DEER HIT-a preventable accident??

Biggest thing that I have heard and seen from safety that turns a non-preventable into a preventable is that little computer that tracks hard breaking events and what the speed is at the time. It is funny to read the statements and look at the data. "I saw some deer up ahead and slowed to about 45 when one came out of no where. Blah, blah, lie , lie, lie, lie...." And the data shows them slamming the breaks on at 65 mph in 55 zone. Boom - preventable.

 

I say don't hit the horn. I did that when some deer were standing on the side. As soon as I hit the horn they ran across the road and almost into my truck.

 

Ya you can't talk your way out of that.

 

Old thread, but new incident.

Hit my first deer last night, just after picking up a load.
Guess I'll see how Swift classifies it.

I did brake when I saw it, hoping to clear it. I didn't brake hard, though, and didn't quite clear it. I have some damage to my lower right front fender and fog light, all of it confined to the single panel. All in all, a pretty lucky shot.
I was driving speed limit on a dry road with clear weather at night.
The deer was nowhere to be found when I walked back to check, so I think it just clipped me with its hind quarters and was able to at least limp away.

 

My dental hygienist is the sweetest lady a person could ever hope to meet. Last year she swerved to miss some quail that were crossing the road. This horrible mistake nearly cost her life instead. She ended up in the hospital for weeks. She was in a wheelchair for months. Don't swerve.

 

Before moving into the office 6 months ago I drove this truck for 960,000 miles on a night run, it's a 2007. Nine deer later the bumper still looks almost this good.



If I were an O/O I wouldn't be without one.

 

That is a bumper.

Husband hit a deer in Iowa 2007, we had just barely left the R/A on 80 after crossing into from NE. Deer jumped from side of road directly onto front corner. He had a 2005 volvo and it lost it's passenger side front headlight, etc Went to Des Moines in morning for some repairs, the rest like the hood was done in the shop at terminal. It was counted as a non-preventable at USX then and shows up on DAC as so.

I counted no less than 45 deer when we were going through an area in WV later on, they were up and down the sides of inclines and they really liked the sides of roads where the grass is kept cut, it seems to really attract them. You would really have to not drive at all if a place wanted you to slow down slower because of them

 

We had bumpers not quite like that one but were 1/4in steel and reinforced on the trucks in my old company. Was headed down a road one night and creamed a deer head on at 55, scared the ever living crap out of me it was so loud, my supervisor was behind me in a company pick up with his windows closed and the radio on and heard me hit the deer. I thought for sure that I had totaled the truck. Asides from some hair on the bumper you couldnt tell what happened, though once you looked under the truck and at the drive tires and axles it was a gore fest there. In hindsight I should have gone over the truck a little more than a look because it caused me problems later. Apparently the deer did some damage to the exhaust in her trip under the truck and the exhaust came apart and ended up melting the airline on the splitter. Caused some major problems for me seeing as it was only like the second or third time I had driven on my own. Lesson learned though.

 

I have a good preventable for you guys... one of my students, who was already a driver had an interesting thing happen in south texas. this yoyo in a longnose had been tailgating him for a long time, and real close, too. he ran with the cb on, so got the warning. the other guy obviously did not. bunch of deer your side of the road, westbound. cool. (i upgraded my headlamps and i can see a full half mile on level ground, so i don't miss deer, i can get a good bead and target lock on them.) so as he comes around the bend, he counts nine deer in his lane, then switches lanes to avoid them no fuss. the idiot behind got every last one. headlights went on and off a few times, till there was only one, at a ####eyed angle. i wonder if it taught that guy to not tailgate anymore...
yes, i've hit only one deer in 28 years of having my driver's license, in the place where they are thickest. south texas. that short stretch of hyway 50 going to laredo i counted 84 deer one night. the count is usually pretty high, as roads go. but, i did manage to nail a beautiful 8 pt buck. dragged it up to the truck, had my co driver take photos of me holding up this trophy buck. too bad texas would not allow me to keep it, i haven't had any good venison in quite a while... if you must know, if you hit a deer driving for c r england, as long as you send an accident doc on the qc, you won't get charged. of the two hits the truck has sustained, both times the drivers side bumper was turned inside out, and the foglight was disintegrated. quick fix with a good kick, $60 for a lamp at the laredo yard and i'm legal again...
of course, the smaller wildlife can be fun, too. especially those big boar coons in tennessee...

 

There ain't but a couple of deer anywhere in Texas compared to the Dakota badlands. Run those back roads after midnight some time... hundreds upon hundreds...