Deer Danger

[Ted B.]

> My husband hit a big dog that got loose in our suburban town. The dog
> got up and left, my husband had alot of damage to the front end of the
> car. I think the deaths happen when we try to avoid the deer and end
> up hitting a wall or another car coming in the opposite direction.
>
> Maggie.

Actually, large animals like deer have an annoying tendency to roll up over
the hood and crash through the windshield. Imagine taking a hoof to the
face at 70MPH. -Dave

 

[Ken]

"Maggie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Ken wrote:
>>
>> I have never seen or heard of anyone hitting a deer on a bicycle!
>> But the bike woould probably get the worst of it.
>>
>> Ken
>
> I was thinking the same thing. I ride my bike up in PA with my
> brother. He has deer all around him. He actually feeds them. They
> come to his back door for food. Along with every other creature that
> lives on the acres of land he bought up there. I was there once while
> the Mama's were bringing their little babies around. It was cute.
>
> Anyway, to get back on track. We all ride around that area, and I
> can't even imagine how we could not avoid a deer on a bicycle. Unless
> you are training for an event and really going fast.
>
> As far as I am concerned, I doubt very seriously if they are a huge
> threat to someone on a bike. A car is a different story. Even in that
> instance, if you hit the deer, the animal is dead and you have a
> wrecked front end. (happened to my brother)
>
> My husband hit a big dog that got loose in our suburban town. The dog
> got up and left, my husband had alot of damage to the front end of the
> car. I think the deaths happen when we try to avoid the deer and end
> up hitting a wall or another car coming in the opposite direction.
>
> Maggie.
>
> How did this car/deer thread get on a bicycle NG. We never go OT. ;-)
>

Well I think the deer would have enough time to get out of the way, unless
the cyclist was heading downhill, or had a real good tailwind pushing them.

Ken

 

[Bill Sornson]

[email protected] wrote:
>> i almost crushed a squirrel yesterday, but hitting a deer on a bike
>> would be something...anyone ever?...naw!
> On http://www.bikejournal.com user irishbiker posted:
> A few years ago I was finishing hill training for a MS150 tour and a
> deer came out of the woods and took off across the road as I was going
> downhill. I honestly thought I was going fast enough to get by. Wrong!
> I crunched it and went flying. Thank goodness for my helmet. I
> actually did have proof I hit a deer as my taco'd front wheel had
> deer hair embedded between the tire and the rim. I've been kidded
> constantly since by friends wanting to know if I've been bike hunting
> lately. A friend and my father-in-law actually crafted a letter from
> the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks telling me that hunting
> in this manner was illegal and if I do it again I would be prosecuted
> to the full extent of the law!

Funny. All I can say is it's better to hit a deer on a bike (er, while YOU
are on a bike) than to be hit BY a deer on your bike. (Again...deers don't
steal.)

Should I start this over?

Out.

 

[Bill Sornson]

what does THIS button do? wrote:
> I've slapped a buck's tail during one commute and swatteded a doe on
> ass another ride. The buck covered me in deer "pellets".

Anyone notcie a pattern here?

 

[Maggie]

Bill Sornson wrote:
> Funny. All I can say is it's better to hit a deer on a bike (er,
while YOU
> are on a bike) than to be hit BY a deer on your bike. (Again...deers
don't
> steal.)
>
> Should I start this over?
>
> Out.

Are you the grammar police? Making sure sentence structure is correct
and we don't dangle our participles. Jeff is the Music Lyric Police.
I wonder what I can police. Maybe anyone who goes off topic. ;-)

Mags

 

[Ad absurdum per aspera]

> This is a peak time of year for deer crashes, even in heavily
> populated areas.

Yes! It isn't just something that happens in the boondocks, although
the consequences might be more severe there because of higher speeds.

Deer tolerate our presence fairly well in general, and in particular
think of suburban landscaping as one big salad bar. Unfortunately their
predators are not very tolerant of human activity and density and
habitat interruption; and culture or the proximity of houses puts the
kibosh on hunting in such locations. This means their main natural
enemy is the fender.

In the bosky enclave where I used to live in the San Francisco Bay
area, I braked for deer in the street, or cast a wary eye on them after
seeing them near the roadside, many a time; and four or five carcasses
a year near the side of the road and the freeway on-ramp along my
commute indicated that not all drivers, and deer, were so lucky.

Another thing to remember about deer when driving is, don't run 'em.
Maybe it's obvious to YOU how they might get away, but they can get
psychologically constrained to the road even when escape is quite
physically possible. If you come to a stop, or at least slow way down
(assuming it's safe to do so), they'll regain their senses and find a
place to get away. But if you press them, they often stay channeled in
the road and might even bound right in front of you or someone coming
the other way.

Finally, remember that they go around in groups, especially the females
and their young. So if you see a fawn or doe near or in the road, it's
prudent to assume that there are a few more not too far away.

Cheers,
--Joe

 

[Bill Sornson]

Maggie wrote:
> Bill Sornson wrote:
>> Funny. All I can say is it's better to hit a deer on a bike (er,
>> while YOU are on a bike) than to be hit BY a deer on your bike.
>> (Again...deers don't steal.)
>>
>> Should I start this over?
>>
>> Out.

> Are you the grammar police? Making sure sentence structure is correct
> and we don't dangle our participles. Jeff is the Music Lyric Police.
> I wonder what I can police. Maybe anyone who goes off topic. ;-)

Maggie the Topic Cop!

All in favor...?

 

[223rem]

Ad absurdum per aspera wrote:
>>This is a peak time of year for deer crashes, even in heavily
>>populated areas.
>
>
> Yes! It isn't just something that happens in the boondocks, although
> the consequences might be more severe there because of higher speeds.
>
> Deer tolerate our presence fairly well in general, and in particular
> think of suburban landscaping as one big salad bar. Unfortunately their
> predators are not very tolerant of human activity and density and
> habitat interruption; and culture or the proximity of houses puts the
> kibosh on hunting in such locations. This means their main natural
> enemy is the fender.

The over abundence of deer is a symptom of a damaged ecosystem--we
virtually eliminated their natural predators.
Deer are pure pests. They destroy young trees are have no value
whatsoever for anything in the ecosystem.

Why hunting them is not allowed year-round,
and why there are so many restrictions when hunting is allowed,
I dont understand.

 

[Rich]

Bill Sornson wrote:

> Funny. All I can say is it's better to hit a deer on a bike (er, while YOU
> are on a bike) than to be hit BY a deer on your bike.

If I see a deer on my bike I'm getting my camera and taking a picture,
because a deer riding a bike is a pretty unusual thing.

 

[Bill Sornson]

Rich wrote:
> Bill Sornson wrote:
>
>> Funny. All I can say is it's better to hit a deer on a bike (er,
>> while YOU are on a bike) than to be hit BY a deer on your bike.
>
> If I see a deer on my bike I'm getting my camera and taking a picture,
> because a deer riding a bike is a pretty unusual thing.

GET HIM, MAGGIE!

 

[David L. Johnson]

On Tue, 24 May 2005 06:51:41 -0400, Ken wrote:

> I have never seen or heard of anyone hitting a deer on a bicycle!
> But the bike woould probably get the worst of it.

I haven't hit one, but I had a very close call. A deer came zooming
across the road between me and another rider. It came through heavy brush
so there was no way to see it in advance, and it was just chance that it
didn't come through a fraction of a second earlier, or later, and collide
with one of us.

I make it a point to watch for deer, and call them out to other riders.
If you see one, there are others nearby, too.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | What is objectionable, and what is dangerous about extremists is
_`\(,_ | not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant.
(_)/ (_) | --Robert F. Kennedy

 

[Mike Latondresse]

RonSonic <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> On Mon, 23 May 2005 22:18:40 -0700, "greggery peccary" <.@.>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>"Garrison Hilliard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>> This is a peak time of year for deer crashes, even in heavily
>>> populated areas.
>>>
>>
>>i almost crushed a squirrel yesterday, but hitting a deer on a
>>bike would be something...anyone ever?...naw!
>
> It happens. A buddy nearly got creamed on his MTB going up some
> wooded single track. Seems someone up ahead had spooked this deer
> who went barrelling down the trail right into Wayne. He saw the
> antlers coming at him and ditched. If he were riding faster, he'd
> have eaten it.
>
Nothing like fresh venison

 

[C.J.Patten]

I'd rather hit a deer on my bike than with a car.
They're furry and squishy if you actually have to impact them with your
body. (up to a certain speed of course)

With a car doing twice or three times the speed of a bike, they tend to come
right through the windshield and kill you.
(a friend of mine lost his parents when a cloven-ungulate came through the
windshield of their truck... stinkin' shame)

C.

"Garrison Hilliard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> This is a peak time of year for deer crashes, even in heavily populated
> areas.
>
>
> It's happened to almost every driver: a deer jumps right in front of your
> car!
>
>
> Put yourself in this driver's seat.
>
> You don't realize it, but you're about to hit a deer.
>
>
> Some video captured by special car cameras, demonstrate just how little
> time you have to react.
>
>
> Sean Kelly hit a deer last Monday night, while driving his brand new car
> on U.S. 27 in Cold Spring.
>
>
> "It took me by surprise totally. I didn't see it out of the corner of my
> eyes or anything," Kelly said.
>
> But, it could have been much worse.
>
>
> "I always saw the deer warning signs, but never took it as a serious
> hazard," said Kathy Hill, whose husband Greg was killed as their family
> drove home from a soccer tournament in Topeka, Kansas.
>
>
>
> A Jeep on the other side of the interstate hit a deer, catapulting it over
> the median and through their windshield.
>
>
> "We were heading 70-miles an hour. So, the speed of the deer, when it hit
> our van, I can't estimate what it was, but it made the deer like a
> missile," Hill said.
>
>
> Kathy was hurt. A witness told her about her husband's final moments.
>
>
> "He was turning his head to the side to see if everybody else was
> okay. And that's when he died," said Hill.
>
>
> Wildlife officers say deer accidents are on the rise.
>
>
> "There are more deer now in North America than there have ever been. And
> we're right in their habitat. We're living there, we're driving
> there," said wildlife officer Todd Malmsbury.
>
> Be alert for deer, especially between dusk and dawn.
>
> If you spot a deer, slow down. Others are probably nearby.
>
> And, experts say, if the deer is directly in your path, don't swerve.
>
> On a driving simulator, you can see that swerving to avoid a deer might be
> a fatal mistake.
>
> Swerving might take you into the path of an oncoming car, or cause a
> rollover.
>
> Instead, hit your brakes.
>
>
> "A lot of times it's better to hit the deer than it is to actually try to
> avoid the deer," said Lt. John Eichkorn of the highway patrol
>
>
> One solution is the "highway underpass."
>
> New research shows that deer will actually cross under a busy highway,
> when given the option.
>
> But, wildlife underpasses can cost as much as a million dollars each.
>
> Deer crashes happen year 'round.
>
> But right now is prime time: the birthing season.
>
> Also be careful in October and November, the mating season.
>
>
>
>
>
> Contact Carol Williams
> E-mail [email protected]
>
> <nice video at website>
>
> http://www.wcpo.com/wcpo/localshows/healthyliving/1a85ac0.html
>

 

[Leo Lichtman]

"Maggie" wrote: (clip) I can't even imagine how we could not avoid a deer on
a bicycle. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Call the police! Oh, that's right, you ARE the police.

 

[psycholist]

"David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Tue, 24 May 2005 06:51:41 -0400, Ken wrote:
>
>> I have never seen or heard of anyone hitting a deer on a bicycle!
>> But the bike woould probably get the worst of it.
>
> I haven't hit one, but I had a very close call. A deer came zooming
> across the road between me and another rider. It came through heavy brush
> so there was no way to see it in advance, and it was just chance that it
> didn't come through a fraction of a second earlier, or later, and collide
> with one of us.
>
> I make it a point to watch for deer, and call them out to other riders.
> If you see one, there are others nearby, too.
>
> --
>
> David L. Johnson


2 Deer stories (from about 20 I could tell you. I live in a very rural area
and they're a constant danger).

I live in the Upstate area of South Carolina. There's a story going around
about a rider out of Greenville, SC who was descending the Saluda Grade (a
favorite climb north of Greenville) when a deer jumped out of the woods.
They crashed. The deer was a buck with a nice rack and the bike frame
became entangled in the deer's antlers. The deer bounded off into the woods
with the bike still entangled and left the rider stranded on the
mountainside. Neither the bike nor the deer were seen again. I'm not
sayin' it's a true story. It's just goin' around.

Second story. Tonight on the way home from a club ride in a town about 45
minutes north of me I was coming down a country highway doing about 65.
There was a vehicle oncoming and, as we were about to meet, a deer bounded
into the road from my side. I slammed on the brakes and missed it. The
oncoming car creamed it just as the deer/car combo was even with my driver
side door. I could hear the impact and, in my rear view mirror, I could see
the car go all over the road trying to maintain control. Had it happened 2
seconds earlier, that car might have hit me head on. Of course, I drive a
huge honkin Ford F150 4x4 farm truck ... so it would have gone better for me
than for them in all probability. Anyway, they were fine, but their car was
a mess. It didn't go so well for the deer, either.

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

 

[Mike Kruger]

<questionme@________.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I live in the country and see deer all the time. I have had
thousands
> of them run in front of my car. I have never hit one in my
30+ years
> of driving. You must ALWAYS be watching for them, and drive
> accordingly. That means drive slow if there are deer in
sight. Why
> this is crossposted to a bicycles group I will never know...
>
Deer are curious things to a cyclist. The deer in the forest
preserves near me are so tame that they often don't move off
the bike path shoulder at all -- or suddenly start up if they
haven't noticed you coming. A couple of years ago, one got
startled, raced me in parallel for about 20-30 yards, and then
jumped completely over the path just in front of me.

There are a lot of deer in there, as well. I only go about 4.5
miles through the local forest preserves on my commute to
work, but usually will see 3-8 deer, although there may be a
few duplicates.

 

[Mike Kruger]

"Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> Well I think the deer would have enough time to get out of
the way, unless
> the cyclist was heading downhill, or had a real good
tailwind pushing them.
>
This assumes deer follow a rational model

Anything that suddenly leaps in front of you can be hit, no
matter how mobile the animal itself is. Squirrels are a fine
example of this.

 

[Cory Dunkle]

"Garrison Hilliard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> This is a peak time of year for deer crashes, even in heavily populated
> areas.
>
>
> It's happened to almost every driver: a deer jumps right in front of your
> car!
>
>
> Put yourself in this driver's seat.
>
> You don't realize it, but you're about to hit a deer.

Been there, done that...

Before:
http://cadunkle.kicks-ass.net/pics/Galaxie/68/Gal.JPG

After:
http://cadunkle.kicks-ass.net/pics/Galaxie/68/Ouch/P7210004.JPG

Hit a pretty good sized buck doing 55+ MPH. Have the damage to show for it.
Hoping to find a new rad support and grille that greedy junkyard owners
don't want an arm and a leg for. I went to a yard called "Friendship
Junkyard" a couple weeks ago and they wanted $70 for half of a '68 Galaxie
grille that looked like hell. I've seen far nicer grilles on eBay for under
$20. Bah, if I don't find anything this weekend I'll probably find something
at Carlisle the following weekend.

Oh, I'm glad I was driving the Galaxie when this happened. If I had been
driving either of my beaters I was trying to sell at the time (Prelude and
Calais), well, things coulda been much worse off for me, especially in the
Prelude. I've always said half the reason I drive these big old cars with
frames is for safety, and it's proven worthwhile twice. Once getting struck
in the side in my '67, saved my girlfriend from getting hurt, and then of
course with the deer and the '68.

At least I had the car running the next day after replacing the fan and
radiator. Had to get a new water pump later on as the bearings were damaged
from the impact. No big deal, though the radiator was kind of expensive.

Cory

 

[Laura Bush murdered her boy friend]

One more reason we need to lower speed limits. Same lives of humans
and deer.

 

[Bill]

Mike Kruger wrote:

> <questionme@________.com> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I live in the country and see deer all the time. I have had
> thousands
>> of them run in front of my car. I have never hit one in my
> 30+ years
>> of driving. You must ALWAYS be watching for them, and drive
>> accordingly. That means drive slow if there are deer in
> sight. Why
>> this is crossposted to a bicycles group I will never know...
>>
> Deer are curious things to a cyclist. The deer in the forest
> preserves near me are so tame that they often don't move off
> the bike path shoulder at all -- or suddenly start up if they
> haven't noticed you coming. A couple of years ago, one got
> startled, raced me in parallel for about 20-30 yards, and then
> jumped completely over the path just in front of me.
>
> There are a lot of deer in there, as well. I only go about 4.5
> miles through the local forest preserves on my commute to
> work, but usually will see 3-8 deer, although there may be a
> few duplicates.

That rings true with me. The deer see me before I see them and sometimes I
just stop and we look at each other.
Bill Baka