As mikequinlan said, you're so close and yet thinking about it completely backward. Not knowing enough about what the object is to know whether it's an obscured

As mikequinlan said, you're so close and yet thinking about it completely backward. Not knowing enough about what the object is to know whether it's an obscured human (or a boulder that will total your car and leave you in the hospital) is all the reason you need to not hit it. You decide whether to hit a squirrel after you determine that hitting it won't ruin your day, not before. Not hitting something needs to be the default unless determined that it's safe to do otherwise.