By Leah Gitau
Accidents are a common occurrence on our roads, be they human related accidents, or animal related. Human accidents are the most common, but animal accidents are also on the rise. Anyone who has been using the roads must have seen a dead animal lying by the road side.
When a driver or a rider hits a person, some stop to care if the person has been seriously injured but for animals, no one seems to care. Nobody stops to see if the animal has been seriously hit or even offer first aid to the animal. Who will speak for these animals?
The rare times that anyone comes out to speak about the animals hit at the roads is when the owner of the animal wants compensation. All these animals we see on roads belong to specific people and they ought to be trained on how to take good care of their animals, and if animals must be left to graze freely, let it not be by the roadside. Despite the negligence by some drivers, animal owners should ensure that their animals are not a danger to anyone by practicing responsible ownership. Some of these animals are hit as a result of the driver trying not losing a whole crew of passengers and so they are left with no option other than run over the animal.
Governments across the globe should come up with serious punishments to offenders who carelessly run over animals on the roads. They should face charges in law courts, just like those who cause human related accidents due to recklessness.
In addition, motorists should also be encouraged to;
- Get in the habit of checking the roadsides as they drive
- Take special care near animal warning signs
- Always obey the speed limit
- Slowing down a little gives you and the animal time to react
- If the animal is in your path, brake firmly but do not swerve firmly to avoid it.
