Has anyone ever hit a deer while driving? Or know someone who did? This happened to my FI and I over the weekend and was just wondering how often this happens. It was horrible!!
ChristineC68
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
It happened to a friend of mine a couple of years ago on his way to work. It just scampered in front of him on the highway. He didn't see it right away and it was dark & slick out - he didn't stand a chance. He had a bit of damage to his car but he was fine.
I am sorry about FH's accident. I hope he's ok.
July2004Bride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
Thanks.. yes, we are all ok. It was me, FI and his kids in the back (they were very upset because it was a deer...).. It could've been a lot worse.. thank God no one got hurt. I think it stinks that there is nothing that can be done to prevent this kind of thing from happening.
It was dark out on Sunday when we were driving home and this deer came flying out of the bushes and it was right smack in front of our car and there was no chance to even stop! It all happened so fast
Nora101004
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
They do make some sort of whistle that you can put on the top of the car- its high pitched and makes the deer run away. Check out hunting/outdoor type stores to see if they have them.
070502
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
We hit a deer last Christmas up in the Poconos with a Suburban. The thing flew like no other!
A family of deer ran across the road in front of us. Luckily we only hit one. It is a horrible death for a deer since the internal injuries are horrible. Did you call the sheriff to shoot it? Dh just did it himself when we hit ours.
We now have Cattle Guards on our F250 so that we will have no damage next time. Also those whistles rarely work you just need to keep your eyes open and drive slow but most times they can't be avoided.
oneday
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
I hit one about 10 years ago. It was on a back road and I wasn't going too fast when I hit him (I saw him and tried to swerve but, of course, deer being as dumb as they are, he ran back the other way into the car.) He basically got bumped on his side and ran off. As I swerved, I ended up running into sand on the side of the road which made me skid when I tried to brake and I ended up slamming into a tree (missed the tiny sign pole, but hit the tree .) The front end of the car was in a complete U shape. Luckily, no one was hurt and when the police came to take the accident report, they wandered in the woods a bit to see if the deer had dropped after running off, but seems he was fine. Sorry about your accident, but I'm glad you all were ok. I live out on the east end and I see deer on the side of the road all the time. It's so scary. I can't imagine how bad it can be if you hit one on a highway doing 60!
You should really call the authorities, police and/or highway dept, if you hit a deer. They will come and put the animal out of its misery and move it if it is in a spot where it could cause other drivers to have an accident.
A deer was hit in front of my house last night, and the people stopped and waited for police to come, and to also warn other drivers because the poor thing was in the middle of the road but could not get up. Well when the cop walked by, the deer got up and limped away into the woods. Probably to die , I tried to look for him this morning.
I blame it on overpopulation... of people! Wea re taking their home (forests) away!
ETA- I have deer whistles on my older car and never hit a deer, nor had one run across the road in front of me. Though with my new car I haven't gotten them yet and have had a couple deer run in front of me. I think the whistles definitely stun them enough to stay where they are on the side of the road.
StayandJohn
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
Yes it happend to my Dad and Uncle while we were in the poconos. My Dad was driving my uncles brand new car and it was very dark my uncle said he turned his head and saw a deer running along side the car and then bang bang bang, my Dad hit 2 deer, one died the other ran off into the woods. My Uncles car was badly damaged.
mlp924
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
My FIL hit one on a rural road in PA last month and was afraid to stop and turn off the car so he just kept going. It was also like 11pm and there were no lights around or anything. He was pretty ashamed.
I went to school up in Albany and took the Taconic Parkway there...and there were always tons of deer...I'm surprised I never hit one...but I came close many times...
my uncle in his rookie days of being a state trooper was called in to get a deer out of someones living room (jumped through a picture window)...so he shot it 6 times...and it never died (bullets went right through)...but ran out into the woods...and left the guys living room filled with blood...but he was written up in the Daily News Sports Section as a joke...
July2004Bride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
070502 - could you point out exactly where the cattle guard is on the truck? Is it one inside of the grill? Thanks.
oneday - I can relate... I don't know either about how much damage at 60 mph... we were doing about 25 and have a lot of damage to our truck!
Kate - we did call and wait for the police to come and filled out an accident report. There was a hunter that came and took the deer home with him (it was dead already and the cop did not have to shoot it)..
StayandJohn - to your dad! Wow.. 2? It was bad enough with one.. can't imagine 2.
mlp24 - I'm sure that he was just nervous.. he shouldn't blame himself for it..
yabbobay - OMG!!!! Unbelievable...
Thanks everyone.. anyone else with any experiences? Does anyone how it works with insurance?? Do your rates go up?
oneday
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
Posted by July2004Bride
Thanks everyone.. anyone else with any experiences? Does anyone how it works with insurance?? Do your rates go up?
I'm not positive about how it works with insurance but I'm pretty sure it's the same as with any accident - I''m pretty sure your rates will go up. I was under my parent's insurance at the time - actually, it was thier new car - only had it about 6 months or so - so, I didn't really see how the rates were affected.
Hope it's not too bad for you guys!!
July2004Bride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
I was hoping that because it was a no-fault accident that my insurance doesn't go up.. God, I hope it doesn't... I'm already paying an arm and a leg
allure
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
This has never happened to me but i do have a fear of it
janatlantica
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
This happened to ateacher I work with last week... she was devastated!
July2004Bride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
allure - I never had a fear of it before but now I am scared to death... I need to drive up to my mother's house for Thanksgiving next week (4 1/2 hr) ride and I'm soooo scared..
janatlantica - tell that teacher that I know the feeling... hope everyone in her car was okay.. did she have a lot of damage to her car?
bbbride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
i hit a deer on william floyd parkway two years ago. i have to say it was the worst experience ever. i still have nightmares about it and have not taken that road since. the deer died instantly and my car was totaled. everyone who saw the deer and my car thought it was a miracle i survived! im so sorry this happened to you
July2004Bride
Posted:
Member since
Re: Deer and Driving
bbbride - How horrible!! I'm sorry it happened to you too.. it was obviously a lot worse than our accident...
Wow... so I guess it does happen often but you just don't hear about it as much..
