Hit a deer today

[nycgordonf]

So I'm riding to the airport, as I do every day. Doing 50 in a 40 on a straight country road, when out of nowhere, this 150lb (or so) missile comes at me from 9 o'clock. In all my years of driving (and riding), this is my first deer hit. I managed to stay in control after the impact, and pulled over to assess the damage. Looking back at it, it looks like I hit her hind legs. One took out my right mirror, the other hit right between the headlights, breaking a few trim pieces in the process.

I just finished the tally of the damaged parts - about $1200 or so. Had I hit the animal a fraction of a second sooner, her body would've hit me right in the chest (I took the windshield off due to heavy buffeting - a topic discussed in another thread). I can't imagine what that type of weight at 50mph does to you, but it wouldn't be pretty.

I consider myself lucky that I wasn't riding a motorcycle. I would've wiped out, and ended up hitting a tree past the ditch. I'm also lucky this didn't happen in the middle of a curve with oncoming traffic.

All things considered, I'll spare you all the photos - blood, flesh and fecal matter all over my hood and helmet. The deer walked away with a broken leg or two, its days numbered.

Point being - stay vigilant. These dumb animals are drawn to us due to louder than normal exhaust note. In Spring, they come out to feed on the lush grass that grows on the roadside. Scan not just the road, but the shoulders. If you see one, there's probably more of them around. I should've been doing a better job.

Ride safe.

[bikerchris1270]

So I'm riding to the airport, as I do every day. Doing 50 in a 40 on a straight country road, when out of nowhere, this 150lb (or so) missile comes at me from 9 o'clock. In all my years of driving (and riding), this is my first deer hit. I managed to stay in control after the impact, and pulled over to assess the damage. Looking back at it, it looks like I hit her hind legs. One took out my right mirror, the other hit right between the headlights, breaking a few trim pieces in the process.

I just finished the tally of the damaged parts - about $1200 or so. Had I hit the animal a fraction of a second sooner, her body would've hit me right in the chest (I took the windshield off due to heavy buffeting - a topic discussed in another thread). I can't imagine what that type of weight at 50mph does to you, but it wouldn't be pretty.

I consider myself lucky that I wasn't riding a motorcycle. I would've wiped out, and ended up hitting a tree past the ditch. I'm also lucky this didn't happen in the middle of a curve with oncoming traffic.

All things considered, I'll spare you all the photos - blood, flesh and fecal matter all over my hood and helmet. The deer walked away with a broken leg or two, its days numbered.

Point being - stay vigilant. These dumb animals are drawn to us due to louder than normal exhaust note. In Spring, they come out to feed on the lush grass that grows on the roadside. Scan not just the road, but the shoulders. If you see one, there's probably more of them around. I should've been doing a better job.

Ride safe.

Wow.....you’re right....riding a motorcycle would have had a different outcome. Good to hear your ok.....glad I sold my Goldwing last week.

[ARtraveler]

Glad to hear you survived the ordeal. I hit a dog going at 55. It came flying up out of the ditch. For me there was an oncoming truck. I had to hold on and hit the dog head on. It did $2,000 damage to my front end. The dog did not survive. Insurance covered it all and the bike was fixed like new.

[Mikey]

The only thing here is ,that you are ok!!! The rest is just nuts and bolts and they make them every day, I have lost friends in the past from just a thing that you did today!! I also have a friend that killed a 135 lb spike horn buck with his two wheeled café style bike, kept it up right and on the rode, don't know how but I was glad he did!!! You luck dog!!!

[Fatcycledaddy]

So glad you are okay. Wife and I hit one in Wisconsin last year at about 60 and neither one of us were hurt. God is good and these things are awesome.
$12,000.00 in damage for us.

[AZCanAm]

Glad you're okay. Must have been scary as hell. Great job staying in control.

[BryanSD]

So glad to hear you made it out without much damage and you're alive to tell the tale! We all unfortunately know that's not always the case and I'm glad this isn't one of those posts.

[RICZ]

This reminds me of the time my brother hit a deer on his motorcycle. Split it in half and miraculously, he didn't go down. I was riding behind him and when I got off my bike to assess the damage, he had deer poop all over his helmet. He was an attorney then and I couldn't resist telling him that's the fist time I have seen that stuff on the outside of your helmet.
I'm glad you fared out better than my brother. His bike suffered a lot of front end damage.

[SpyFyg-2]

Good news you're okay! Scary hitting a deer! I hit a deer with our Spyder doing about 65 mph on interstate. It came up out of the median. I hit it dead center. It went up and over us and landed about 20 ft into the ditch. We had about 2000 miles on our new 2012 RTL. (Hubby was passenger that time.) It did about $1600.00 in damages. Insurance covered it all. God was watching over us that evening. It happens so fast!

[pegasus1300]

So glad to hear you are alright. I was coming thru a small town in Utah with a bunch of campers lining the road. As I road slowly thru the group a medium sized dog came out of a ditch and between 2 trucks. I saw it just as it went under the left front wheel. Took out the lower front panel the fronk lid, the lower side panel,and the left front fender. Over $3000.00. Insurance paid the bill fortunately and no one was hurt except the dog.

[CloverHillCrawler]

Glad to hear your OK, and as much as people complain about the windshields I have the Blue Ridge and it saved my ass last weekend. I was going up the west side of Catoctin Mountain on 77 came around a corner and scared a Turkey Buzzard feasting on a carcass on the side of the road.

It started coming straight at me but the buffeting of the windshield lifted it up as I ducked down below it, Luckily only took a scrape of it's talons across the top of the helmet.

[Stache]

Machines are easy to fix. It can be harder to fix the rider. Glad you’re ok.

[rick_w]

Glad your ok. Unless it has happened to you most people don't realize how dangerous hitting a deer can be. You have to be ready for anything out on the road.

Below is a link to one of our old bike pages. At the bottom of the page is a brief description of my accident when hitting a deer in 2002.
http://www.valueaccessories.net/Valkyrie/Valkyrie.htm

[Plarimer]

Scary situation. I remember back in the 80s I worked a shift from 730 at night till four in the morning. After my last shift before my days off, I would hop on my gold wing and head to the cabin about 90 miles away, which means it was still dark. About 20 miles out of Lincoln on a two Lane I came across the shadow in the road. As I got closer it turned out to be an Angus cow darker than the night I was riding in. I was lucky and only brushed him with the corner of my faring, but I hit the brakes and found I was in the middle of a Black Angus heard in the middle of the road. I had to take my shorts off and throw them in the ditch after that one.

[nycgordonf]

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. In retrospect, the best way (I think) to deal with a head-on collision with an animal is to maintain vehicle control, and duck your head down low. Damage to the Spyder is inconsequential compared to an animal flying over the hood and whipping your head backwards as it flies over.

Ride safe everyone.

[milryder]

Consider an airbag, tethered or electronic.

[Namrajf]

So I'm riding to the airport, as I do every day. Doing 50 in a 40 on a straight country road, when out of nowhere, this 150lb (or so) missile comes at me from 9 o'clock. In all my years of driving (and riding), this is my first deer hit. I managed to stay in control after the impact, and pulled over to assess the damage. Looking back at it, it looks like I hit her hind legs. One took out my right mirror, the other hit right between the headlights, breaking a few trim pieces in the process.

I just finished the tally of the damaged parts - about $1200 or so. Had I hit the animal a fraction of a second sooner, her body would've hit me right in the chest (I took the windshield off due to heavy buffeting - a topic discussed in another thread). I can't imagine what that type of weight at 50mph does to you, but it wouldn't be pretty.

I consider myself lucky that I wasn't riding a motorcycle. I would've wiped out, and ended up hitting a tree past the ditch. I'm also lucky this didn't happen in the middle of a curve with oncoming traffic.

All things considered, I'll spare you all the photos - blood, flesh and fecal matter all over my hood and helmet. The deer walked away with a broken leg or two, its days numbered.

Point being - stay vigilant. These dumb animals are drawn to us due to louder than normal exhaust note. In Spring, they come out to feed on the lush grass that grows on the roadside. Scan not just the road, but the shoulders. If you see one, there's probably more of them around. I should've been doing a better job.

Ride safe.

Your description of a missile is an accurate one. I have hit no less than four in my travels, all in either cars or trucks. In all cases the deer have come out of no where, no chance of avoiding. Glad to hear you came out unscathed.

[Arion]

We should have a "Been There, Done That" T-shirt for having survived such incidents.

Although we've yet to hit a deer or any other substantial animal on either two or three wheels, years ago we did hit a deer that totaled our Ford Taurus, and more recently hit a moose in our VW Jetta wagon that, amazingly, did no damage at all! Moose are perhaps the most dangerous road hazard in Maine and hitting one is usually an event not soon forgotten.

The best piece of advise we received was, if avoidance is not an option and if the circumstances allow, aim for the rear end of the animal, as close to the base of the tail is possible. In our one moose encounter, so far, we managed to ram her in the rump. She spun her around, and when we came to a halt she had recovered and wandered off and we could find no damage at all. We learned two things - we were very fortunate and we never want to hit a moose again.

Conversely, the same night we struck the deer, some friends were returning from a shopping trip, struck a moose dead center (drove under the belly between the front and rear legs in their Subaru) and unfortunately didn't kill it immediately. It thrashed them into intensive care with significant injuries before it died. Fortunately they both survived and are back to normal.

[Ridethru]

took out a deer in my younger years on a GS750. Cut the deer in half and destroyed my motorcycle. All i remember is rolling thru the ditch thinking "when am i going to stop rolling?".

[Peter Aawen]

We should have a "Been There, Done That" T-shirt for having survived such incidents.

........

Conversely, the same night we struck the deer, some friends were returning from a shopping trip, struck a moose dead center (drove under the belly between the front and rear legs in their Subaru) and unfortunately didn't kill it immediately. It thrashed them into intensive care with significant injuries before it died. Fortunately they both survived and are back to normal.

There are places here in Oz where we have those sorta issues with Wild Horses, or Brumbies as they're more commonly known, or even roaming Stock - Cattle, on the unfenced roads & highways thru Outback Station Country (and sometimes even just 'non-city' rural areas too!) Then there's the need to dodge feral Camels & Water Buffalo in the Top End - not much will slow a Road Train, but even they try their hardest to avoid the Water Buffalo! Everything else is pretty much a bit of a bump & a gory mess to clean up at the next stop, but Water Buffalo can write off a Semi &/or the 'train' of trailers too!

For drivers of smaller auto's, that 'thrashed them into intensive care' bit is not unknown here in Oz when people hit Kangaroos or Wallabies on their 'going up' stroke or even as they're just starting on their 'coming down' stroke! Not usually an issue if they hit Quokkas tho, or Paddymelons - they're both too small & furry & round, so they generally bounce off!

But Wombats, even the little Wombats, those things you REALLY want to try and avoid if at all possible!! They don't call them 'the Bulldozers of the Bush' for nothing, and if you hit one of those solid lumps of muscle & bone square on, they tend to rip the entire lower front end out of the vehicle & often end up forcing large & heavy components (like engines ) well into the passenger compartment.... Not too many vehicle occupants 'walk away' from a head-on with a full grown Wombat!

And these days, in many areas Ozzie Drivers/Riders hafta watch out for deer too!! We've now got quite a few 'rural & semi-rural areas' that are infested with feral populations of deer!!

[UtahPete]

Wombats? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombat

[Peter Aawen]

Yeah, that's them! Only Wikipedia only seems to mention the babies of the breed!?!?

[EdMat]

Wombats? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombat

Think of hitting a small pig.

[UtahPete]

Think of hitting a small pig.

That makes sense.

[JohnRuckus]

Wow.
Glad you're ok.