The OPP is warning drivers to beware of wildlife crossing highways and roadways, especially in the dark.
The driver suffered minor injuries this morning after the vehicle below struck a moose on Highway 11 at Tilden Lake, north of North Bay. Police say the moose did not survive.
Moose still pose a danger in winter! #NorthBayOPP just clearing from MVC #Hwy11 at Tilden Lake. Driver received minor injuries. #slowdown especially in the dark! ^sc pic.twitter.com/ev2eljWa8v
— OPP North East (@OPP_NER) January 2, 2019
There are some steps that you can take to help reduce the risk of a wildlife collision especially at night:
- Prepare yourself mentally. Think about and predict what you might do if an animal suddenly darted out in front of you or ran towards your vehicle.
- Reduce your speed. Speeding reduces the drivers’ ability to steer away from objects on the roadway, it extends the distance required to stop and it increases the force of impact in the event of a collision.
- Watch for movement along the sides of the road and for shining eyes, which will be your headlights reflecting off the animal’s eyes. NOTE: Moose are so tall that their eyes are normally above the beams of most vehicle headlights, so they are less likely to reflect the light.
What should you do if you hit a large animal?
- Pull off the road.
- Turn on hazard lights.
- Illuminate the animal with your headlights.
- You may choose to carefully approach the animal to determine if it is dead or injured. If it is injured, back off. A wounded animal can be very dangerous. Police can attend to dispatch wounded wildlife.
- You may choose to remove a dead animal from the road so that it does not present a hazard to other drivers.
