Brake, don't swerve, stay in your lane.

Brian Smiley, from Manitoba Public Insurance, says that is what you should do when wildlife obstruct your path on the road. Smiley notes, by staying in your lane, instead of swerving, you are avoiding a head-on collision with another vehicle, driving off the road, or rolling your vehicle.

"If you hit an animal, you would open a claim with MPI," he explains. "It would be considered a wildlife claim, you would pay your deductible, and you won't be assessed any demerits in that situation. If you're avoiding an animal and you happen to hit another vehicle, that would be considered an at-fault collision, in the fact that, you left your lane, and there was no evidence of an animal in your path."

Smiley says animals are usually most active at dawn and dusk adding a proactive way to avoid animals is for a passenger to help look for animals on the roadway or shoulder. He notes, when there's less light, you're looking for the reflection of your headlights in the animals eyes to know whether there is wildlife near the road.

"We know a lot of deer graze on the shoulders of the road. Typically if you see one animal crossing, there's going to be two or three behind them, in the situation of a deer. So, there are very proactive driving measures you can use to avoid hitting that animal."

He notes 11,000 wildlife-related collisions occur in the Province of Manitoba per year, 46% occur between the months of September to December. 

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