I was driving to southern Idaho awhile back when I passed a large, lighted traffic sign that read: “Game Crossing.”
I slowed down a bit to see if there was any game politely standing on the side of the highway, like children waiting for the school bus. But, no, the game was not there. And, considering the fact that I’ve seen deer and an occasional elk in places all along the highway except in that one spot where the Game Crossing sign was, I’m assuming that the animals don’t give a fig about crossing the street where the traffic officials want them to cross.
Deer, elk and other creatures dashing across the highway in front of traffic is one of the worst things about traveling in Idaho. Maybe even worse than distracted drivers, although most distracted drivers are fully capable of reading, which makes you wonder why they’re still driving distracted after all those warnings from the state police and others about how dangerous it is.
Most people assume that human beings are a tad bit smarter than deer or elk. That’s debatable. You don’t see animals wandering around fast-moving traffic while gawking at their cellphones.
So you mix a distracted driver with a crazy wild animal who can’t read and can’t rationalize and you have a dangerous situation.
Although it’s deer and sometimes elk that cause the problems in this state, I learned when I visited Australia several years ago that some darling little creatures are the bugaboos of traffic there. Kangaroo crossing signs were posted along the roadway beside rotting kangaroo carcasses lying in the borrow pits. Americans have been conditioned by Winnie the Pooh films to think kangaroos are adorable. But in Australia they’re often looked at the same way we here in Idaho look at deer. Cute, but menacing.
Even birds can cause problems for drivers. Some friends of mine were driving home from Lewiston not long ago and a flock of turkeys rambled across the road in front of them. Suddenly one bird flew up and crashed smack dab into their windshield, shattering it like a Christmas decoration.
Considering how close it is to Thanksgiving, one might consider this turkey attack as a preemptive strike. But when my friends reported the incident to their insurance carrier they were told that there have been a lot of turkey-vehicle collisions lately on that stretch of the road.
All of which points to the reality that huge “Game Crossing” signs along the highway don’t make a bit of difference to game that is oblivious to warning signs.
Perhaps it would be better to remind the one species that has the ability to appreciate the message: “There are dumb animals out there who may or may not decide to cross the road in front of you. Don’t be another dumb animal. Put down your phone and pay attention.”
Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.
