If you have hit a kangaroo or any other animal, the first thing to do is pull over if it is safe to stop on the road. Once you have pulled over and ensured the safety of everybody in the car (call 000 for medical help), the next step is to check on the animal to confirm whether it's alive or needs any assistance.
If the animal has been injured during a road collision, keep yourself safe and ensure you are not in danger of being hit by traffic.” If able to do so safely, check if the roo is alive; if it is dead, then check its pouch. Call the relevant wildlife rescue service or police.
Accidentally hitting an animal is not against the law, nor is it deemed to be your fault.
Report injured wildlife by calling WIRES on 1300 094 737, or use the IFAW Wildlife rescue app to find a suitable wildlife rescue organisation for your location.
A kangaroo collision can cause many different types of damage to your vehicle. These could be as relatively insignificant as a smashed headlight or cracked bumper, to a serious head-on collision that results in a crumpled-up bonnet and internal damage, potentially with your engine.
Yes, car insurance covers hitting an animal, but only if you have a comprehensive policy. Car insurance can cover hitting a kangaroo or other animal in Australia. It's considered an at-fault accident so you might lose your no claims bonus and you will probably have to pay an excess too.
Brake Heavily, Don't Swerve
In case a kangaroo inevitably jumps in front of your vehicle, it is best to just brake heavily instead of trying to swerve to avoid them. The best advice is to just slow down and try braking in a straight line. You should only try swerving once your vehicle has slowed down sufficiently.
Kangaroos travel in large groups. Fast vehicles with headlights on will startle them, causing them to frantically hop in random directions. Kangaroos are most active at dusk and dawn, when they're hardest to see. It doesn't help that their fur colour camouflages them.
They can cause serious injury. Their sharp claws can make deep cuts, and their powerful kicks can cause severe bruising and internal injuries. But don't get me wrong, kangaroos are essentially peace-loving herbivores.
Move away as slowly as possible to a safe place. Give a short, deep cough; avoid eye contact; bow your head; and keep your arms close to your body as you move away. This will make you appear smaller and less of a threat to the kangaroo. Do not turn your back on the animal or run.
Section 530 of the Crimes Act prescribes a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison for “serious animal cruelty”, which includes torturing, beating or killing an animal.
Kangaroos are getting into the most trouble on the roads, with 7,992 kangaroo collision AAMI claims in the recorded year between March 2018 and February 2019. Roos made up a whopping 83% of all animal collisions.
They sleep during the day in the shade of trees and shrubs, coming out at night to graze on grass. They are also very social animals, living in mobs of up to 20.
No, they don't. Tests have shown that kangaroos don't react at all to the high frequency sounds they emit.
Canobolas Family Pet Hospital | Orange NSW
A kangaroo's survival very much depends on the ability to flee potential threats. With the addition of the pain of a broken leg the strees from being handled and kept in a cage is enough to kill a Kangaroo.
One would think that a car's headlights and noise (tyres and engine) would deter them from coming too close to the roadside. This is not the case. Kangaroos and Wallabies seemingly take suicidal leaps in front of oncoming cars and often run alongside a car and then seemingly veer in front of it or into the side.
When you have checked everyone in the car is safe, put your hazard lights on, and give us a call. Even if the kangaroo appears okay and jumps away it will probably be injured and need assistance. If you come across a kangaroo on the side of the road that has been hit by a car or is clearly in distress, please call us.
Break, don't swerve!
In fact, between 2001 to 2005, 42 per cent of animal-related fatal accidents in New South Wales were a product of drivers swerving to get out of the animal's way. Instead, try to brake, and ensure that you do so in a straight line consistent with the road*.
Kangaroos possess powerful hind legs, a long, strong tail, and small front legs. Kangaroos belong to the animal family Macropus, literally "big foot." Thanks to their large feet, kangaroos can leap some 30 feet (9 meters) in a single bound, and travel more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour.
We generally pay out Life Insurance claims within 48 hours of receiving completed claim requests. It may take a little longer if the bank account we're depositing into is a credit union or we receive your completed claim form and the certified documents close to a weekend or public holiday.
There's no deadline for when you need to inform us about the incident, however it's a good idea to make a claim as soon as possible.
CTP Driver Protection Cover provides the driver of a covered Vehicle who suffers one or more of the injures listed in the specified injuries table with a set payment if the driver was at-fault in causing the accident in which they were injured.