The Nevada Highway Patrol is still investigating to determine the exact cause of a crash that shut down I-80 for hours on Sunday. The driver of the utility van involved claims to have swerved into a semi-truck, when trying to avoid hitting a dog.
Northern Nevada is a region where animals of all types could pop out onto the roadways in an instant.
Mustangs frequent the Damonte Ranch area, and wildlife like bears and deer travel through the urban interface often.
That had us at 2 News wondering what the safest thing would be for a driver to do if an animal ran out in front of them on the highway. Is the answer to swerve out of the way, slow down, or maintain your course?
"When you see anything in front of you, whether it be tire debris or an animal, it is human instinct and human nature to slam on your break and try to steer one way or the other,” says Trooper Matt McLaughlin with the Nevada Highway Patrol.
Sometimes that erratic move can prove to be successful, and lifesaving for the animal. Other times it can be costly for the driver themselves and also others around them.
“Especially on our rural parts of the state you may have a jackrabbit that darts in front of you and we've seen countless drivers make an evasive maneuver to avoid it; ultimately rolling their vehicle out into the desert which can cause substantial injuries and sometimes death as we've seen,” says McLaughlin.
NHP says there is no definitive answer to either hit or avoid hitting any kind of animal on the highway, but they do say you should never put your own life at risk.
You should also always expect the unexpected. If you're more prepared, you might be able to avoid the situation all together.
“If you see an animal on the highway, try to have an escape plan if you will, make sure when you're driving that you're always looking far enough ahead,” says McLaughlin
Some local drivers say if you’re traveling at a slow rate of speed during the middle of the day, it should be easy enough to slam on your brakes to avoid hitting the animal. However, if it's at night and you’re moving too fast, there may be no other choice but to maintain your lane.
"Initial reaction is you don't want to hit them but my husband has always said don't swerve, because it causes a bigger issue,” says Lindsay Fena. “You could hit another car, you could injure yourself going off the road, it's unfortunate that there’s an animal in the road, but I don't think you should swerve."
“If it was a bear, I’d definitely swerve because that would total your car,” says Greg Watts. “If it was a dog I’d swerve away from that, but if it's a skunk I’d rather take its life I guess."
