Why are so many raccoons hit by cars when...?

Question

I get the impression raccoons are very smart/crafty and yes I know it's dark but you think being nocturnal they'd have some kind of night vision!

So you'd think an intelligent nocturnal creature would know better!

Answer 1

Yes being nocturnal they do have night vision, and the are crafty and intelligent.
When you have good night vision and a bright light such as a cars lights shine in your eyes, they can't help it but it becomes blinding. It does the same thing to us as well at night.
Also what raccoon s lack is SPEED. They do not move very fast at all. Consequently the combination of the two circumstances often end up putting them at risk very often of getting hit by a car.

Answer 2

I was driving from Purcellville Va to Martinsburg WVA and counted 11 dead raccoons on the side of the road.
Normally its about 5 or 6 but with deer season and winter quickly approaching maybe that's why there's more dead raccoons. Funny they were mostly young ones, looked like young adults....
If man can fly why can he come up with a raccoon deflector for stopping car killing of raccoons...maybe people out there that have 4 heads can save raccoon lives and money by turning off the extra car lights....

Answer 3

Well, I recently have learned something that could explain it. Farmers, garden owners etc living in rural areas have admitted to purposely hitting raccoons because they consider them a nuisance, and others I know have admitted to doing the same just because they are cruel. I live in an area with not much farming and we dont get many raccoons hit on the road, further south however the farmers aim for them and there are more dead on the road. Raccoons are very smart but they are no match for the cruelty of humans, and accidents can happen as well.

Answer 4

Poor little things, unfortunately the more land we take from them the more of them end up having to cross the roads to get to other sources of food, If you go up to places like Maine and New Hampshire you really don't see too many dead animals on the roads like you do in more heavily populated areas. They do have night vision, but cars are much faster and allot of people refuse to swerve to avoid hitting an animal. Some get hit unpurpose, they Can be difficult to see and many times there is more than one of them traveling together so if you miss one you hit the next.

Answer 5

I think the problem is that drivers can't see the raccoons, not that raccoons can't see the cars. So while a driver can swerve to miss a squirrel during the day, the same driver doesn't see a raccoon at night and doesn't swerve. As for the raccoons, they might become paralyzed by fear.

Answer 6

They get hit more at night because that is when they are active. They are rarely out during the day so they don't get hit by cars. At night, they do have "night vision" and they are smart, but that can't protect them 100% of the time. The only way to protect yourself 100% of the time it to simply not be on the road, and this is why they rarely get hit during the day....they aren't on the road.

Answer 7

Cars are very fast compared to raccoons. I think that the most "road killed" creature is the armadillo. I see a lot more of them dead on the road that raccoons.

Answer 8

No, I don't think it will because the sad truth is it probably has some sort of internal injurys also, maybe call a vet, even though it will cost you. Or, if you can tell he isn't going to make it, put it out of its misery? Not what you wanna hear, I know, but sometimes it really IS the kindest thing.

Answer 9

They are smart and they do have good night vision, but their evolution didn't equip them to recognize the speed of a moving car.

Answer 10

I've never heard of a raccoon being hit by a car. Even so, I would imagine they get distracted or over/underestimate the running distance.