The Drive: Don't stop for ducks, as cute as they are

A mother duckling and her newly hatched brood made a daring and dangerous walk when they waddled out of a marsh and attempted to make their way across the bustling Crosstown Hwy. 62 in Richfield.

The Drive reader Mark was moving along at 50 to 55 miles per hour near Portland Avenue on a recent weekday evening when traffic suddenly came to a halt to let the ducklings cross.

"Both lanes were full, and I was the third car back," he recalled. "A family of ducks was crossing the road, and there is a large concrete barrier between the directions. They got to the barrier and turned around to go back. I pulled off to the side to avoid getting hit by the car behind me. Nobody was texting or distracted or doing anything crazy. Everybody paid attention, and we all stopped in time, or we could have had a pileup on the Crosstown."

"It's a visceral reaction to hit the brakes, but no life is worth a couple of ducks," he said. He even polled a few friends and four of the six agreed to hit the ducks, though none advocated for that action. "What is the recommended approach?"

That's a dicey situation because it pits driver safety vs. that of sparing the life of ducks. The Drive posed the question to the State Patrol's Sgt. Troy Christianson.

It was about a year ago when other readers raised the same question after a Minnesota Department of Transportation traffic camera recorded cars swerving and slamming on the brakes on I-35W in Mounds View to avoid hitting ducklings. The hair-raising video went viral. Amazingly, nobody was hurt, and the ducklings made it safely across, despite several close calls.

"Motorists should not stop or swerve for wildlife," he said. "They usually lose control, cause a crash or [are] hit," he said, saying it's better to hit the ducks.

On July 3, motorists stopped on I-694 near Central Avenue in Fridley to let fowl cross and ended up in a three-car crash. The first driver stopped to let the web-footed birds cross and was rear-ended by a second vehicle. That vehicle spun out and was hit by a third. Two people were taken to the hospital with noncritical injuries, the State Patrol said.

The folks at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have a different take.

"If healthy wild animals are crossing the road, the simplest way to help them is to stop your car, turn your hazard lights on, and stay there as long as it is safe and until the animals have reached their destination," said spokeswoman Katie Arth. "Always allow animals to move in the direction that they were headed. Do not try to make them change course, as they have a destination in mind and will simply try to cross the road again."

The patrol has more practical advice: Keep eyes on the horizon to avoid debris or animals. Scan down the highway, 5 to 10 seconds ahead, and process the information. If you see something ahead, reduce speed and move to the side. Do not stop or swerve. It also says to employ the three-second rule. If you have three seconds between you and the person in front of you, you can likely avoid a crash.