and would also think "what if that was a child?".

Obviously if it was a horse/cow etc, you would have to avoid them, as they would destroy you and your car on impact due to their size.

Alanstrainor

Well first off there's a learning to drive forum, and secondly there's no rule that states you must run over a dog should it run out in front of you. You must react appropriately, if there's time to safely slow down, not endangering other road users in doing so, then yes, swerving is generally a bad idea so i wouldn't do that. You would be expected to react in some way, ploughing straight through the poor thing isn't what i would call correct procedure. Of course you should slow down if you can, and stop if needs be.

Seth Brundle

thread moved!

If you can safely stop or slow down in time to avoid hitting the animal then do so. If you can't then prepare to stop to check on the dying animal!

Wishbone Ash

bigpinkelephant wrote: »

I have my driving test in 5 week's time.....
.........During my test, if a dog was to run out in frotn of me

99% of those who are unsuccessful fail because they do not display competency in normal driving situations.

Don't waste time and energy worrying about worst case scenarios but instead concentrate on the basics.

-Chris-

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

99% of those who are unsuccessful fail because they do not display competency in normal driving situations.

Don't waste time and energy worrying about worst case scenarios but instead concentrate on the basics.

+1

Focus on the fundamentals, you'll tie yourself in knots with what-ifs.

If your anticipation and observation are good, you won't come anywhere near the dog unless they dart out from behind a car or something. In that case you wouldn't have had a chance to avoid hitting the animal anyway.

On a personal note, I'd much rather fail the driving test and have to re-sit it compared to the alternative of passing the test and then having to tell some some poor little girl that I killed her dog ("Hey, yeah. Really sorry about killing your pet, but at least I passed my test! Tell ya what, you can continue your crying back in the house, I'm off to the pub to celebrate...").

bigpinkelephant

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

99% of those who are unsuccessful fail because they do not display competency in normal driving situations.

Don't waste time and energy worrying about worst case scenarios but instead concentrate on the basics.

No it's just cos two dogs were loose on the road on two different days that got me thinking about it.

AudiChris wrote:

On a personal note, I'd much rather fail the driving test and have to re-sit it compared to the alternative of passing the test and then having to tell some some poor little girl that I killed her dog ("Hey, yeah. Really sorry about killing your pet, but at least I passed my test! Tell ya what, you can continue your crying back in the house, I'm off to the pub to celebrate...").

If someone is irresponsible enough to let their dog roam unsupervised on roads then they can't really complain about the dog getting run over, can they? :rolleyes:

BrianD3

An animal in the road is a hazard and hitting an animal can damage your car and/or cause you to lose control. If it's a wild animal then you have no comeback from any owner. If you can avoid the hazard without endangering innocent road users then do so. This basically means don't swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid an animal. However if there is someone following too close behind and they run into the back of you because you braked to avoid a hazard then that's their problem.

bonkey

AudiChris wrote: »

+1
On a personal note, I'd much rather fail the driving test and have to re-sit it compared to the alternative of passing the test and then having to tell some some poor little girl that I killed her dog ("Hey, yeah. Really sorry about killing your pet, but at least I passed my test! Tell ya what, you can continue your crying back in the house, I'm off to the pub to celebrate...").

And I'd rather tell a little girl that I had to run over her dog then explain to the person that I inadvertantly caused a serious injury to by missing the dog that I did so because I was concerned about the dog.

People can trade 'what if' scenarios till the cows come home (assuming they don't get run over!). The reality is that there is no magic formula that can be applied to all situations.

One can argue that if you're certain that you can safely avoid the dog, then you should do so....but in order to be certain its not really going to be some unexpected hazard.

As WA has encouraged...concentrate on getting the basics right and getting them right every time. Its a much better use of your time. If you're of the opinion that you're already that good, and never make a mistake....well....its hard to see how an unexpected hazard would cause someone that good so much concern.

Wishbone Ash

BrianD3 wrote: »

if there is someone following too close behind and they run into the back of you because you braked to avoid a hazard then that's their problem.

They may be legally responsible but it would be a shared problem. Personally, if someone was quite close behind me, I'd rather run over the dog than have the hassle of being rear-ended.

bonkey wrote: »

And I'd rather tell a little girl that I had to run over her dog then explain to the person that I inadvertantly caused a serious injury to by missing the dog that I did so because I was concerned about the dog

I'd be asking the little girl where I send the repair bill to. A dog is supposed to be under proper control while in a public place.

ironclaw

Seeing as a dog is a licensed animal, you must stop (if you kill it). Its the same law for an cow (As it has an ear tag). The idea between testers vary but many say you must actually stop not just slow down (A friend of mine failed because of this in Waterford).

Wishbone Ash

ironclaw wrote: »

Seeing as a dog is a licensed animal

But most of them are not licenced and ownership suddenly becomes difficult to establish after an accident!

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

SeanW

AudiChris wrote: »

On a personal note, I'd much rather fail the driving test and have to re-sit it compared to the alternative of passing the test and then having to tell some some poor little girl that I killed her dog ("Hey, yeah. Really sorry about killing your pet, but at least I passed my test! Tell ya what, you can continue your crying back in the house, I'm off to the pub to celebrate...").

On a personal level I agree, it's better not to hit the dog if the only possible casualty is your driving test.

But if to do so would endager either the occupants of your vehicle, or other (human) road users, then you should not take evasive action. Because if you try to avoid the dog in a dangerous way, a failed driving test may be the least of your worries.

The bottom line is that you need to stay obsevant for potential dangers generally, then make the best decision in time, with the information you have at that moment.