Young drivers and juvenile wild animals have at least one thing in common: They both need to learn that roads can be a dangerous place, especially during the fall.

Anyone with a teenage driver in the household—or perhaps anyone who recalls his own teenage driving experiences—already knows the horrors that lurk when handing over the keys to a hormonal youth looking for an adrenaline rush. But people may not know that wild animals on the road are even more at risk.

Literally, hundreds of thousands of squirrels die each year from collisions with vehicles—and that's just the tally of one species. But no matter what the species, animals die more frequently during the fall months, which is the main reason why The HSUS celebrates Give Wildlife A Brake Week from October 24-31.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has crunched the numbers on motor vehicle collisions and animals. In 2001 and 2002, more than 26,600 people were treated annually in emergency rooms nationwide after the vehicle they were in hit an animal or swerved to avoid a creature. (Incidentally, nearly 85% of those human injuries involved large animals such as deer and bear.) Perhaps not surprisingly, the CDC reported, the highest injury rate among drivers who hit or tried to avoid a large animal occurred in the 15- to 24-year-old age group.

What's more, the CDC report notes, more injuries occurred during October and November than any other month.

The problem here boils down to three things: youth, inexperience, and animals on the move. The youth and inexperience cut both ways: Not only are new drivers learning how to navigate roads and highways after dark for the first time—darkness that comes much earlier in the fall—but many newborn animals are just learning that roads and highways are packed with more deadly predators than any habitat.

Compounding this problem is the fact that the fall season finds many animals on the move. Their movements are largely in preparation for the winter; they may be scoping out hibernation sites or locating and storing food for the cold weather to come.

Putting Your Foot Down...On the Brake

Many teens and other relatively inexperienced drivers do not realize how little time they have to react to something in the road—especially when traveling at a high rate of speed or after dark. The remedy is not one popular with teens: slow down.

It is especially important to slow down to or below 45 mph on two-lane roads in rural and suburban areas. (Incidentally, the CDC report notes that the percentage of motor vehicle accidents involving animals can be much higher in rural states.) This simple solution is guaranteed to save lives and prevent injuries—of both vehicle occupants and wildlife.

But speed is not the only thing that you should monitor. Below are other driving tips that could save wildlife:

• Keep on the look-out. Expect to see animals around that next curve or at the top of the next hill.

• Use your high beams whenever possible.

• Turn down your dashboard lights to better see the reflection of animals' eyes in the road ahead.

• Be particularly cautious where roads are bordered by woods or forests and where streams cross under roadways.

A final thought: Though fencing, underpasses, specially designed culverts and other crossing structures help wildlife safely navigate the roads, there are not nearly enough of these devices on U.S. roads. And there will never be enough to replace the need for informed and cautious drivers who are willing to slow down, just a little, to reduce the chances of hitting an animal, and injuring themselves.

Susan Hagood is a Wildlife Issues specialist for The HSUS.