%$&#@ Deer ran in front

I had a young doe come racing out of a field through a narrow strip of woods and come right at me this morning in broad daylight while I was driving my service van 2 miles away from home. I saw her off in a distance like a merging car on the highway. The timing appeared to be dead on. I braked as hard as I could, everything in my truck flew forward, the tires screeched, the deer oblivious to the danger she was in continued into my path, and cleared my heavy front bumper with inches to spare. I was so close, I could measure her height. One slip of the brake pedal, and the young doe was off to deer heaven.

Maybe I should have sped up!!! And she would have came in behind me?

Glad to hear you avoided an accident

I had the same thing happen to me many years ago but I wasn't able to stop in time and hit her. I think they think they can run faster than a car and won't turn or stop, they just keep going the same direction.

Glad you missed it. Now you have put everything back. Them deer aren't the brightest of creatures. You have to wonder how the heck they get hit by a train.

I'm glad you had the good sense to stay on the road. SO many people, their first reaction is "Let's swerve!" It seems every year we lose a couple of people that die by driving off the road to miss an animal.

Freddy wrote:I'm glad you had the good sense to stay on the road. SO many people, their first reaction is "Let's swerve!" It seems every year we lose a couple of people that die by driving off the road to miss an animal.

Yep, my wife pegged one at 45mph or so on the way home from work one night a few months ago. She caught sight of it just as it popped out of the woods but there wasn't enough time. She hit the brakes about the time she hit the deer. But she didn't swerve or freak out. Just a few days later we heard about some kid who died after flipping his SUV trying to avoid a deer.....

At least my wife has good aim and it was still $1400 (fully covered, thankfully):

Coming home from my nephews graduation, just around 3:30pm a couple years ago. I Never even saw it or slowed down or hit the brakes. The deer jump up over the guide rail and hit the car and ricocheted over the other lane about 10 feet in the air!! It never even touched the road!! All I can say is Ouch

Thats great advice Freddy. I tell eveybody the same thing. Personally I have never hit one. Lot close calls , but at night and even day time I watch both sides of the road. Yea they can mess up a car $$$$. Ohio has about 25,000 car deer hits reported a year. How many never get reported?

In 1980 I had a 69 Rambler American with 35k miles on it. I got it from an old couple. I was working at The Kanter Bros. antique auto parts warehouse in Boonton NJ.
They owned the Packard name too. They got me a set of shocks for it, that's all it needed. Loved that simple car with a three on the tree.

I was going up a back road, approaching a blind curve crest, when a kitten ran out across the road. I swerved into the oncoming lane! When I recovered and got back into my lane, I realized I could have caused a head-on. Right then and there I learned never to do that again.

Now, I always lay on the horn when I see an animal. This will usually make a deer freeze or a squirrel scramble. It amazes me when I come up behind people in a car sitting there stopped in the middle of a road waiting for deer to get around to moving. Beep your horn!

Cap wrote:Maybe I should have sped up!!! And she would have came in behind me?

I tried that, the doe ran head first into the rear quarter of my freshly painted (because of a deer strike) car.

My neighbor totaled a 2007 International 9400 last year trying to avoid a deer. If you could see the pictures you'd wonder how he wasn't hurt. The deer was totaled as well.

My buddy in Cali got cranked broadside by a deer on his motorcycle. Luckily he was able to recover & head home. The bike's plastic fairing was all cracked with deer hair sticking out of all the cracks ... plus the thing *censored* all over him & the bike too!

My cousins 2 friends weren't so lucky out in Ohio. Both died as a result of motorcycle / deer collisions.

Luckily I've never hit one. Never even came close actually. Probably because every vehicle I buy gets a performance exhaust ... the deep rumble gets 'em movin' ahead of time.

If you see one cross the road ahead of you, slow down, there is almost always another one coming behind it. Or two or three or more. Closest I came was last winter driving to work in the fog before the sun was up. All I saw was this ghost shape by my outside mirror, running toward the left shoulder of the road. Must have missed it by inches.

1 or 2 days after i was bragging to people that i had 1 payment left. Raining, foggy, just worked 12 hours. Lucky, i had just reduced collision insurance to $100 deductible because the insurance lady talked me into it, "only $5 more a year" she said. So i said "why not"?

Freddy wrote:I'm glad you had the good sense to stay on the road. SO many people, their first reaction is "Let's swerve!" It seems every year we lose a couple of people that die by driving off the road to miss an animal.

Never crossed my mind. Must be my driving skills!!!!!!