Hit the gas?

[erugs]

About twelve years ago I was leaving my hilltop home in New Boston early one morning for a hike in the Whites. A deer leaped from behind a huge maple and dove over the stone wall lining the field and hit my little Honda Civic in the windshield. My car swerved back and forth, fishtailing down the hill, then coming back into control. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the poor thing lying beside the roadside. I continued to the nearest phone booth and called the local police, telling them the details and that I would be home later that evening. They wanted me to go back to the accident scene but I said I didn't want to see the deer I had just killed and I had friends waiting for me who would be worried if I didn't show up. They kept calling my house to see if I was home yet, much to the confusion of my family, who I hadn't told yet about the accident. It's the first and only time I haven't done what the police asked me to do. Small towns are made that way.

 

[Chip]

It happened so fast I don’t believe the strike vehicle had a chance to brake, at least I don’t remember seeing the brake lights.

Similar experience a few years ago and clearly the driver hit the brakes a split second after all the damage was done. Any recommended "techniques" are obviously only applicable if you see the deer first. The only deer I've ever hit came suddenly out of nowhere. I have seen and avoided hitting dozens, however.

Don't underestimate the power of repeated loud horn blasts. This does get the deer moving away from the source quickly.

 

[JohnL]

Hmm....
* "more than 1.5 million car crashes in the United States that involve deer or large animals". Over what time interval? Looks to me like they are using a many year interval (perhaps all such accidents on record). Doug

“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there are about 1.5 million car accidents with deer each year that result in $1 billion in vehicle damage, about 150 human fatalities, and over 10,000 personal injuries.”

On the strictly practical side of things - If you hit a deer with your car, the damage from the deer and any subsequent damage is considered a 'Comprehensive' coverage claim and like like vandalism or a tree falling on the parked car, the company considers it a 'non chargeable' accident, meaning no surcharge on your insurance premium.
Swerve to miss the deer (or moose) and roll the car, land in a ditch, or hit a tree, and it's considered a collision claim, and a chargeable accident by most insurance companies.

There may be another reason to understand your vehicle’s insurance coverage:
“Thousands of the 1.5 million drivers who hit deer last year found out the hard way that their auto insurance did not cover damage to their vehicle. Only comprehensive insurance pays up in such crashes. "Many people are not aware that the collision coverage under an automobile insurance policy does not cover you if you hit a deer," says Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance Jorge Gomez.
Nationally, 36 million auto owners don't have comprehensive insurance, says the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Many drivers drop comprehensive coverage because they decide their vehicles are too old or worth too little to justify the cost.”

Pennsylvania is the 'worst' state in the country when it comes to car accidents involving deer. Having grown up in upstate rural Pennsylvania I saw the results of plenty of deer strikes, many of them on rural back roads (some dirt roads) and speed had little to nothing to do with the accidents. Deer are very quick, they don't look both ways before they cross and they do not react logically (or consistently) to external stimuli.

Interstate 88 in upstate NY is another popular killing ground for deer. I have driven that 117 mile stretch of road over 200 times and I have always seen at least one deer carcass along the roadside on each trip and have many times seen so many that I stopped counting. I have actually seen two deer strikes on that road and both were unavoidable; the deer bounding up and out of a gulley or patch of trees/scrub along the roadside into the path of a vehicle. I have had three near misses; one where I saw a deer along the roadside and slowed down enough so that two other deer could cross the road just ahead of me, a second time at night where two deer stood calmly in the left lane as I sped by, and a third time, again at night, where I spotted deer eyes along the roadside and by the time my eyes got back to the road in front of me there were two deer slowly walking across the road toward the other pair of eyes. Luckily I had taken my foot off the gas pedal and was slowing down but I had no time to hit the brakes or stop. I drove between the two deer and my wife said I missed the lead deer by inches and I didn’t miss the second deer by much more. It was very unnerving and I have not travelled on that highway after sunset since then (about 15 years ago).

It was not superb driving skills or keen awareness that kept me from hitting those deer. It was dumb luck and fortuitous circumstances. If you drive long enough in real deer country (particularly at night) you’ll hit a deer sooner or later. Or you will have close calls like I have had. Quite honestly, I don’t consider NH deer country. I’ve seen more moose and bear on the trails and roads of NH than I have deer. Heck, I saw more deer in my back yard in Chelmsford last weekend than I’ve seen in 30+ years of living and hiking in NH.

JohnL

 

[DougPaul]

"more than 1.5 million car crashes in the United States that involve deer or large animals". Over what time interval? Looks to me like they are using a many year interval (perhaps all such accidents on record).

“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there are about 1.5 million car accidents with deer each year that result in $1 billion in vehicle damage, about 150 human fatalities, and over 10,000 personal injuries.”

OK.

That is certainly higher than seemed plausible...

Doug

 

[rup]

Having a 1500 lb moose introduce itself to you via the front windshield would make for a memorable day. No wonder ME has all those 'beware moose signs'. ...many have died... Rt 16 around Sugarloaf at night is a virtual slalom course.

 

[erugs]

Thanks for reminding me -- I have a front passenger headlight to replace.

 

[RoySwkr]

Speeding up make sense if you are driving a DeLorean. What is the magic speed, 88mph?

What ever you stay in your lane and on the road.

I was going to get one so I could climb the Adk46 before Bob Marshall, but avoiding fatal situations is traditional
http://vftt.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2058&d=1186500732

In Defensive Driving they told us to hit the puppy if there was a utility pole on the R and oncoming traffic on the L, but of course there's still a natural tendency to swerve without thinking

 

[Mike P.]

Whats the best defense? A good offense. No seriously. At night, especially at times of the year more prone to deer collisions, I make it a point to spend a lot of time scanning the sides of the roads at night. Look for the glint from tehir eyes when your lights fall on them, or look for general movement. Use your high beams whenever you possibly can. If you see a deer when it jumps into the main cast of your headlights it is already too late and more often then not your hitting the deer. But if you can spot it (or it's movement) before it gets to that point your odds of avoiding the collision go up.

Brian

At times at night, especially on the highway, I'm paying about equal attention to the side of the road as I am to the road. I'm likely more at risk of missing a drunk coming the wrong way with his lights off. (living near the CT Casino's it's a possible hazard & the Holiday's & Reunion season is here)

Other thing I find is they don't seem to like loud music or loud ball games. have deer in our neighborhood & seeing almost everytime I travel the Merritt but they don't feel pressured to play chicken with me. Others I've seen far enough in advance to slow down carefully & let them pass. the last close call I had was with my wife in the car, she doesn't like loud music either.

On smaller critters, I've found beeping the horn at squirrels makes them stop that silly dancing they do in front of cars trying to make up their mind which way they want to go. They just panic & take off in one direction. (Considering the local ones went through some screens at home, maybe I'll stop beeping )

 

[dug]

My father-in-law, who hails from waythehellupnorth, once hit a moose with my wife-to-be in the car. He almost always drives a pickup, but on this particular day he was in a Toyota Corolla. They took the moose out at the legs, undercutting it. There was some damage to the front and hood, but not that much. Their lasting vision was seeing the moose's face through the sunroof.

He is in his pickup, he takes that in the grill and who knows what happens.

 

[Stan]

Whether the deer hits the car or the car hits the deer it's going to be bad for the deer. (With thanks to Sancho Panza.)

1.5 million collisions a year does sound incredible. Do you suppose it includes smaller mammals and fowl? Driving from Kalispell to Missoula, MT we once saw at least a half dozen fresh pronghorn roadkill in about a 40 mile stretch.

A friend told me about an incident, also in Montana, in which he came upon a scene with 5 dead pronghorn and a totally totaled car ... like it was destroyed from every angle. The driver, who was okay, described how he, when attempting to swerve to avoid the first pronghorn, spun out and in spinning around a couple times managed to hit everyone one of them!

My natural inclination is to slow down. If I swerve it is gradual but even that can provide a margin of difference. However, a sharp veer in an SUV can be worse than a large mammal collision. I am conscious of the large mammal hazard in rural areas so I often use my fog lights, which illuminate nicely to either side, whenever I'm in an area known or signed for animal crossings. I also slow down through such areas. The only thing I ever knowingly hit was a prarie grouse.

I've practiced turning lights down to the parking lights for brief stretches as a rehearsal for a collision situation. We also keep sharp eyes out for moose in fear that they could come through the windshield ... we rehearse the warning "moose!" accompanied by lowering our heads ... but have to concentrate on not yelling "duck!" lest we stretch our necks for a view through the sunroof.

I suspect that large mammal collisions happen so fast and unexpectedly that you really don't have much time to react so the best strategy is be especially cautious, slow down and be alert to the sides of the road as far as you can see.

 

[erugs]

... we rehearse the warning "moose!" accompanied by lowering our heads ... but have to concentrate on not yelling "duck!" lest we stretch our necks for a view through the sunroof.

Very funny.

 

[peakbagger]

Long ago when NH started posting the big yellow moose warning signs, they actually kept a running tally in one corner of the sign that was changed every so often. After one particularly bad week in the north country of about 30 moose collisions, they switched to the generic "hundreds of collisions". I have managed to miss a few including once when I had a 19' strip built kayak on the roof of my honda civic and a moose came up an over a banking broadside to the car. I did slow down enouhg to avoid the hit. I dont know what the results would have been and I am glad I didnt find out. At the end of my road on Rt 2 there are usually at least two or three moose killed every year in vehicle collisions and there was a two year stretch where there were seven killed each year (and a couple of the drivers)

Most of the moose hits with cars result in the roof pillars breaking off and the roof being torn back. A lot of folks assume its the rescue folks who did it but frequently its already doen when they get to the scene. Lowes store in Randolph frequently ends up as a depository of cars that didnt avoid the hit.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I recall a study done by a doctor at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital regarding moose collisions, and one of their conclusions was that a Volvo was the safest car to drive when involved in collision with one.

A google search would probably turn it up.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I recall a study done by a doctor at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital regarding moose collisions, and one of their conclusions was that a Volvo was the safest car to drive when involved in collision with one.

A google search would probably turn it up.

 

[spider solo]

Erugs glad you and your friend are ok

I read all the posts and various links, I didn't know for example that this is the time of year that there are more deer accidents. (also liked the myth busters info.)

I don't have much experience with deer, but several times with moose (and one time with a horse) I have had them swerve at the very last second when you think "glad I got past that one ok" and bolt directly across the road in front of me even if they had to speed up to do it. I don't know why but perhaps their vision combined with predatory evasion instincts are a factor, or just perhaps total confusion on their part as what to do.

Speeding up... again no deer info, but I have been in a vehicle when the driver saw a moose and purposely sped up and chased the moose with his truck till the animal was at a full gallop till the moose finally dove into a ditch at full sped in a desperate attempt to escape.

When we asked the guy what the hell he was doing he said he thought we would enjoy it as it keeps the moose on the road longer and makes for better pictures.
Yeah we had hired this Outfitter to drive shuttle for us to a launching spot for a canoe trip .
We had lots of descriptive adjectives for the ocassion..but nothing printable here....

 

[Seeker]

OK.

That is certainly higher than seemed plausible...

Doug

Hmmm, have you ever driven Rt. 80 across PA in the summer? Several years back, Dave and I drove to Ohio to see my folks, and there were so many dead deer we began to Count, "TEN! Ten dead deer on the road, ah, ha, ha. ELEVEN! Eleven dead deer on the road, ah, ha, ha...." I believe we got to 38 dead deer by the time we hit Ohio. Thankfully, we never had any close enCOUNTers ourselves, ah ha, ha....

There are a LOT of freaking deer out there.

 

[Rick]

Last week I was taking my son to basketball and it was dark. A deer came down a steep slope by the road and stepped into the road right in front of me (We have no shoulders here in PA) I hit the brakes, swerved slightly and came to a stop about 6 inches past him - as I did, I very slowly "pushed his head" with my headlight ever so slightly. He stood perfectly still while his head turned - he then stayed completely still for what seemed like 10 seconds (probably less than one) and then lifted his head over the hood of my truck, turned his head, looked at me, and then did this tremendous turn and jumped about 20 feet back up the hill in a single bound.
My 10 year old son was absolutely mesmerized by this.

 

[griffin]

...and then lifted his head over the hood of my truck, turned his head, looked at me, and then did this tremendous turn and jumped about 20 feet back up the hill in a single bound.
My 10 year old son was absolutely mesmerized by this.

I would be having to replace my car seats right about now if that had happened to me.

 

[jbrown]

I've seen only one collision with a deer firsthand. I was following a friend in my car on a back-country road at night near Parish, NY when there was just a quick movement from the right side of the road and he barely had time to hit the brakes. When we stopped, we found that a fawn had leaped out in front of him. We guessed it was probably following its mother and chose that unfortunate moment to jump.

Coincidentally, many years later, the only animal that I know I killed after hitting it (I've hit a couple that have run off...) was when I was following my wife home on the same road, I saw her brake lights flash for a second when we were passing a horse pasture (don't get ahead of me here...) so I instinctively slowed down quite a bit. I was watching her when I saw a blur of brown out of the corner of my right eye and didn't even have time to take my foot off the gas before I felt an impact and felt the front tire lock up with something under it. I hit the brakes, rolled over something with both right side tires, and stopped. Long story short, a young doberman was following an older doberman running across the road, my wife braked when the older one ran in front of her, and I hit and killed the second one. My point? I was going no more than 45 mph and scanning to see what she was braking for, but the dog sprinted in front of me, there's only so much you can do to prevent an accident like this. (I felt like crap having killed such a young dog, but the owner didn't seem all that concerned. He just thanked me for stopping, told me how a neighbor killed another of his dogs the year before, and said he could take it from here...wow.)

OH! I FORGOT! I had a funny deer story. A guy I know stopped at a stop sign for a moment, he was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee with his window down, and while he was sitting still, a deer ran out from the field on the side, slammed into the door, and headbutted him through the open window, knocking him unconscious (accidentally of course, I'm not implying any malice on the deer's part.) A motorist waiting behind him saw the whole thing and told him what happened when he woke up.

 

[TCD]

A coworker of mine was stopped at a traffic light IN TOWN (Hudson Falls, NY) when a MOOSE ran into the driver's side of her car. Luckily, neither she nor the moose were harmed.

(Once or twice a year, moose will wander into town here. In this case, idiots were chasing the moose through town in their truck, and they got it running scared.)

You never know what's going to run into you...