Came darn close to hitting a deer tonight:

[JimPghPA]

Around 9 PM I was driving down a hill with a 25 MPH speed limit, and a winding right hand turn combined with a steeper drop than the rest of the hill. As I start around the bend a full grown doe is just stepping completely off of the right side of the road and onto a steep uphill well mowed green lawn. I was doing about 20 MPH, the deer was no concern to me as it was clearing the road before I got to it, but knowing that if there is one there might be more I got on the brake and about a second or so later as I was still winding around the sharp right hand descending turn a second full size doe is just crossing the double yellow line coming from the lane for the opposite direction and stepping right in front of my car. I came to a full stop, and it increased its walking speed and crossed right in front of me to walk up the lawn on the right.

If I had ignored the first deer and not got on the brake right as soon as I saw the first deer, I would have hit the second one big time. The road was dark and the bend was hiding the view of the second deer until I was right on top of it. The whole thing was over with in a few seconds.

I am glad that a couple of years ago on a road where there was good visibility I saw a car in front of me not slow down when the first deer crossed in front of her, and only by pure luck of timing missed the other deer that crossed.

I learned something that day, " If you see one, get on the brake, because there is a good chance there are more".

 

[JimPghPA]

Also, as soon as the second deer cleared, I got moving again. When I got to the bottom of the hill the light was red. As I sat at the light a big old Jeep came down that hill, followed by a SUV. If I had stayed stopped there those other vehicles probably would of not seen my car until they came around the bend and found it in-front of them with too short of a distance for them to stop.

 

[eljefino]

Weird/ cold/ foggy weather flushes 'em out.

One twilight I saw a neon coming at me but much slower than it should have been. Its headlights flickered for just a millisecond. Those were deer legs! Got to have "spidey sense" on at all times.

Way back in the day I ran over a cat. Sad. Next time through I went slower, 10 under the speed limit. A bunny tore through, I barely missed it.

Convinced not to let that happen again, I creep through at 25 mph on the third of three days. Deer there. I took the other two critters as "warnings". Obviously some sort of nature expressway there.

Word to the wise, stuff like undevelopable swampland or utility cuts (high tension wires), old rail rights of way, etc are great animal passthroughs in suburbia.

 

[KD0AXS]

There are tons of deer around where I live. Having to hit the brakes to keep from hitting them is pretty much a daily occurrence, sometimes more than once a day. Never hit any (yet) but have come close several times.

 

[meep]

Jim, I'm glad you had your wits about you. Saved yourself some serious damage to the car. Yay for defensive driving!

I drove under one in HS. had a subaru wagon with a CB whip mounted to the top. 4 lane road, 45mph limit, so I was doing 50. It bounded across, lept up from my front left corner, and I saw it land to my right rear. the antenna went > as I went underneath. Happened so quickly I was nothing but a witness... a very fortunate witness.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
I learned something that day, " If you see one, get on the brake, because there is a good chance there are more".

Always.

 

[skyactiv]

There are lots of deer where my parents live. My mom hit a deer once not a mile from home. I wanna ride my motorcycle and visit them this weekend but my mom is always concerned I'll hit a deer.
My whole family is Jewish. If I drive my GTI and my aunt shows up, I'll get lectured.
Deer seem to be more active from sunset to midnight and again before sunrise.

 

[Colt45ws]

I almost hit one about a week ago in the LX. Seen it in the headlights with barely room to spare, so I swerved around it with barely room to sparre.

 

[JHZR2]

I almost had an incident with a baby a week or two ago. It decided to dart at the wrong time. I had a decent scan of the surroundings, and while I knew that others were around, there werent others nearby to dart out. I actually had to speed up to avoid it's dash as slowing would have caused me to hit it.

Deer and Canadian Geese are a menace a lot of times.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv

My whole family is Jewish. If I drive my GTI and my aunt shows up, I'll get lectured.


????

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: skyactiv

My whole family is Jewish. If I drive my GTI and my aunt shows up, I'll get lectured.


????


It's the holocaust...

 

[tstep]

I've hit so many f'ing deer over the last decade, I dont even bother to get the cars/trucks fixed anymore unless its major. As a matter of fact just bounced a fawn off the Saab after testing the ABS to the max two weekends ago. No damage to Saab or fawn, but I'm sure the fawn will feel it got rocked from Ronnie Lott.

Other than the normal bounce'em off the bumper after flatspotting your tires, I've had them jump into the side of my Silverado busting the passenger mirror, jump off a hill into the triangle backseat window of Ponitac GP greeting my kid in the carseat with shattered glass and a face full of deer, and full bore run right into the drivers window on a suicide run.

And, to top it all off, the Game Commission has an ever increasingly strict policy (used to be able to cull the herd if damaging crops) and limited hunting season while it's long been rumored that our current coyote infestation is a result of insurance companies transplanting them to reduce the deer strikes therefore reducing claim payouts.

 

[jeepman3071]

Deer are a big problem here. They are everywhere, and due to the decreasing number of hunters there are no predators. I see at least one every night on my way home from work. One night I counted 13 in my neighbor's yard eating his shrubs. They weren't all that scared of me either.

I've yet to hit one, but have come close many times. I bought some KC Daylighter off road lights that I wired to come on with my high beams. These $100 lights have easily saved me thousands in damage from deer.

I drive slower at night, especially on known "deer roads" around here. In the next town over a girl was speeding and swerved to avoid a deer. She lost control and took out two telephone poles and ended up dying.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Deer are becoming a problem around here - even in the cities!

A few years ago, the local newspaper wrote about exploding deer. While they didn't mean deer that explode, there are deer EVERYWHERE here.

I live in the city. I see deer all the time. Almost hit a few ... IN THE CITY.

I saw a 12 point buck last year in my parking lot! That was surprising.

 

[supton]

Haven't seen many deer lately. Did see a bear cross behind me last week, on the way home--at 6pm! Geez, he's an active fellow, I know they are solitary creatures, but this was a good two miles from where I live, and I know he's been in my yard.

Haven't seen as many turkeys in my neck of the woods, but been seeing more dead ones. Must be the dumb ones that got left behind.

 

[SatinSilver]

I think you guys meant to say, the deer almost hit you.

 

[KitaCam]

This guy popped out from behind the bush onto the bike path I run each week...I see his family every run...they don't seem do mind and I've been lucky not to literally run into them...

 

[JimPghPA]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
There are lots of deer where my parents live. My mom hit a deer once not a mile from home. I wanna ride my motorcycle and visit them this weekend but my mom is always concerned I'll hit a deer.
My whole family is Jewish. If I drive my GTI and my aunt shows up, I'll get lectured.
Deer seem to be more active from sunset to midnight and again before sunrise.


The part about motorcycle reminded me about another deer incident that happened almost exactly a year ago. I had forgotten about it, but I saw Sargent Perry Vahaly hiking in the local park a few days before he hit a deer and died while riding his motorcycle without a helmet on Rt. 51 south of Pittsburgh, September 3, 2012. He was 44 years old, had been a police officer for 17 years, and left a wife and six kids.

I only met him that one time, but he was an easy person to talk to, and a really big man.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regarding hitting deer, back in the early 70's when I was on a hunting trip and in-front of a gas station in Espyville Pennsylvania I saw a full size pick-up truck with a big hole in the front passage-rs window that also had some blood and some brown fur on it. The story was that two grown men were in the truck, one was an old man (the father) and the other a full grown man (the son). The son was killed when the deer they hit went through the front window on his side of the truck.

So even in a pick-up truck or anything the size of a pickup such as an SUV, or something smaller, hitting a deer, bear, moose, or elk can be fatal. It sure is not anything to take lightly.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: skyactiv

My whole family is Jewish. If I drive my GTI and my aunt shows up, I'll get lectured.


????


Some Jewish people will not buy German branded goods, in particular cars, due to the Holocaust/Germany's past persecution of Jews. Basically all of the German automakers built things for the Nazis.

 

[DoiInthanon]

Deer are thick in Missouri. Hunters get about 300,000 per year which leaves about one million to carry on. Lots of deer coupled with thousands of acres of national forest = cougar coming back. More and more sightings every year. May be cougar have always been here, but now game cameras are spotting them. I think it is fantastic to see the cougar and black bear returning. Elk are being returned on a limited basis. The turkey re-population was a tremendous success. The conservation people in Missouri do a good job.