Road Safety

You are a turtle warrior!

Before you ever help a turtle though, you must make sure that it is safe for you to do so.

Road safety is key:

  • always pull completely off the road in a safe location without any turtles

  • put on your 4-way flashers

  • wear a high reflective safety vest

  • wear eye protection, close toed shoes, and a hard hat if you have access to them

  • place a safety cone at the rear of your vehicle; and

  • always wear gloves when handling turtles as they carry a variety of bacteria – if you do not have gloves be sure to wash your hands before eating or touching your face.

Turtle Road Warrior Kit 

Always be ready to help a turtle by having the following in your car during the turtle season (May-September).

  • A plastic bin with a lid

  • High reflective safety vest

  • Eye protection (e.g. safety glasses to keep stones from passing vehicles out of your eyes)

  • Head protection (e.g. hard hat to keep stones from hitting you)

  • Foot protection (e.g. closed toe shoes)

  • Hand/forearm protection (e.g. utility gloves)

  • Hand sanitizer (70% alcohol for washing hands after helping a turtle)

  • Flat Shovel or Heavy grade shower curtain/tarp (used to place a turtle on to drag across the road – an alternative is using your car mat)

Never lift or drag a turtle by its tail as you can cause serious injury to its vertebrae!