What do ducks have that we don’t? That’s what millions of raccoons, turtles, wild turkeys, groundhogs and coyotes were wondering last week when a video surfaced on social media accounts showing a woman who had stopped her car and shut down the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto so she could shepherd three ducklings off the highway. The woman had concluded that the lives of three birds were worth endangering herself and other drivers.
We used to have a word for such behaviour. Today, however, it’s no longer acceptable to use the term “stupid.” Some see the loss of “stupid” from the vernacular as “political correctness.” In this case, I agree with the new way of thinking. To call this “duck driver” stupid would be an insult to stupid people everywhere. What she did went above and beyond stupid.
Automobiles and animals do not get along. A 2018 report by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation showed that each year there are more than 12,000 collisions involving deer and other wildlife, leading to 400 human injuries. These are caused by big animals running across roads. Small animals do not pose the same kind of risk. Drivers should not swerve to avoid hitting a small animal as doing so could cause the vehicle to lose control or cause an unforeseen collision. Drivers should avoid hard braking as cars behind may not see the animals and won’t be prepared to stop.
But there’s just something about ducks.
Everyone loves animals, especially cute ones, but it’s only ducks that seem to bring out the saviour complex in drivers. Raccoons are cute but their carcasses line our streets and highways. The same can be said of squirrels and groundhogs. It’s not like we don’t kill ducks in other ways. There is “duck hunting season.” People eat ducks and none of them are alive when that happens. Apparently, it’s just duck death-by-automobile that offends some people.
Drivers who save ducks can suffer terrible consequences. Last year in California, a 41-year-old father stopped his car on the side of the road to herd a family of ducks to safety. A 12-year-old witness told NBC News, “He got out of the car and was shooing the ducks, and everyone was clapping because he was being really nice. He helped them get up over the curb because all the little baby duckies were having trouble and then he walked in front of our car.”
That perfect moment did not last. On the way back to his car, the man was killed when a 17-year-old driver struck him. His family witnessed the tragedy. The 17-year-old driver was not charged.
In 2023, Eric Rondeau was given an eight-month jail term after being found guilty of dangerous driving causing the death of a motorcyclist. In 2019, Rondeau was driving his F-150 pickup truck on Route 345 in Ste-Élisabeth, about an hour northeast of Montreal.
According to the Montreal Gazette, after seeing the ducks, “Rondeau slowed down, gradually came to a stop and turned on his hazard lights.” After the ducks halted in the middle of the road, Rondeau “steered his vehicle across the double line to get around them in a section of road approaching a sharp curve.” A 19-year-old riding in the oncoming lane crashed into Rondeau’s pickup and was killed.
In 2010, Emma Czornobaj (the “Duck Lady”) stopped her car in the left-hand lane of a Quebec provincial highway. She wanted to save some ducks. Two motorcyclists, a father and daughter, struck her car and were killed. In 2014, a jury found her guilty of two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing death.
In 2014, Czornbaj gave an interview to the CBC and her answers were revealing. She called her decision to stop traffic to save ducks, “a big mistake obviously.” She lamented those who call her names and said, “Yeah, what I did do was stupid, of course, but a lot of people make mistakes. It’s just my mistake had bad consequences.” The “Duck Lady” – who hated being referred to as the “Duck Lady” – said “It’s hard to accept that people see me as a criminal now.”
In the past 10 years, Czornbaj may have gained more insight into her “accident” but just in case, let’s clear up some of her questions. Yes, Emma, lots of people make mistakes, but only your decision to block traffic on a highway to save some ducks caused an accident with “bad consequences” that killed two people. As for being seen as a criminal, that may have a lot to do with being found guilty of two counts of criminal negligence causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing death. There’s something about being guilty of criminal charges that leads people to label you a criminal.
For the record, I have nothing against ducks. I’m against duck-saving drivers who put other road users in danger. I am not a part of any anti-duck lobby. I am illuminating the risks. Don’t put other drivers in jeopardy to save small animals – especially ducks. Like so many things in the year 2024, it should go without saying but apparently, we have to say it anyway: Do not block traffic to save ducks. Not even the ducks want that on their consciences.