Car accidents involving a dog and the law

Car accidents prevention is better than having to deal with them so always make sure your dogs are on leads near roads. Take care when loading and unloading your pets into vehicles and be sure you are careful when opening doors, as this is where primarily they could escape.
You must stop and report an accident to the police if you hit either Dogs, Horses, Cattle, Pigs, Goats, Sheep, donkeys or mules.

You must do this as quickly as you can, whether the animal is killed or not. If you come across a car accident there is a legal requirement to call the Police. If you are involved in a collision between your vehicle and a dog, you must stop, and the police must be informed. The driver has to stay at the scene until the Police have given permission for them to leave.

If you are not the driver involved and the driver fails to stop or does not stay and wait for the police, try to take down their car registration details and pass this information to the authorities.
If you need to treat an injured animal, ensure to keep yourself safe at all times. Roads are not safe places, and you need to make sure that you or others around are not in danger of being hit by another vehicle.

If possible call a vet. If you are not in an area you know, search on your phone or call directory enquiries for the number of a local vet, although they may not be able to come out and you may have to take the animal to the vet yourself. The vet will be able to offer help over the phone and get ready for your arrival.

If it’s a dog that’s been hit, find out if possible how you can contact the owner. Once you are at the vet they should be able to trace the owner from the animal’s microchip, but this is not possible roadside.

You may have to move the animal to a safe place in order to treat it. If you need to carry them on something, use car mats or a car parcel shelf to keep them safe and to avoid moving them too much.

Keep yourself and the dog calm and do what you can to keep them warm. Shock is a real problem in car accidents, so control bleeding, avoid excessive movements and wrap them in a blanket or coat to keep them warm and dry.

Animals may act aggressively or out of character when they are in pain or scared, so take extra care and talk to them the whole time and be careful not to get bitten or scratched.
Do not give medications or food as this can interfere with the treatments a vet will maybe give and can delay further treatments.

When you transport the animal to the vet, make sure you do so carefully, observing the highway code at all times. Just because you need to get there quickly, does not give you an excuse to break the law by speeding or driving irresponsibly.

Once you arrive at the vet, if they are expecting you they can come to your car and assist you in bringing the animal into the practice. Making sure they are expecting you will ensure that the animal receives prompt care on arrival.