Duck family ensures spectacular accident on the A4!

Duck family ensures spectacular accident on the A4!

A short but surprising animal drama that developed on the A4 motorway at Grandschirma caused excitement on Thursday. A family of ducks ventured the dangerous step over the road towards Dresden. In this sensitive situation, a 32-year-old driver of an Alfa Romeo decided to reduce his speed to protect the animals. Two other drivers also reacted quickly: a 34-year-old Ford driver was able to brake in time. Unfortunately, the luck on the 61-year-old VW driver was not that big, because he braked too late and rose to the Ford, which resulted in a rear-end collision. The property damage on the two vehicles caused by this incident amounts to around 20,000 euros. In addition, three ducks have been injured, but so far it is unclear which vehicles actually collided with the animals, such as tag24.

But what happens when an animal forces a car to brake on the street? The road users are responsible for sufficient distance from the person in front, and if an animal appears on the street, they are obliged to carry out careful balancing of interests. A strong braking for no mandatory reason can be seen as a traffic violation - unless it is about the life of an animal. In Germany, it has been the case for some time that the run over small animals is no longer seen as the desirable solution. These changes in the law reflect in the Civil Code: Animals are not things, and when healing treatment of vertebrates, the costs do not depend on the value of the animal, such as [anwalt.de] (https://www.anwalt.de/rechtstipps/tiere-im-strasse-wenn-es-aufgrund-eines-ze--zie- anem-utfahr-glat-201347.html) describes in detail.

legal framework conditions

The responsibility of the drivers becomes particularly clear in such cases. The decision of the Dortmund District Court has shown that brakes for an animal like a pigeon are not a violation of the road traffic regulations. In principle, the consequences of secure driving style and responsible animal treatment can be significant for both road traffic and the wildlife. And if we already speak of responsibility: the owners of animals have to ensure that their animals are adequately looked after to minimize risks in road traffic.

This shocking incident on the A4 shows how important a reasonable handling of animals in road traffic is. After all, not only our pets fight, but also wild animals against the dangers of road traffic every day. As the [German Wildlife Foundation] (https://www.deutschewildtierstiftung.de/aktuelles/artikel/todesfalle-strasse transport) explains, there are the best opportunities to defuse the danger points for wild animals in traffic through suitable measures. Underpasses and special venison could make an enormous difference here, and the promotion of living nature contributes to the protection of all living things.