Who to blame when your pet becomes a carpet on the road?

livinhimalayas

Wondering who could be blamed if your pet (dog, cat or langur or any other animal) met with an accident and died or got hurt?
- You for letting the pet out on the road
- the driver for not looking out for the animal
- or the animal for not being vigilant enough?

Hal

Definitely "You for letting the pet out on the road". You can hardly blame the animal.

The Wanderer

D. All of the above (with the possible exception of the driver)

The owner is ultimately responsible for the animal but can't be reasonably expected to have 100% control over the animal at all times.

Drivers should be in control of their vehicles and able to make adjustments to avoid obstacles but sometimes such adjustments are simply impossible to make safely or required too quickly.

Any animal who gets run over is not without fault as they put themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. While the owner should train the animal to avoid roadways, obedience always has its lapses.

PeakXV

Roads attract animals because they are flat and easy to walk or run on, have interesting scents, & often provide a road kill snack to dine on or investigate .... an alluring & deadly trap to be sure.

Our province is presently spending millions putting in moose fences along the highways due to the far too many fatal accidents. The next door neighbours use that 'electronic fence' product for their dogs inwhich they are preconditioned by a radio collar for the zones/borders to which they are permitted to roam. It seems to work well - they often come charging out at me all the time and then just stop on this invisible line like some star trek force field has suddenly intervened.

Other than that a good old fashioned walk on a leash or fenced in area/enclosure are sure bets for safety.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

Nick-H

It depends on the animal; one can, for example, exercise lot more control over a dog than a cat.

Hal

Good point. In the case of a cat that's allowed to roam freely outside there often is no blame involved.

Paleface

There's quite a few buggers who deliberately drive at animals, I remember at Barkot, watching from a balcony this guy in an Amby, start it up and drive over a sleeping yellow Bhotia, could here the back crack, dog got up and fell elsewhere, we went down, it was obviously dying, stroked it and with his last breath he bit me - mata.... human take that.

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birds

When I learned to drive I was taught that one should drive in such manner that you are always able to stop for unexpected events, whether a animal, child or other vehicle. And if you could not that you are too blame.

I know it is not all that black and white in reality but I think the principle makes sense

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Of the estimated 500 million dogs in the world, approximately 75% are strays, of which about 25 million live in India.

livinhimalayas

Interesting responses, I asked the question as someone told me a story a while back where the driver was made to pay for a puppy to replace the dog that had died when the car ran over it. How far is that justified?
Most drivers I have seen do their best to avoid hitting an animal, but there are some like Paleface said who deliberately run over animals.
A guy in a scooter chased a small puppy who was playing in the gutter on the side of the road and deliberately ran over it, fortunately he managed to hurt only its paw. I was watching and rushed over to save the puppy, the guy reversed and came back for another go, when I accosted him he ran me down as well. That mobilised the crowd which had gathered (they always do in INdia only to watch) and the scooterwala got a sound beating from me and was then lynched by the crowd.

Dom

Agree with Hal, the owner is resposible for his/her pet. Infact you owe it to your pet to make sure they are safe. I make sure that the dogs do not run out of the backyard especially during New Year fireworks they are in the house all night. Even when I take them to the park and let them off the leash make sure that they are nowhere near the road.

artisticanurag

some naive humans think they are superior over nature, i think i would done the same, im glad you did ! i hate these ruthless people who think dogs are meant to throw stones at, i don't want to say this but usually uneducated children (some or lot a times) dont know how to behave with dogs, they throw stones etc which is so bad, we must always stop and educate them.

Coming to the question i think, the owner of the pet is to be blamed, animals aren't that smart and their reflexes aren't prompt enough to avoid collision with a large moving object (car, bike etc). I drive my car and im a lot of times scared of the un-vigilant street dogs who can jump out from anywhere anytime - onto the road. But at certain speed it can be really hard to avoid,with gods grace such situation has not come as of yet.

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livinhimalayas

True enough about dogs suddenly running out on the streets, and not everyone being vigilant enough or travelling at a speed which is high to control and stop the vehicle before greater damage is done.

goangoangone

YOU, the owner! Without a doubt. One other point to mention, is never stop for an accident. I know someone who was touring on an Enfield with his wife when a guy tried to throw his child at the bike. The guy knew the kid wasn't hurt and disappeared quickly. He dodged a road block at the next village but at the one after, there was a mob who had blocked the road with buses.They were surrounded, threatened and had to pay 3 big guys 500 rupees each to get away. Stop at your own peril.

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Paleface

They used to tell me that about red traffic lights in Rio, lest one gets carjacked.

ronsaik

'You should be able to stop at high speed' is very vague.
Are we including highway driving? It's not possible to brake in time to avoid hitting a dog if it suddenly appears out of nowhere. Unless you are driving at 60 kmph. But if you are going at that speed, then best wishes for your holiday. It'll be over by the time you reach your destination.