This is a dash camera I took today. 55 mph highway, a bunch of people behind me, and this idiot in front of me comes to a sudden complete panic stop in the middle of the road to let some birds cross the street. I screeched to a stop, looked in my rear view mirror and saw people swerving and heard tires squealing behind me. I swerved around him to the left so I didn't get rear ended.

At the next stop light the guy wanted to yell at me for almost killing the birds. I reminded him with harsh words that people could have died because of his shenanigans and people are worth more than 10 ounce animals that wont even damage a car. His wife had the dirtiest mouth on a woman I have ever heard.

Reminder people. You learned in drivers-ed NOT to swerve or stop on a freaking highway for tiny animals. Animals die people. Get over it. Its better for a squirrel to die than for a 4 car pileup that kills a mother (or in my case a father) of two kids. Absolute stupidity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3LMwjrZQq8

Yes, less than 15lbs on a highway - RIP.

However, I have seen some large turkeys do some real front damage at highway speeds.

Wow. Good thing you were paying attention.

I couldn't agree more.

By the way, what camera are you using? That's a great picture. I'm thinking of getting one because of all the crazy and stupid drivers here.

Jim

I was struck by the green grass and fully leafed out trees. Glad you’re alright

This is the camera. It was about $50 around Christmas time.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...ilpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

A self driving Uber car would have mowed those birds down without mercy.

Possibly anyone on a bike as well. Lol

Damned crows, couldn't run over one if you tried.

Now, a buzzard on the other hand, is not near as quick on the take off, and will fuck up your car. Bought experience talking here!

If I can safely avoid hitting an animal, without endangering myself or others, I will. If not, I'll not torture myself if I hit it.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
If I can safely avoid hitting an animal, without endangering myself or others, I will. If not, I'll not torture myself if I hit it.

Thats the right answer. If I look in my rear view and see 8+ cars doing 60 mph behind me, there is going to be an explosion of bird feathers. If I'm on a road and there is no one behind me, then I'm all for letting the wild life live. But I will not put the life of a small critter in front of my fellow man.

There are hundreds of cases of people dying because they swerved to avoid a squirrel or something.

A lady in Canada a few years ago PARKED her car in the fast lane of a freeway, got out, and helped a family of ducks across the highway. A motorcyclist with his daughter on the back came along and rear ended her parked car, killing them both. She was just found guilty of manslaughter.

Definitely an idiot driver to risk getting cars behind them into an accident.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
This is the camera. It was about $50 around Christmas time.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...ilpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Where/how did you mount it?

The only birds I have yielded to are wild turkeys. These buggers will do some damage.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
Definitely an idiot driver to risk getting cars behind them into an accident.

Ride a motorcycle around for a while and you'll see motorists doing lots of dumb shit.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
This is the camera. It was about $50 around Christmas time.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...ilpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Assuming it gets hot in Florida.... How was it held up to the heat?

In my state when getting a drivers license as a teen there was usually a talk given by a Judge. The day I received my license the Judge was not available so a State Trooper gave the "talk" instead. He said two things:

1) Parents give kids a curfew.

2) Kids I'm tired of going to people's houses to tell them their child died in a car accident because they swerved to miss a small furry animal. Do not cause an accident to avoid hitting an animal.

That was it.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
Reminder people. You learned in drivers-ed NOT to swerve or stop on a freaking highway for tiny animals.

Reminder, people: It is your responsibility to follow at a safe distance.

Had you hit him: You would have been at fault. (At least in my state, you would have.)

From the video it appeared you had plenty of time to see he was slowing down and do the same... if you were paying attention. Or you were badly tailgating the car in the right lane. The time for you to pass the light polls on the left was twice that for the car on the left as the right at, and directly after, the time you changed lanes.

Those of you criticizing the driver that slowed for the birds: What if he'd slowed of stopped for a road hazard? Chunk of concrete, big hole in the road, rock, appliance, furniture, big pieces of shredded tractor/trailer tire, other possibly damaging detritus?

For the record: I likely would have done the same as the car you nearly hit. I'm not going to blithely run over animals if I can avoid it.

quote:

Originally posted by GWbiker:
Ride a motorcycle around for a while and you'll see motorists doing lots of dumb shit.

You mean like cars following too close and nearly ramming you when you stopped or slowed for a road hazard that a car would survive but might well kill you? Like hitting birds in the road?