When you drive for a living you're going to hit a critter here and there.

[Tobin S.]

I was coming up on the little town of Nelsonville, Ohio a couple of nights ago when I ran over a raccoon. It was dark and I didn't see it until it was too late to take evasive maneuvers. I was hoping that there was enough clearance for me to go over top if it and leave it unharmed, but I got it with my wheels.

The next night I was coming up on the same spot expecting to see a raccoon carcass, but there was nothing there. Either that raccoon was Superraccoon or the town of Nelsonville has a daily carcass patrol to clean up the squished critters.

I've become desensitized to this sort of thing. It happens often enough that it doesn't really bother me too much now. I've hit opossums, raccoons, and many birds large and small. I've been fortunate not to hit something that would do damage to my vehicle, like a dear, although I've had some close calls. And I've never hit a dog or a cat. Hitting someone's pet would bother me.

[tabbycat31]

1. I hit a raccoon once

Back in 99, I was driving to school, and I had a choice of hitting a family of raccoons or getting in a head-on collision with another car. I did spare 3 raccoon lives by beeping (all but one got out of the way).

I'd rather not get into an accident.

[MajorChode]

2. I ran over a squirrel not too long ago

I never saw the little bastard until he darted right in the path of the car at the very last second. I swear it looked as if he committed suicide.

[david13]

3. Tuesday I saw 2 dead dogs in Ontario, CA. One in the road.

They had picked them up by Thursday.
Wednesday in the rain on the freeway, I saw a dead white cat, looking toward us, from the 2nd fastest lane.
So sad. I feel for the little critter in this world the most.
I remember going thru' Idaho, Wyoming, etc., in the fall ... ? and running over dozens of rabbits. They were out in full force, hundreds of them.
Once, with my Volkswagen, splat, I ran right over a squirrel. I tried to avoid him, but I couldn't.
I did miss one with my motorcycle last month.
The stories are legend, notorious? about motorcycles running into deer. Many times the motorcyclist dies.
Oh, I ran over somebody's kitten once.
It makes you feel sick but it's part of the industrial world. I've seen people have fingers chopped off in machines, (I warned them) and one crushed to death by a roll of steel.
dc

[Roon]

4. I was taking a load to snowflake arizona one night

as I was getting close to the papermill the road suddenly filled up with rabbits..dozens and dozens of rabbits, of course I hit one... :cry:

[A HERETIC I AM]

5. More than 1.5 million miles driving tractor trailers OTR and I've only hit one deer...

Hit a few small critters, but I don't think I ever hit a cat or a dog.

Came close about 3 or 4 times to hitting deer, but only tagged one. He was a big buck that crossed the highway (I 5 in Oregon, if I remember correctly) from my right to the left. I was in the middle lane of a 3 lane section and I saw him come out of the woods at a trot. I started to slow but didn't slow enough. He made it almost across my lane before I hit him on his hindquarters. I saw in my rearview it knocked him down and with all four legs splayed out, he did a full 180 and then got up and trotted into the median!

I have no idea if he lived, but I do know the impact didn't kill him outright. Might have broken his pelvis though.

[Initech]

6. The way I see it: some days you're the car, some days you're the possum.

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. The Birds!

I've hit more than a dozen of them over the years. The worst was a Snowy Owl in northern Idaho at night. It flew into my windshield and I looked right into its eyes.

[Taitertots]

8. I ran over a skunk last week

Bastard made my van smell like open ass for days.

I also had the displeasure of having someone in front of me run over a old dead skunk. It caused it to pop up into the air and fly past me spinning and firing rotten raccoon blood all over the car I was driving(Not mine).

[Blue Diadem]

9. My daughter had a deer hit her on her way to work a few weeks ago.

She said it was a smaller one. Left a head sized dent in her passenger door, and some deer fur in both the front and rear wheel well. She called us while waiting for a deputy to arrive. Several people had stopped because the deer was laying in the middle of road. Then it woke up and took off. They searched the side of the roads but saw nothing, so it may have gone into the bean fields and died but we still hope the little thing survived.