Travelling N.L. highways at dusk? Watch out for that moose — and the other one

This column is an opinion by Gord Follett, former editor of Newfoundland Sportsman. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

It was evening when I almost hit the moose. 

We call it "duckish" — the time between sunset and full dark. 

There were light showers, but I was paying attention and driving to conditions. 

I had just grabbed a coffee for the short, 45-kilometre drive to Butterpot Park and then back home to Mount Pearl. 

Just long enough to clear my head. 

I was doing about nine kilometres under the speed limit when I spotted the young bull from about 100 metres away as it was climbing the small bank onto the highway near Paddy's Pond, so I didn't have to nail the brakes to stop — about as hard as you would approaching an amber light when you notice cops stopped at the intersection.

My Corolla stopped with about 20 metres to spare between me and the moose.

The animal stopped, turned its head in my direction for five seconds, then trotted across to the woods on the other side, forcing the driver of an eastbound pickup to "lock 'er up" to avoid a crash.

But even though that moose had moved on, I was looking for another possible danger — the trailing moose.

A second moose

Here's the scenario: you're driving the highway and see a moose crossing the road up ahead. You never really come close to hitting it, but you slow down just a little to have a look at the animal. While admiring the moose that just crossed the road, another one comes out of the woods 15 or 20 seconds behind it, and that could be the animal you hit because you were preoccupied watching the first one.

This is one of countless driving distractions that result in accidents. Using cellphones, reaching for something in the glove box, turning your head to talk to the kids in back — the list goes on.

Speeding, of course, is another factor. And when they strike an animal with their vehicle, it's usually "those damn moose" who get the blame.

This time of year is when drivers are more likely to encounter moose, particularly one-year-old animals.

In late April, May and even early June pregnant cows are getting ready to deliver new calves and are driving off their yearlings. These young animals become somewhat confused and disoriented on their own and can end up on roads and highways.

Drive to conditions

I cannot stress enough the importance of "driving according to conditions."

If it's dark and pouring rain in a 100 km/h zone, for example, drop your speed 10 to 15 km/h. 

A friend of mine struck a moose on the Trans-Canada Highway near Whitbourne in May 2018. There wasn't too much damage to his vehicle and the moose hobbled off into the woods, but my buddy still curses the animal any time the crash is mentioned because he was "only doing the speed limit."

"What time of day was it?" I asked.

"9:00, 9:15," he replied.

"At night?"

"Yup."

"And what were the roads and conditions like?"

"A bit foggy and raining — but I was only doing 100."

He wasn't impressed when I told him I would have cut my speed to 85 or 90 in those conditions and I probably wouldn't have even come close to hitting the animal.

I won't elaborate here about us continuously encroaching on their territory with subdivisions, box stores and the like. And some people still blame the moose!

Are there exceptions? Could a driver be doing everything he or she is supposed to, and still hit a moose that just popped out on the road? 

It's possible, and I'm certainly not about to argue with somebody who has been seriously injured or with a family who lost a loved one in a moose-vehicle accident.

But I've told my wife a number of times over the years, "If I ever hit a moose while driving, don't blame the animal. I was either shaggin' around with something in the car or driving faster than conditions warranted."

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