A bump in the road

Roadkill is a regrettable fact of life in the modern world, but sadly it is still poorly understood by the wider public

- Soldier Palmer

Driving home in the small hours of the morning, I drew to a halt along a country lane. A vehicle was parked ahead of me, its hazard lights blaring. Two young women had climbed out of the car and were peering into the verge using the torches on their smartphones. I got out and went to see if everything was okay, realising at once that they were both in floods of tears. They had struck a deer with the car, and they didn’t know what to do for the best.

I offered to help them look, and that’s when they told me they’d already called the police and the RSPCA for advice, but neither had offered to come out and join the search. They seemed rather confused by that refusal, but they were unable to leave the situation without any clear sense of closure. 

I stayed with them for 10 minutes, then I explained that the deer was probably dead and there was little to be done if it wasn’t. That only seemed to heighten their crying, and I felt bad for them as I drove on home.

Pragmatic approach

Roadkill is a regrettable fact of life in the modern world. I hate killing things with the car but I suppose, like many shooting folk, I take a relatively pragmatic approach towards death. It’s tempting to swerve away from rabbits that cross your path, but it’s often safer to hit them square-on. Small animals don’t get far after a collision. Perhaps it’s different when you come up against a badger when you’re driving at 60mph and you have to weigh up the pros and cons of swerving or maintaining your course. It’s even more dramatic with deer.