Pickup Truck Driver Plows Through Family Of Geese On Minnesota Highway

Video recently captured by a Minnesota Department of Transportation camera on a Twin Cities roadway is sparking outrage among many online.

The MNDOT footage, shared by the Twitter account Midwest Safety over the weekend, depicts a family of geese in the left lane of the three-lane Highway 100 in Golden Valley that were eventually hit by a truck traveling in the lane.

The 58-second clip shows light traffic on the roadway, with most drivers moving over to avoid the lane where the geese were sitting. Above the geese, there is a MNDOT electronic sign that reads "animal on road, left lane closed".

Most of the drives in the video clip avoid the left lane, with some making a lane change to avoid the flock of geese. That is, until a black pickup truck drives right through the family of geese. The area where the geese (which the Twitter user erroneously called ducks" were was blurred out by the Twitter account that posted the video, but two geese can be seen scurrying across the highway after the truck drove through.

While the safety recommendation from experts is to not swerve if there is an animal in the roadway, a number of people commented online that they feel the driver's actions (or lack of actions) go beyond simply following that advice.

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One thing of note is that the driver's brake lights don't come on and the vehicle doesn't veer at all from its course.

A number of people in the comment thread on the video point out that the driver had ample time and space to safely move into another lane without putting anyone in danger.

One user commented on the recommendation and the situation, saying:

You should never swerve for an animal in the road unless you can maintain control and not damage other people. What you should do however is have situational awareness when driving. It is clear that he should have seen the sign, the ducks, and that the lane to his right was open.

A number of others commented similar sentiments, arguing the driver was either being inattentive or suggesting the driver should be punished for the collision.

It's hard to know what was going on in the driver's mind at the time, but the majority of comments on the video suggest the driver was in the wrong by not making an attempt to change lanes when considering all of the factors of the situation.