Do Many Drivers Try to Hit Animals in the Road?

Roadkill is an almost unavoidable aspect of modern vehicles and roads. It is estimated that over 250,000 animals are killed by automobiles every year in the United States. Most of these accidents are unintentional and can be dangerous.

However, experiments using fake, rubber animals placed on the edge of the road, have found that a small percentage of drivers will attempt to deliberately hit them. Up to 6% of drivers will do this when they see an animal like a tarantula, but slightly more than 2% will attempt to hit even seemingly harmless animals, like turtles. About 3% of drivers in one experiment stopped and attempted to rescue the animal.

As well as being dangerous behavior, road accidents can have a detrimental effect on already vulnerable wildlife populations.

More about roadkill:

• Animals can be attracted to roads by salt left from removing ice in the winter.
• About 200 people are killed annually in the United States as a result of a collision between an animal and a car.
• Aquatic turtle populations are particularly vulnerable to car accidents, as female turtles will often attempt to cross a road in order to find nesting grounds.