A mother duck and her chicks waddling across the Pat Bay Highway Friday morning resulted in a two-vehicle crash, as drivers attempted to avoid hitting the birds.
Around 11 a.m., a driver travelling southbound, between Royal Oak Drive and Quadra Street, noticed the ducks on the road and pumped their brakes to indicate they were slowing to a stop. The vehicle behind them was unable to stop in time, and rear-ended the first car.
Saanich police Sgt. John Price said this was likely an incident of the second driver not providing a safe following distance to the first vehicle.
“No matter what the driving conditions are, you want to provide a buffer – typically the three second rule,” he said. “That’s more than enough time to respond to any changes in traffic in front of you. This allows trail vehicles who can’t see the threat to respond to the vehicles in front of them.”
No tickets were issued to either driver. Both vehicles sustained significant damage and had to be towed. Nobody in either vehicle was injured, and the ducks were not harmed.
kslavin@saanichnews.com
