An Australian 4WD driver was praised for hitting the brakes and waiting patiently while an emu and its chicks desperately tried to cross a high-speed road in the outback last week.
Jamie Goff told Yahoo News he was on his way home from work when he rounded a bend and spotted a dark figure in the distance, seemingly standing alone on the empty road near Collie in Western Australia.
“I saw a big black figure standing in the middle of the road, so I started to slow down,” the dad told Yahoo, explaining he had been travelling at 70 kilometres per hour and had to hit the brakes. After some time, he realised the odd shape was an emu, with five little chicks by his side.
He believes the emu was panicked by his car, with dashcam footage showing the adult pacing back and forward in an attempt to defend the chicks from the oncoming threat.
“I saw the emu wasn’t getting off the road, and I felt that it saw my car as a threat to its chicks. That’s why it kept walking back and forwards to my car. I honked my horn and kept edging my car forward to try and encourage it to move off the road,” he said.
Do you have dashcam footage of an unexpected discovery on the road? Send it to sophie.coghill@yahooinc.com
After a minute or two, the emus safely made it to the other side of the road, and Jamie was able to continue on his way. He told Yahoo the emus even ran alongside his car for the first 20 metres before he sped off along the road.
What should you do if you spot wildlife on the road?
It’s not the first time wildlife has forced an Aussie driver to make the split-second decision of whether to slow down or continue driving, taking the risk of hitting the animal. Last month, a truckie was praised for slowing down after dingo pups were spotted in the middle of an outback road.
Despite many people online applauding Jamie’s decisive action to help the emus, others raised concerns that he put himself in danger by stopping on a high-speed road, with the option not always safely possible.
The emu paced back and forward as the chicks made their way to the other side of the road. Source: Facebook/Jamie Goff
If drivers spot an animal on the road, it’s recommended to slow down immediately but not to swerve, as this can jeopardise the safety of you and other road users, according to Road Sense Australia. If a collision does occur, authorities urge drivers to pull over and call a local wildlife rescue organisation or emergency wildlife hotline, and pouch checking is advised. More than 10 million animals die on Australian roads every year.
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