Driving defensively may help you avoid that moose

There’s nothing like the thrill of seeing a moose when it is not in front of your car but romping safely at a distance. That happened to me last week as I drove across Maine en route to the Adirondack Mountains of New York.

Not only did I see a young moose romping in a meadow, but three deer entered the highway in front of me and one more was observed right beside the road. All of this happened in four different places, with the deer all sighted within a half an hour of one another.

Those are not the only wild experiences I encountered on the road. I also witnessed a good deal of wild driving, most notably tailgating. Always a hazardous driving habit, tailgating is doubly dangerous when it occurs in moose country. Here’s why.

According to Maj. Dale P. Lancaster of the Maine State Police Operations Division, “In the calendar year 2007, there were five moose-vehicle fatalities in the state of Maine. Any animal, whether it is wild or domestic, is unpredictable when near the roadway. Tailgating significantly reduces an operator’s perception and reaction times, thus increasing the probability of a motor vehicle crash.”

It also may lead to a more serious crash, since the lead driver may be distracted by the closely following car while making a decision about maneuvering and braking in the emergency. Meanwhile, the pursuing driver is taken by surprise by the sudden halt of the vehicle ahead.

Lancaster noted, “The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reports that rear-end collisions account for 23 percent of all crashes and cause 2,000 deaths and 950,000 injuries in the United States each year. When following another vehicle, always create a safety zone that allows for an adequate reaction time for your protection and to avoid being involved in a crash.”

To avoid a double whammy in moose country, it’s wise to keep even more distance between your car and the lead car than you do in ordinary circumstances. It’s challenging enough to drive carefully when animals may unpredictably arrive on the road, but it’s downright unnecessary to face the further danger of an additional car collision, thanks to one driver following another too closely.

Additional driving tips for dealing with moose on the road include reducing speed when it is dark or in other low-visibility conditions such as rain or fog, using high beams as much as possible at night, and carefully scanning the roadsides.

If you cannot avoid a collision with a moose, apply your brakes and then let up on them immediately before impact. If you have a choice, aim to hit the rear part of the animal, but don’t swerve wildly. Remember, the moose may move in an unexpected manner as the collision is impending.