Tarantula Causes Traffic Collision In Death Valley

Above, a male tarantula, native to New Mexico, attracts a kitten's attention. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Now that we're in autumn, we are seeing tarantulas out and about. These are males looking for females to mate with. (If successful, their "happy endings" usually involve getting eaten by the female.)

Quite often, we see them crossing roads. I see about two or three of them a week during these mating seasons. I try to avoid running them over, so the following story is understandable. It is also getting a lot of press.

From the People Magazine website:

A tarantula was the culprit in a traffic accident Saturday in California’s Death Valley National Park, resulting in a motorcyclist being hospitalized. 

The National Park Service (NPS) said in a news release that a rented camper van carrying a Swiss couple suddenly stopped to avoid hitting a tarantula while crossing CA-190 east of Towne Pass in the park.

A 24-year-old Canadian man on a motorcycle crashed into the rear of the camper van, per the statement. An NPS ambulance took the injured motorcyclist to Desert View Hospital in Pahrump, per officials.

As a former insurance adjuster, this sounds to me like a incident of comparative negligence at best. It appears that the motorcyclist was following too close to the camper when the camper's driver jammed on the brakes. But then, suppose it was a child they stopped for. Maybe 90/10% negligence on the motorcyclist's part.

To read the full story, go here.