Triumphrat

MA0458

Hey Monte! How are you feeling? I thought of you the other nite -- there was a family of deer on my road, and I came within six inches of the stoopid one standing in the middle of the road.

Anybody have tips for avoiding the dern things? Somebody here said, don't stop, don't slow down, just keep going... ?

PS You know I don't pray, but I sure gave thanks after missing that one! After I stopped crying. Yes, it was THAT close.

Your heathen friend,
Mare

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Mare
Trumpet Cottage
In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns

DJ

Thats why I don't ride at night, New Hampshire has tons of deer... and even worse, lots of moose. Years ago my mother hit a baby moose and it destroyed the side of her car, the moose just got up and ran off into the woods.

Sheepdog

Mare,
Out here in East Tennessee, we have similar problems with deer (turkey's too, at this time of year). I avoid night riding on roads with narrow right-of-ways (IOW...where the woods are close), I slow down, and I use my high beam as much as possible. It also helps if you ride behind strings of four-wheelers. However, recently a friend in Nebraska was knocked off his bike when a deer ran into him. The slow-witted thing just burst out of the woods and T-boned him as he was tooling along at highway speeds. My friend survived (the deer did not), but his bike was a twisted mass.

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2003 Bonneville T100 and 2007 Moto Guzzi California Vintage

FattRat

For what it's worth:

My buddy and I were doing a run on the much acclaimed Hwy 36 outa Red Bluff, CA. He was on his (quiet) K1200R, and I was on my Bonnie with it's (LOUD) D&D cans.

There were two occasions on that ride that I saw deer up ahead scatter as my loud pipes and I approached them. When my buddy took the lead, I rounded the corner only to see him activating the ABS to avoid a half dozen deer in the road. Honest to God, they didn't budge until I blipped the throttle between quick down-shifts!

Loud pipes save lives...... of deer, and those of us whose presence is announced by the likes of LOUD cans.

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mecscc

Hi, Mere. I'm doing pretty well. Still have a raft of residual issues. Guess it is my "new normal." Starting to get used to "new" normals at my age.

Most of the advice above is all pretty good - at least in theory. I try to practice it too. The idea of "ignore it, just keep going" is kind of stupid. Try that with cancer sometime. If you are at least aware of a threat then DO something about it. Which normally means slow way down and be prepared to stop instantly.

There are some obvious things:

Deer are more active from about sunset to an hour after sunrise. Be especially alert when there is brush and cover close to the road. Where there is one deer there are usually several. They are totally unpredictable, and mostly totally witless, and may scatter in any direction, not necessarily following the leader. (Usually they do follow the leader, but hardly always.)

In any case, NONE of that was true to me. Like Sheepdog's Nebraska friend, I was hit by the deer running full out, at noon, with only minimal cover. The deer hit my front wheel, turning it, and I high sided. I did not see anything but a brown blur under my wheel AFTER I was running over it and the bike was already going down.

I can only assume something other than me had spooked the deer and it had started running long before I came along. Sue was riding about 30 yards behind me, and two other sets of bikers just behind her. I was in plain view of all of them. Sue said it came so fast it was just a blur and the other two experienced riders said that they didn't even see it and had no idea why I went down until they saw the dead deer. So NONE of the good advice applied to me. It was a fluke.

I will say that having on the proper gear and helmet saved me from far worse injury and probably saved my life; that and the fact that because I was riding with Sue I was going at a much slower pace (about 50) than I would have been had I been alone. And had I been alone I don't know how long it would have been before someone came along that isolated valley road. Thank God Sue was on her own bike and not riding behind me. Before she started riding her own bike I used to joke that she should so that at least one of us would be around after a crash. I no longer think it is a joke.

Anyway, take all the care you can, and wear the right protective gear. And, yes, you knew this was coming: pray.

I am sure glad that you didn't get hurt. I'd trade the tears for the trauma unit any day of the week. And your heart beat will return to normal any day now!

God bless, Mare.

Monte

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Monte

"The Old Ohio Preacher Man"

jreagan

You certainly want to slow down and quick. That reduces your forward speed (and kinetic energy) in case you and the deer hit. It also increases your reaction distance to take evasive action.

I've heard things like "aim away from the deer it will stand still" to "aim for the deer since it will have moved somewhere else by the time you get there". Both are junk. Just like try to pick next week's lottery numbers using the past 6 months as a guide.

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CYNCRZR

Mare -

Lot's of the Oversized Rodents where I live. I don't ride after dark because of them and a host of other critters.

When driving the car the best advice is to brake if you can safely. Do Not SWERVE to avoid hitting one. More people are killed where I live because they lost control of the car trying to avoid the dang things. Hit the brakes if you can safely, but better to hit the deer, than a tree or telephone pole, or another car.

Welcome to life in Paradise!

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Experience is a cruel instructor...
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vol245

Wouldn't your horn have scared them off too? I like a bike to sound like a bike, but find straight pipes to be too loud. Many cities and towns are putting restrictions on noise now mostly due to loud bikes.

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John

Normandy

Glad you guys survived your brush with wildlife. Up here there are deer/moose everywhere. If I was riding at night a lot, I would consider mounting a deer whistle like the auto parts stores sell for cars. It's not very big and could be painted to match your ride. The big danger to vehicles is the long gangly legs get knocked out from under them and all the meat comes thru the windshield into your lap.
Stay sharp.

bonnebike

Deer are certainly unpredictable. I had a friend hit one on her bicycle. She doesn't remember, but the others riding with her said they were doing 35 or so on a descent when the deer popped out of the cover and ran across the road.

I met another fellow at the swimming pool that was rehabbing himself after his near deer encounter. He was in his car and swerved to avoid a deer. Rolled his car and busted him up pretty good.