I have a question about swerving to avoid an animal and the googling I am doing seems to suggest that the Highway Code says that you should not swerve to avoid an animal. Unhelpfully, the provision is never actually mentioned.
Does anyone know where this appears in the Highway Code?
I hope that’s not true. If it is, it’s insane.
You could download a pdf version of the highway code and use ctrl-f to search it for ‘animal’
Yeah did that, didn’t find the provision, just thought someone might know it, as I thought it might not say “animal” or “swerve”
I could never find it, even on the Gov web site.
I’m confused about the rules regarding hitting an animal - the old rumour I have heard for years is that you have to report hitting a dog but not a cat??? :blink:
Just hit them hard and fast so they don’t suffer. 
I think the Gov has more worries you swerve and wipe out a family walking on the pavement than murdering Mr Tiddles on the road.
A dog in law is seen as having a responsible owner, a cat is defined as a free spirit. Hence a dog owner can be sued if it attacks someone, a cat owner cannot.
What I was told years ago was not to swerve but to stop afterwards to locate the owner. I assumed it was more of an insurance thing.
In Cuba if you run over a chicken or a goat then you have to pay the farmer compensation.
However recently whilst in Zimbabwe where the subsistance farmers use the side of the road to graze cows and goats I discovered that if you hit a cow the farmer is liable for the damage to the vehicle.
If I see 2 ton of bull on the road , I am swerving … sod the law 
I am not aware of it being in the highway code, but common sense, and hopefully the law would see it like any other hazard not mentioned in the highway code, like a bag of builder’s rubble sitting in the road. You as the rider or driver are responsible for negotiating the road safely. If the animal is mall enough to not cause a hazard, like a squirrel or pigeon, then if you cause an accident by avoiding it you will have greater responsibility than if you swerved to avoid a bull or red deer.
As for reporting injured or killed animals in collisions, as I understand it the reason you need to report a dog is that it may be a working animal with commercial value. You should also report collisions with farm animals, but not wild animals. The aninals concerned are actually listed in the Roat Traffic Acts as - horse, cattle, ass, mule,sheep, pig, goat or dog.
Just ask Jetstream about how not to hit a cat, if you want your bike to work afterwards
Well the problem with comparing it to builders rubble, is that builders rubble doesn’t tend to move, it also isn’t a living thing.
True, but the HC will only come into play when you hit something else which probably has a living thing inside it and the HC definitely says you shouldn’t come into conflict with pedestrians and other vehicles. If that doesn’t apply, the law will apply and it rarely if ever requires you not to take evasive action to preserve your own safety. If the law is silent, and the HC is silent it is up to you, just don’t hit another vehicle or a pedestrian.
An ex-colleague of mine’s friend got life changing spinal injuries after braking suddenly to avoid a rabbit running across the road causing the lorry behind to not stop in time and smash their car to bits. She was within her rights to brake suddenly, but it probably wasn’t a sensible thing to do in the circumstances.
+1 :laugh:
I had one of those once.
haha i get this on lessons. the logic i use is…
If you swerve to avoid an animal over, have you checked before swerving that you’re not going to take out a biker? No. then dont do it.
I had a pupil emergency stop on a hill, to avoid a magpie. The 3 learner bikes that very almost, and it was bloody close, went into the back of us wasn’t happy.
They cannot advise you to swerve round things, can they? Its stupid, and too many grey areas.
Have you seen the thread that was on here last winter, about cars nearly taking bikes out because they swerved round a puddle? same logic. Although the puddle wouldn’t have got hurt…
Me and lew both nearly got taken out on our bikes last year when a car swerved to avoid another car that pulled out, rather than braking hard and taking it up the chuff from another car, or even hitting the car that pulled out on him. Much better to take us out in the process eh? No, you twat, you didnt have time to check for bikes did ya, ya kn0b. 
Well clearly they were not keeping distances?
No, most likely because they were learners 
minor mistake, that can, unfortunately be a worse one.
especially following a learner car, that is unpredictable at best. 
heh that sounds like the perfect storm… learners following learners!!!
