I saw some pigeons yesterday who looked like they had a death wish. There were three of four of them who were feeding on something in the road. A car came along and slowed down and then stopped. Then a pedestrian clapped her hands and they flew off - only to come back a few seconds later. I knew this person who told me that she had seen flattened pigeons and she even saw one person drive over a pigeon. He stopped very near to the incident and she managed to give him a piece of her mind.
My opinion is based on my Manchester upbringing where pigeons are generally seen as a pest, and the words of my driving instructor. He asked me if I had ever seen a pigeon that had been hit by a car and I hadn't. I still haven't. Where do dead pigeons go? He said if you slow down unexpectedly you may cause an accident. A child could run out into the road and cause a driver to make an emergency stop. If a car goes into the back of you it is their fault for not anticipating the stop and not leaving the correct distance between their car and yours. However an emergency stop is a risky manoeuvre and he told me not to change the way I drive for pigeons.
I didn't find any help in the Highway Code but I do slow down if I feel it is safe. If I don't think it is safe then I drive in exactly the way that my instructor taught me. If you have an answer then let me know.
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Jason Manford was telling the story of his driving test. His instructor had told him if an animal ran out in front of the car, he just had to run over it. He says during his test, a cat ran out in front of him and he missed it by an inch, so he stopped the car, put it into reverse, and kept trying until he succeeded in running it over.
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